Between My Head and the Sky

Between My Head and the Sky is an album by Yoko Ono's band Plastic Ono Band released on Chimera Music in September 2009. It is her first studio album to be released as "Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band" since 1973's Feeling the Space. This Plastic Ono Band lineup featured Cornelius, Yuka Honda (of Cibo Matto fame), and Ono's son Sean Lennon as band leader and producer.

Between My Head and the Sky
Studio album by Plastic Ono Band
Released	21 September 2009 (2009-09-21)[1]
Genre	Art rock experimental rock avant-pop[2]
Length	58:32
Label	Chimera Music
Producer	Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon
Plastic Ono Band chronology
Don't Stop Me! EP (2009) Between My Head and the Sky (2009) Onomix (2012)

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	83/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
The A.V. Club	B+[5]
Mojo	[6]
The Observer	[7]
Pitchfork	7.3/10[8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	[2]
The Telegraph	[11]
Uncut	[12]

New Internationalist magazine described the album as "fresh and challenging as any of her early work" and having "a commitment to spontaneity".^[13]

Track listing

All songs written by Yoko Ono.

1. "Waiting for the D Train" – 2:46
2. "The Sun Is Down!" (Cornelius Mix) – 4:49
3. "Ask the Elephant!" – 2:57
4. "Memory of Footsteps" – 3:30
5. "Moving Mountains" – 3:00
6. "Calling" – 4:19
7. "Healing" – 4:25
8. "Hashire, Hashire" – 3:35
9. "Between My Head and the Sky" – 5:33
10. "Feel the Sand" – 6:02
11. "Watching the Rain" – 5:30
12. "Unun. To" – 3:16
13. "I'm Going Away Smiling" – 2:53
14. "Higa Noboru" – 5:44
15. "I'm Alive" – 0:22

Japanese bonus track

16. "Hanako" – 1:54

Japanese iTunes bonus video^[14]

17. "Why" (Live at Royal Festival Hall, London 2009) – 5:08

Note

Digital and streaming editions of the album omit the last two tracks, instead ending the album with the track "I'm Going Away Smiling".^{[15][16][17][18]}

Personnel

• Yoko Ono – vocals
• Sean Lennon – acoustic and electric guitars, piano, keyboards, bass guitar, drums, percussion
• Keigo Oyamada – guitars, bass guitar, Tenorion, programming, percussion
• Hirotaka Shimizu – guitars, percussion
• Yuko Araki – drums, percussion
• Shahzad Ismaily – guitars, bass guitar, drums, percussion
• Yuka Honda – Pro-tools editing, sampler, e. piano, organ, percussion
• Michael Leonhart – trumpet, vibraphone, percussion
• Erik Friedlander – cello
• Daniel Carter – tenor saxophone, flute
• Indigo Street – guitar

Technical

• Chief Engineer: Christopher Allen
• Assistant Engineer: Dave Schoenwetter
• Recorded & Mixed at Sear Sound
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound
• Mixer of "Waiting for the D Train": Joel Hamilton
• Cover and booklet design: Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl
• Photographs: Greg Kadel

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Catalog
Japan	16 September 2009	CD	Chimera Music	PVCP-8259[19]
	22 September 2009	2xLP		616892049760[20]
United States	21 September 2009	CD		616892056362[21]
	22 September 2009	2xLP		CHIM01LP[22]