Yoko Ono, 85, to release new album giving peace a chance
‘Warzone’ will conclude with ‘Imagine’, her seminal pacifist anthem with her late husband John Lennon
Yoko Ono has announced that she is releasing a new album at the age of 85, saying that her lifelong message of peace is sorely needed in 2018.
“Warzone”, which will come out on October 19, will revisit songs penned by Ono since 1970, concluding with Imagine, her seminal pacifist anthem with her late husband John Lennon.
“The world is so messed up. Things are very difficult for everybody,” she said in a statement.
A statement from her representatives added: “It is not too late to change the world. We need Yoko now more than ever.”
The Japanese-born New Yorker made clear that Warzone was not a swan song, saying that she is working on another album.
The album’s 13 tracks, produced by her son Sean Ono Lennon, are rearranged to strip back the music, bringing to the forefront Ono’s voice in the vein of spoken word.
With the album announcement, she released a new take on the title track, which appeared in Ono’s 1994 musical New York Rock about her life with Lennon.
In the 2018 version, an elephant roars and percussion kicks in like a gun as Ono describes a scene of violence over echoing reverb.
“If you hear me, please help us!” she concludes.