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{{Infobox album
{{Infobox album
| name = Season of Glass
| name = Season of Glass
| type = [[Album]]
| type = studio
| artist = [[Yoko Ono]]
| artist = [[Yoko Ono]]
| cover = Yoko_Ono_Season.jpg
| cover = Yoko Ono Season.jpg
| alt =
| alt =
| released = {{start date|1981|6|3|df=yes}}<ref name="Onobox">{{cite AV media notes|others=Yoko Ono|title=[[Onobox]]|year=1992|type=liner notes|publisher=[[Rykodisc]]|id=RCD 10224/29}}</ref>
| released = 8 June 1981 (UK)<br />12 June 1981 (US)
| recorded = 1981
| recorded = 1981
| venue =
| studio = [[The Hit Factory]], New York City
| studio = [[The Hit Factory]], New York City
| genre = {{flatlist|
| genre =
* [[Pop music|Pop]]
* [[Pop music|Pop]]
* [[Rock music|rock]]
* [[Rock music|rock]]
⚫
| length = {{duration|m=51|s=5}}
}}
⚫
| length = 51:05
| label = [[Geffen Records|Geffen]]
| label = [[Geffen Records|Geffen]]
| producer = Yoko Ono, [[Phil Spector]]
| producer = Yoko Ono, [[Phil Spector]]
Line 24: Line 22:
| type = studio
| type = studio
| single1 = [[No, No, No (Yoko Ono song)|No, No, No]]
| single1 = [[No, No, No (Yoko Ono song)|No, No, No]]
| single1date = September 1981 (US)
| single1date = August 1981 (US)<ref name="Onobox"/>
| single2 = Goodbye Sadness
| single2 = Goodbye Sadness
| single2date = November 1981 (US)
| single2date = October 1981 (US)<ref name="Onobox"/>
}}
}}
}}
}}
'''''Season of Glass''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Yoko Ono]], her first solo recording after the murder of her husband [[John Lennon]]. ''Season of Glass'', released in 1981, reached #49 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Album Chart, making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.
'''''Season of Glass''''' is the fifth studio album by [[Yoko Ono]], her first solo recording after the murder of her husband [[John Lennon]]. ''Season of Glass'', released in 1981, reached number 49 on the US [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] albums chart, making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.


A music video was created for "Goodbye Sadness" featuring footage of John and Yoko together. The video was screened on the first episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''{{'}}s seventh season.
A music video was created for "Goodbye Sadness" featuring footage of Lennon and Ono together. The video was screened on the first episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''{{'}}s seventh season.


==Background==
==Background==
The album was released less than six months after [[Murder of John Lennon|Lennon's death]] and deals with it directly in songs such as "Goodbye Sadness" and "I Don't Know Why". A young [[Sean Lennon]] features on the track "Even When You're Far Away", recounting a story his father used to tell him.
The album was released less than six months after [[Murder of John Lennon|Lennon's death]] and deals with it directly in songs such as "Goodbye Sadness" and "I Don't Know Why". Lennon and Ono's son [[Sean Lennon]] features on "Even When You're Far Away", recounting a story his father used to tell him.


The front cover features Lennon's bloodstained glasses positioned next to a half-filled glass of water, with a view of [[Central Park]] in the background. The choice of album cover was considered controversial by the record company:
The front cover features Lennon's bloodstained glasses (worn on the day of his death) positioned next to a half-filled (or half empty) glass of water, with a view of [[Central Park]] in the background. The choice of album cover was considered controversial by the record company:
{{Quote|text=I used a photo I took of John’s blood-stained glasses on the record cover. The record company called me and said the record shops would not stock the record unless I changed the cover. I didn't understand it. Why? They said it was in bad taste. I felt like a person soaked in blood coming into a living room full of people and reporting that my husband was dead, his body was taken away, and the pair of glasses were the only thing I had managed to salvage – and people looking at me saying it was in bad taste to show the glasses to them. "I'm not changing the cover. This is what John is now," I said.|author=Yoko Ono|source={{cite web|url=http://imaginepeace.com/archives/6364|title=ONOBOX by Yoko Ono}}}}
{{Quote|text=I used a photo I took of John's blood-stained glasses on the record cover. The record company called me and said the record shops would not stock the record unless I changed the cover. I didn't understand it. Why? They said it was in bad taste. I felt like a person soaked in blood coming into a living room full of people and reporting that my husband was dead, his body was taken away, and the pair of glasses were the only thing I had managed to salvage – and people looking at me saying it was in bad taste to show the glasses to them. "I'm not changing the cover. This is what John is now," I said.|author=Yoko Ono|source=<ref>{{cite web|url=http://imaginepeace.com/archives/6364|title=ONOBOX by Yoko Ono|date=23 April 2009 }}</ref>}}


==Reception==
==Reception==
{{Album reviews
{{Album reviews
|rev1 = [[Allmusic]]
|rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{Allmusic|class=album|id=r46036}}</ref>
|rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r46036}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev4 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
|rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/201644/yokoono?pageid=rs.ArtistDiscographyMainReleases&pageregion=mainRegion |title=Rolling Stone Music &#124; Album Reviews |publisher=Rollingstone.com |date=2011-11-01 |accessdate=9 November 2011}}</ref>
|rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/201644/yokoono?pageid=rs.ArtistDiscographyMainReleases&pageregion=mainRegion |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205184422/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/_/id/201644/yokoono?pageid=rs.ArtistDiscographyMainReleases&pageregion=mainRegion |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 February 2009 |title=Rolling Stone Music &#124; Album Reviews |publisher=Rollingstone.com |date=2011-11-01 |access-date=9 November 2011}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev3 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
|rev3score = (7.7/10)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/o/ono_yoko/season-of-glass.shtml |title=Yoko Ono: Season of Glass |accessdate=2012-05-13 |url-status=bot: unknown |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605115343/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/o/ono_yoko/season-of-glass.shtml |archivedate=June 5, 2003 }}</ref>
|rev3score = 7.7/10 (1999)<ref name="Pitchfork-review">{{cite web |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/o/ono_yoko/season-of-glass.shtml |title=Yoko Ono: Season of Glass |access-date=2012-05-13 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030605115343/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/record-reviews/o/ono_yoko/season-of-glass.shtml |archive-date=5 June 2003 }}</ref><br />8.8/10 (2023)<ref name="Pitchfork-2">{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/yoko-ono-season-of-glass/ |title=Yoko Ono: Season of Glass Album Review |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |last=Greene |first=Jayson |date=19 February 2023 |access-date=19 February 2023}}</ref>
|rev4 = [[Robert Christgau]]
|rev2 = [[Robert Christgau]]
|rev4Score = A−<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Yoko+Ono |title=CG: Yoko Ono |publisher=Robert Christgau |date= |accessdate=9 November 2011}}</ref>
|rev2score = A−<ref name="RC-review">{{cite web|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Yoko+Ono |title=CG: Yoko Ono |publisher=Robert Christgau |access-date=9 November 2011}}</ref>
|noprose=yes
}}
}}
''Season of Glass'' charted at number 49 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yoko Ono awards|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/yoko-ono-mn0000521704/awards|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|accessdate=11 January 2013}}</ref>
''Season of Glass'' charted at number 49 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]], making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Yoko Ono awards|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/yoko-ono-mn0000521704/awards|publisher=[[Allmusic]]|access-date=11 January 2013}}</ref>


''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' magazine gave the album a positive review, describing the album as Ono's "reaffirmation in life", containing a sense that she will "brave the crisis".<ref name="Billboard-review"/> ''Billboard'' also described the album as having "a minimum of quirks" and sounded more commercial than any of her previous albums.<ref name="Billboard-review">{{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/80s/1981/BB-1981-06-20.pdf|title=Billboard's Top Album Picks|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 20, 1981|page=76}}</ref> The songs "I Don't Know Why", "Goodbye Sadness", "Turn of the Wheel" and "She Gets Down on Her Knees" were chosen as the best cuts from the album.<ref name="Billboard-review"/>
⚫
[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] listed ''Season of Glass'' as one of the best 200 albums of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s |publisher=pitchfork.com |date=2018-09-10 |accessdate=26 January 2019}}</ref>

Music journalist [[Robert Christgau]] stated that "damn near every song [on the album] is affecting".<ref name="RC-review"/> He described the transition from the "retrospective irony" of "Extension 33" to the "cut-off vulnerability" of "No, No, No" as "positively gut-wrenching".<ref name="RC-review"/>

In a review for the 1997 reissue, Ryan Schreiber of ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' called the album "a landmark in musical history" that "[encapsulated] Yoko's sadness" as well as the sadness felt around the world by [[John Lennon]]'s death.<ref name="Pitchfork-review"/> He added that the album showcased Ono's "remarkable strength" and described the bonus demo recording of "I Don't Know Why" on the reissue as "harrowing".<ref name="Pitchfork-review"/>

''Pitchfork'''s Jayson Greene reviewed the album a second time in 2023, giving it a higher score of 8.8 compared to the website's original 7.7 score in their 1997 review.<ref name="Pitchfork-2"/> Greene described the album as a "survivor's statement" and the song "I Don't Know Why" as "harrowing and plainspoken" and "Goodbye Sadness" as "heart-rending".<ref name="Pitchfork-2"/> He noted that the songs "Goodbye Sadness", "Toyboat", "Silver Horse" and "Mother of the Universe" featured Ono singing "gorgeous, long-breathed melodies [...] while the music gently rocks and sways".<ref name="Pitchfork-2"/> Greene stated that the songs on ''Season of Glass'' were "lullabies to hope, delivered with the beatific calm of a dying opera heroine's final aria".<ref name="Pitchfork-2"/> He did however feel that the omission of "[[Walking on Thin Ice]]" was "like a glitch in the historical record" and should have had a place on the album.<ref name="Pitchfork-2"/>

⚫
''Pitchfork'' listed ''Season of Glass'' as one of the best 200 albums of the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1980s |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s |publisher=pitchfork.com |date=2018-09-10 |access-date=26 January 2019}}</ref>


==Reissue==
==Reissue==
Line 59: Line 64:


==Remixes==
==Remixes==
Three songs from this recording were reworked by other artists on the remix tribute album ''[[Yes, I'm a Witch]]'' in 2007. [[Anohni]] reworked "Toyboat", [[The Apples in Stereo]] reworked "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" and [[Jason Pierce]] from [[Spiritualized]] reworked "Walking on Thin Ice".
Three songs from this recording were reworked by other artists on the remix tribute album ''[[Yes, I'm a Witch]]'' in 2007. [[Anohni]] reworked "Toyboat", [[The Apples in Stereo]] reworked "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" and [[Jason Pierce]] from [[Spiritualized]] reworked "Walking on Thin Ice".{{citation needed|date=April 2024}}


==In popular culture==
==In popular culture==
[[Holly Miranda]] covered "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" as a B-side to her single "[[Forest Green, Oh Forest Green]]" and on her [[Extended play|EP]] ''Choose to See'', which was included with the purchase of her 2010 album ''[[The Magician's Private Library]]''.<ref name="discogschoosetosee">{{Cite news|url=http://www.discogs.com/Holly-Miranda-Choose-To-See-EP/release/2254301|title=Holly Miranda - Choose To See EP (CD) at Discogs|last=|first=|date=|work=[[Discogs]]|publisher=Zink Media, Inc.|accessdate=2010-08-24}}</ref>
[[Holly Miranda]] covered "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" as a B-side to her single "[[Forest Green, Oh Forest Green]]" and on her [[Extended play|EP]] ''Choose to See'', which was included with the purchase of her 2010 album ''[[The Magician's Private Library]]''.<ref name="discogschoosetosee">{{Cite news|url=http://www.discogs.com/Holly-Miranda-Choose-To-See-EP/release/2254301|title=Holly Miranda - Choose To See EP (CD) at Discogs|work=[[Discogs]]|publisher=Zink Media, Inc.|access-date=2010-08-24}}</ref>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing = [[Yoko Ono]]
| all_writing = [[Yoko Ono]]
| headline = Side one
| headline = Side one
| title1 = Goodbye Sadness
| title1 = Goodbye Sadness
| length1 = 3:48
| length1 = 3:48
Line 84: Line 89:
}}
}}
{{Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| headline = Side two
| title8 = I Don't Know Why
| title8 = I Don't Know Why
| length8 = 4:18
| length8 = 4:18
| title9 = Extension 33
| title9 = Extension 33
| length9 = 2:45
| length9 = 2:45
| title10 = [[No, No, No (Yoko Ono song)|No, No, No]]
| title10 = [[No, No, No (Yoko Ono song)|No, No, No]]
| length10 = 2:43
| length10 = 2:43
| title11 = Will You Touch Me
| title11 = Will You Touch Me
| length11 = 2:37
| length11 = 2:37
| title12 = [[She Gets Down on Her Knees]]
| title12 = [[She Gets Down on Her Knees]]
| length12 = 4:13
| length12 = 4:13
| title13 = Toyboat
| title13 = Toyboat
| length13 = 3:31
| length13 = 3:31
| title14 = Mother of the Universe
| title14 = Mother of the Universe
| length14 = 4:26
| length14 = 4:26
}}
}}
{{Track listing
{{Track listing
⚫
| headline = UK bonus 7"<ref name="discogs.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4585674|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
| collapsed = yes
⚫
| headline = UK Bonus 7"<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4585674</ref>
| title1 = [[Walking on Thin Ice]]
| title1 = [[Walking on Thin Ice]]
| length1 = 6:00
| length1 = 6:00
Line 110: Line 114:
}}
}}
{{Track listing
{{Track listing
⚫
| headline = 1997 CD reissue bonus tracks<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3369318|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1997, CD)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
| collapsed = yes
⚫
| headline = 1997 CD Reissue bonus tracks<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3369318</ref>
| title15 = [[Walking on Thin Ice]]
| title15 = [[Walking on Thin Ice]]
| note15 = Extended version
| note15 = Extended version
Line 123: Line 126:
*Yoko Ono – vocals, cover photography, design
*Yoko Ono – vocals, cover photography, design
*[[John Lennon]] – guitar, keyboards
*[[John Lennon]] – guitar, keyboards
*[[Sean Lennon|Sean Ono Lennon]] – "A little story"
*[[Hugh McCracken]], [[Earl Slick]], Tony Davilio – guitar
*[[Hugh McCracken]] – guitar, Jew's harp on "Dogtown"
⚫
*[[George Small (musician)|George Small]], Tony Davilio – keyboards
*[[Tony Levin]], John Siegler – bass guitar
*[[Earl Slick]] – guitar
⚫
*[[George Small (musician)|George Small]] – keyboards
*[[Tony Levin]] – bass guitar
*John Siegler – bass guitar on "Mindweaver" and "Mother of the Universe"
*[[Andy Newmark]] – drums
*[[Andy Newmark]] – drums
*[[Arthur Jenkins (percussionist)|Arthur Jenkins]] – percussion
*[[Arthur Jenkins (musician)|Arthur Jenkins Jr.]] – percussion
*David Friedman – percussion, vibraphone
*David Friedman – percussion, vibraphone
*George "Young" Opalisky – soprano and alto saxophone
*George "Young" Opalisky – soprano and alto saxophone
Line 133: Line 139:
*[[Ronnie Cuber]] – baritone saxophone
*[[Ronnie Cuber]] – baritone saxophone
*[[Howard Johnson (jazz musician)|Howard Johnson]] – tuba
*[[Howard Johnson (jazz musician)|Howard Johnson]] – tuba
*Tony Davilio - conductor
*Tony Davilio – conductor, keyboards; guitar on "No, No, No" and "Toyboat"

;Technical
'''Technical'''
*Frederic Seaman, Jerry Caron – production assistant
*Ed Sprigg – engineer
*Ed Sprigg – engineer
*Christopher Whorf - artwork
*Christopher Whorf – artwork


==Charts==
==Charts==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for ''Season of Glass''
|-
!Chart (1981)
!scope="col"|Chart (1981)
!Peak<br>position
!scope="col"|Peak<br />position
!Total<br>weeks
!scope="col"|Total<br />weeks
|-
|-
|[[Kent Music Report|Australian Albums Chart]]<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|authorlink=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=223}}</ref>
!scope="row"|[[Kent Music Report|Australian Albums Chart]]<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=223}}</ref>
|align=center|62
|align=center|62
|align=center|5
|align=center|5
|-
|-
|[[VG-lista|Norwegian Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yoko+Ono&titel=Season+Of+Glass&cat=a |title=Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |work=[[Verdens Gang]] |publisher=Hung Medien |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
!scope="row"|[[VG-lista|Norwegian Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yoko+Ono&titel=Season+Of+Glass&cat=a |title=Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |work=[[Verdens Gang]] |publisher=Hung Medien |access-date=8 August 2011}}</ref>
|align=center|31
|align=center|31
|align=center|5
|align=center|5
|-
|-
|[[Sverigetopplistan|Swedish Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yoko+Ono&titel=Season+Of+Glass&cat=a |title=Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |publisher=[[Swedish Recording Industry Association]]. Hung Medien |accessdate=8 August 2011}}</ref>
!scope="row"|[[Sverigetopplistan|Swedish Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Yoko+Ono&titel=Season+Of+Glass&cat=a |title=Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |publisher=[[Swedish Recording Industry Association]]. Hung Medien |access-date=8 August 2011}}</ref>
|align=center|35
|align=center|35
|align=center|1
|align=center|1
|-
|-
|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/Season%20Of%20Glass |title=The Official Charts Company – Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |accessdate=8 August 2011 |df= }}</ref>
!scope="row"|[[UK Albums Chart]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/Season%20Of%20Glass |title=The Official Charts Company – Yoko Ono – Season of Glass |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=8 August 2011 }}</ref>
|align=center|47
|align=center|47
|align=center|2
|align=center|2
|-
|-
|U.S. ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' 200<ref>{{allmusic|class=album|id=r46036|tab=charts-awards}}</ref>
!scope="row"|US ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' 200<ref>{{allMusic|class=album|id=r46036|tab=charts-awards}}</ref>
|align=center|49
|align=center|49
|align=center|9
|align=center|9
Line 168: Line 176:
== Release history ==
== Release history ==
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Release history and formats for ''Season of Glass''
|-
!scope="col"|Country
!scope="col"|Country
!scope="col"|Date
!scope="col"|Date
Line 176: Line 184:
|-
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United Kingdom
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United Kingdom
|rowspan="4"|8 June 1981
|rowspan="2"|3 June 1981<ref name="Onobox"/>
|LP
|LP
|rowspan="8"|[[Geffen Records]]
|rowspan="8"|[[Geffen Records]]
|rowspan="2"|K 99164<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3007500</ref>
|rowspan="2"|K 99164<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3007500|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
|LP + 7"<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4585674</ref>
|LP + 7"<ref name="discogs.com">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4585674|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|Germany
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|Germany
|rowspan="2"|8 June 1981
|LP
|LP
|rowspan="2"|GEF 99 164<ref>http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/gef99164</ref>
|rowspan="2"|GEF 99 164<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/gef99164|title = Vinyl Album: Yoko Ono - Season of Glass (1981)}}</ref>
|-
|-
|Cassette<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/12090782</ref>
|Cassette<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/12090782|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Cassette)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United States
!scope="row" rowspan="2"|United States
|rowspan="2"|12 June 1981
|rowspan="2"|12 June 1981
|LP
|LP
|GHS-2004<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/468498</ref>
|GHS-2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/468498|title=Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website=[[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
|Cassette
|Cassette
|GEF M5 2004<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/2213054</ref>
|GEF M5 2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/2213054|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Cassette)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Japan
!scope="row"|Japan
|rowspan="2"|1981
|rowspan="2"|1981
|rowspan="2"|LP
|rowspan="2"|LP
|P-11045J<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/6342933</ref>
|P-11045J<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/6342933|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row"|Australia
!scope="row"|Australia
|GEF M5 2004<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4765469</ref>
|GEF M5 2004<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/4765469|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row"|United States
!scope="row"|United States
|10 June 1997<ref>http://www.mtv.com/news/509113/ready-or-not-yoko-ono-albums-to-be-reissued/</ref>
|10 June 1997<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/news/509113/ready-or-not-yoko-ono-albums-to-be-reissued/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218211908/http://www.mtv.com/news/509113/ready-or-not-yoko-ono-albums-to-be-reissued/|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 18, 2018|title=Ready or Not: Yoko Ono Albums to be Reissued|website=[[MTV]]}}</ref>
|rowspan="3"|CD
|rowspan="3"|CD
|rowspan="3"|[[Rykodisc]]
|rowspan="3"|[[Rykodisc]]
|rowspan="2"|RCD 10421<ref>https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3369318</ref>
|rowspan="2"|RCD 10421<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/Yoko-Ono-Season-Of-Glass/release/3369318|title = Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1997, CD)|website = [[Discogs]]}}</ref>
|-
|-
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
!scope="row"|United Kingdom
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{{Yoko Ono}}
{{Yoko Ono}}
{{Phil Spector}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Season Of Glass}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Season Of Glass}}
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[[Category:1981 albums]]
[[Category:1981 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Phil Spector]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Phil Spector]]
[[Category:albums produced by Yoko Ono]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Yoko Ono]]
[[Category:Geffen Records albums]]
[[Category:Geffen Records albums]]
[[Category:Rykodisc albums]]
[[Category:Rykodisc albums]]

Latest revision as of 06:31, 9 September 2024

Season of Glass
Studio album by
Yoko Ono
Released3 June 1981 (1981-06-03)[1]
Recorded1981
StudioThe Hit Factory, New York City
Genre
Length51:05
LabelGeffen
ProducerYoko Ono, Phil Spector
Yoko Ono chronology
Double Fantasy
(1980) 		Season of Glass
(1981) 		It's Alright (I See Rainbows)
(1982)
Singles from Season of Glass
  1. "No, No, No"
    Released: August 1981 (US)[1]
  2. "Goodbye Sadness"
    Released: October 1981 (US)[1]

Season of Glass is the fifth studio album by Yoko Ono, her first solo recording after the murder of her husband John Lennon. Season of Glass, released in 1981, reached number 49 on the US Billboard 200 albums chart, making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.

A music video was created for "Goodbye Sadness" featuring footage of Lennon and Ono together. The video was screened on the first episode of Saturday Night Live's seventh season.

Background

[edit]

The album was released less than six months after Lennon's death and deals with it directly in songs such as "Goodbye Sadness" and "I Don't Know Why". Lennon and Ono's son Sean Lennon features on "Even When You're Far Away", recounting a story his father used to tell him.

The front cover features Lennon's bloodstained glasses (worn on the day of his death) positioned next to a half-filled (or half empty) glass of water, with a view of Central Park in the background. The choice of album cover was considered controversial by the record company:

I used a photo I took of John's blood-stained glasses on the record cover. The record company called me and said the record shops would not stock the record unless I changed the cover. I didn't understand it. Why? They said it was in bad taste. I felt like a person soaked in blood coming into a living room full of people and reporting that my husband was dead, his body was taken away, and the pair of glasses were the only thing I had managed to salvage – and people looking at me saying it was in bad taste to show the glasses to them. "I'm not changing the cover. This is what John is now," I said.

— Yoko Ono, [2]

Reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Robert ChristgauA−[7]
Pitchfork7.7/10 (1999)[5]
8.8/10 (2023)[6]
Rolling Stone[4]

Season of Glass charted at number 49 on the Billboard 200, making it Ono's highest-charting solo album to date.[8]

Billboard magazine gave the album a positive review, describing the album as Ono's "reaffirmation in life", containing a sense that she will "brave the crisis".[9] Billboard also described the album as having "a minimum of quirks" and sounded more commercial than any of her previous albums.[9] The songs "I Don't Know Why", "Goodbye Sadness", "Turn of the Wheel" and "She Gets Down on Her Knees" were chosen as the best cuts from the album.[9]

Music journalist Robert Christgau stated that "damn near every song [on the album] is affecting".[7] He described the transition from the "retrospective irony" of "Extension 33" to the "cut-off vulnerability" of "No, No, No" as "positively gut-wrenching".[7]

In a review for the 1997 reissue, Ryan Schreiber of Pitchfork called the album "a landmark in musical history" that "[encapsulated] Yoko's sadness" as well as the sadness felt around the world by John Lennon's death.[5] He added that the album showcased Ono's "remarkable strength" and described the bonus demo recording of "I Don't Know Why" on the reissue as "harrowing".[5]

Pitchfork's Jayson Greene reviewed the album a second time in 2023, giving it a higher score of 8.8 compared to the website's original 7.7 score in their 1997 review.[6] Greene described the album as a "survivor's statement" and the song "I Don't Know Why" as "harrowing and plainspoken" and "Goodbye Sadness" as "heart-rending".[6] He noted that the songs "Goodbye Sadness", "Toyboat", "Silver Horse" and "Mother of the Universe" featured Ono singing "gorgeous, long-breathed melodies [...] while the music gently rocks and sways".[6] Greene stated that the songs on Season of Glass were "lullabies to hope, delivered with the beatific calm of a dying opera heroine's final aria".[6] He did however feel that the omission of "Walking on Thin Ice" was "like a glitch in the historical record" and should have had a place on the album.[6]

Pitchfork listed Season of Glass as one of the best 200 albums of the 1980s.[10]

Reissue

[edit]

The 1997 Rykodisc reissue added bonus tracks of the single "Walking on Thin Ice" and an a cappella demo of "I Don't Know Why", recorded the day after Lennon's death. Demos of Season of Glass songs recorded with Lennon in the 1970s were also released as bonus tracks with other Ono reissues, including acoustic versions of and "Dogtown" and "She Gets Down on Her Knees" on Approximately Infinite Universe, "Will You Touch Me" on Fly and "Extension 33" on A Story. The unreleased 1974 album A Story also contained several songs that were later re-recorded for Season of Glass, namely "Dogtown", "She Gets Down On Her Knees" and "Will You Touch Me". It was also released by Rykodisc in 1997.

Remixes

[edit]

Three songs from this recording were reworked by other artists on the remix tribute album Yes, I'm a Witch in 2007. Anohni reworked "Toyboat", The Apples in Stereo reworked "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" and Jason Pierce from Spiritualized reworked "Walking on Thin Ice".[citation needed]

[edit]

Holly Miranda covered "Nobody Sees Me Like You Do" as a B-side to her single "Forest Green, Oh Forest Green" and on her EP Choose to See, which was included with the purchase of her 2010 album The Magician's Private Library.[11]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Yoko Ono

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Goodbye Sadness"3:48
2."Mindweaver"4:24
3."Even When You're Far Away"4:12
4."Nobody Sees Me Like You Do"3:31
5."Turn of the Wheel"2:41
6."Dogtown"3:22
7."Silver Horse"3:03
Side two
No.TitleLength
8."I Don't Know Why"4:18
9."Extension 33"2:45
10."No, No, No"2:43
11."Will You Touch Me"2:37
12."She Gets Down on Her Knees"4:13
13."Toyboat"3:31
14."Mother of the Universe"4:26
UK bonus 7"[12]
No.TitleLength
1."Walking on Thin Ice"6:00
2."It Happened" (Remixed Version)5:08
1997 CD reissue bonus tracks[13]
No.TitleLength
15."Walking on Thin Ice" (Extended version)6:55
16."I Don't Know Why" (Demo)2:11

Personnel

[edit]

Technical

  • Frederic Seaman, Jerry Caron – production assistant
  • Ed Sprigg – engineer
  • Christopher Whorf – artwork

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Season of Glass
Chart (1981) Peak
position 		Total
weeks
Australian Albums Chart[14] 62 5
Norwegian Albums Chart[15] 31 5
Swedish Albums Chart[16] 35 1
UK Albums Chart[17] 47 2
US Billboard 200[18] 49 9

Release history

[edit]
Release history and formats for Season of Glass
Country Date Format Label Catalog
United Kingdom 3 June 1981[1] LP Geffen Records K 99164[19]
LP + 7"[12]
Germany 8 June 1981 LP GEF 99 164[20]
Cassette[21]
United States 12 June 1981 LP GHS-2004[22]
Cassette GEF M5 2004[23]
Japan 1981 LP P-11045J[24]
Australia GEF M5 2004[25]
United States 10 June 1997[26] CD Rykodisc RCD 10421[13]
United Kingdom 1997
Japan

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Onobox (liner notes). Yoko Ono. Rykodisc. 1992. RCD 10224/29.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ "ONOBOX by Yoko Ono". 23 April 2009.
  3. ^ Season of Glass at AllMusic
  4. ^ "Rolling Stone Music | Album Reviews". Rollingstone.com. 2011-11-01. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Yoko Ono: Season of Glass". Archived from the original on 5 June 2003. Retrieved 2012-05-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  6. ^ a b c d e f Greene, Jayson (19 February 2023). "Yoko Ono: Season of Glass Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
  7. ^ a b c "CG: Yoko Ono". Robert Christgau. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
  8. ^ "Yoko Ono awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
  9. ^ a b c "Billboard's Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. June 20, 1981. p. 76.
  10. ^ "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s". pitchfork.com. 2018-09-10. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
  11. ^ "Holly Miranda - Choose To See EP (CD) at Discogs". Discogs. Zink Media, Inc. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  12. ^ a b "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  13. ^ a b "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1997, CD)". Discogs.
  14. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 223. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  15. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass". Verdens Gang. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  16. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass". Swedish Recording Industry Association. Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  17. ^ "The Official Charts Company – Yoko Ono – Season of Glass". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 August 2011.
  18. ^ Season of Glass at AllMusic
  19. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  20. ^ "Vinyl Album: Yoko Ono - Season of Glass (1981)".
  21. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Cassette)". Discogs.
  22. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  23. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Cassette)". Discogs.
  24. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  25. ^ "Yoko Ono – Season of Glass (1981, Vinyl)". Discogs.
  26. ^ "Ready or Not: Yoko Ono Albums to be Reissued". MTV. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018.
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