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Monday 10 January 2022

In Love With Life

Some optimism for Monday morning, a quality in short supply. In 2017 Hifi Sean released an album called Ft. , every song featuring a different vocalist or collaborator. Sean was once the singer and leader of The Soup Dragons. After the band ended he became a DJ, living and playing in New York in the mid- 90s and then based in London in the 00s. The album has a range of musical partners, from Norman Blake from his Bellshill guitar band days to Billie Ray Martin, Alan Vega and Bootsy Collins but nowhere does it sound better than on this song with Yoko Ono. 

In Love With Life

The chunky drums and sweeping synth strings are lovely and Yoko's spoken word vocal tops it off beautifully. There's a nice animated video too. 

Yoko Ono is a much maligned figure for various reasons, some of them unpleasant 'isms' I think. I haven't seen Get Back but reviews suggest it's gone some way towards painting her in 1969/ 70 a little differently from the woman who split up the world's favourite pop group. 

7 comments:

Martin said...

Get Back does indeed paint her in a different light, although it does also demonstrate that her singing is an acquired taste.

Michael Doherty said...

Gwt Back just restates the reality that John and Yoko loved each other. The rest was just a mixture of, as you say, many isms.

JC said...

There's so much to enjoy about the Ft. album, and as you indicate, the most unexpected collaborations, such as 'I'm In Love With Life' are the real highlights.

JTFL said...

I never thought Yoko broke up the Beatles. But I don't recognize her in any way, shape or form, as a musician. A visual/situationist/performance artist, perhaps, but her screaming and caterwauling was just self-indulgent bullshit.

Khayem said...

Ft. proved to be very popular with the rest of my family, which is no mean feat, believe me. I love the Yoko Ono track especially but it's all good.

Who are The Beatles? Have they released anything good?

Adam Turner said...

I think Yoko's singing/ screaming is beyond reappraisal.

Echorich said...

I'll start here by saying, I am a died in the woll Yoko fan, have all her albums, no really I do...My love for Yoko as an artist began with a copy of Some Time In New York City an older cousin had and then a copy of Fly which I found in his collection as well.
Now for the album Ft., it is really great - especially the Gospel dance stomper, Testify with fellow 90s refugee, Crystal Waters.