Approximately Infinite Universe

"What a Mess" redirects here. For the series of children's books, see What-a-Mess.

Approximately Infinite Universe is the third solo album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. A double album, it represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her first two albums towards a more conventional pop/rock sound, while also dabbling in feminist rock. It peaked at number 193 in the United States.

Approximately Infinite Universe
Studio album by Yoko Ono
Released	8 January 1973 (1973-01-08)
Recorded	Mid-October–late November 1972
Studio	The Record Plant and Butterfly, New York City
Length	87:17
Label	Apple
Producer	John Lennon, Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono chronology
Some Time in New York City (1972) Approximately Infinite Universe (1973) Feeling the Space (1973)
Singles from Approximately Infinite Universe
"Now or Never" / "Move on Fast" Released: 13 November 1972 (US) "Death of Samantha" / "Yang Yang" Released: 26 February 1973 (US); 4 May 1973 (UK)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Pitchfork	8.2/10[2]
Record Collector	[3]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[4]

Background

The album was recorded at The Record Plant in New York City, except for the basic tracks for "Catman" and "Winter Song", which were taped at Butterfly Studios. Ono produced the album with John Lennon, whose participation marked a rare music-related activity for him after the failure of the couple's politically themed 1972 double album Some Time in New York City. Lennon also sang the final verse of the song, "I Want My Love to Rest Tonight". As on the latter album, Ono used the New York band Elephant's Memory as her backing musicians. Mick Jagger dropped into the studio for some of the sessions. He recalled playing guitar very loudly with Lennon. Jagger also said that Ono "was really trying to sing properly. She's not screaming, she's really trying to sing."^[5]

The inside gatefold sleeve contained Ono's essay "The Feminization of Society". An abridged version of this essay was previously published in The New York Times in February 1972. The full essay was published in Sundance Magazine in May 1972.

Track listing

All songs written by Yoko Ono.

Original release

Side one

1. "Yang Yang" – 3:52
2. "Death of Samantha" – 6:23
3. "I Want My Love to Rest Tonight" – 5:11
4. "What Did I Do!" – 4:11
5. "Have You Seen a Horizon Lately?" – 1:55

Side two

6. "Approximately Infinite Universe" – 3:19
7. "Peter the Dealer" – 4:43
8. "Song for John" – 2:02
9. "Catman (The Rosies Are Coming)" – 5:29
10. "What a Bastard the World Is" – 4:33
11. "Waiting for the Sunrise" – 2:32

Side three

1. "I Felt Like Smashing My Face in a Clear Glass Window" – 4:09
2. "Winter Song" – 3:37
3. "Kite Song" – 3:19
4. "What a Mess" – 2:41
5. "Shiranakatta (I Didn't Know)" – 3:13
6. "Air Talk" – 3:21

Side four

7. "I Have a Woman Inside My Soul" – 5:31
8. "Move on Fast" – 3:40
9. "Now or Never" – 4:57
10. "Is Winter Here to Stay?" – 4:27
11. "Looking Over from My Hotel Window" – 3:30

CD reissue

Tracks 1–22 per sides one to four of the original album, with the following bonus tracks on disc two:

12. "Dogtown" (acoustic demo) – 2:51
13. "She Gets Down on Her Knees" (acoustic demo) – 2:45

• "She Gets Down on Her Knees" (acoustic demo) is not present on the 2017 reissue

Personnel

• Yoko Ono – vocals, piano on "Looking Over from My Hotel Window" and "She Gets Down on Her Knees", arrangements
• Joel Nohnn (pseudonym of John Lennon) – guitar, backing vocals
• Stan Bronstein – saxophone, flute, clarinet
• Rick Frank – drums, percussion
• Daria Price – castanets
• Gary Van Scyoc – bass guitar, trumpet
• Adam Ippolito – piano, Hammond organ, harmonium, trumpet
• Wayne "Tex" Gabriel – guitar
• Mick Jagger – guitar on "Is Winter Here to Stay?"

Production credits

• Produced by Yoko Ono and John Lennon
• Arrangement – Yoko Ono
• String orchestration – Ron Frangipane
• Chief engineer – Jack Douglas
• Assistant engineer – Danny Turbeville
• Butterfly Studio engineer – Kurt Munkacsi
• Re-release produced by Yoko Ono and Rob Stevens (1997)
• Remastered by George Marino and Rob Stevens, Sterling Sound, New York City (1997)
• Bettina Rossner, John Lennon, Yoko Ono – artwork
• Bob Gruen, Iain MacMillan – photography

In popular culture

The post-punk rock band Death of Samantha, founded in 1983, named themselves after the song of that name on this album.^[6]

Charts

Chart (1973)	Peak position	Total weeks
U.S. Billboard 200	193	4

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Catalog
United States	8 January 1973	2xLP	Apple Records	SVBB 3399
		2x8-Track		8VV 3399
United Kingdom	16 February 1973	2xLP		SAPDO 1001[7]
Japan	1973			EAP-93087B
France				2C162-94221/2[8]
United States	10 June 1997[9]	2xCD	Rykodisc	RCD 10417/18
United Kingdom	22 June 1997[10]
Japan	1997			VACK-5373/4
	24 January 2007		Rykodisc, Apple Records	VACK-1310[11]
United States & Europe	14 July 2017	2xLP	Secretly Canadian, Chimera Music	SC283/CHIM22
		2xLP (White)
		2xCD
Japan	2 August 2017	2xCD	Sony Records International	SICX-86[12]
	9 August 2017	2xLP (White)		SIJP-51[13]