Hell In Paradise

	Hell In Paradise
	Produced by Bill Laswell and Yoko Ono
	Released on 1985
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
883 455-1 cover [high resolution scan]

K RONOMYTH 12.1: MIXED, DUB HELLS. Bill Laswell’s groundbreaking work with Herbie Hancock (Future Shock, Sound-System) helped launch a remix revolution. Sly & Robbie did the same for the dub. Yoko Ono enlisted the help of both in re-launching her solo career with Starpeace. After two very personal and sometimes painful albums, Yoko had moved past her mourning to issue a warning for a country bent on self-destruction. The album is an open reference to the Strategic Defense Initiative (soon called “Star Wars”), which among other things suggested putting nuclear-armed satellites in space to protect the United States (and imperil the rest of the world). Admittedly, Yoko’s music is probably better suited to flushing out Panamanian dictators from their palatial strongholds than turning the tides of nuclear proliferation, but it was nice to have her back in the role of political and musical activist. Fortunately, SDI fizzled without her, since Starpeace and its opening salvo, “Hell In Paradise,” proved to be a commercial dud. Those who did tune in to “Hell In Paradise” heard what sounded like a Serious Art of Noise, with cutting-edge production and strong rhythmic sensibilities (especially in the Dub version). A video featuring Ono and four actors of varying stature further supported the Art of Noise comparisons. I think the message and the music are right on target, but what do I know? The world apparently had little use for Yoko’s vocals, and so we lost a vital musical and political voice for an entire decade (“penalized by apathy” indeed).

TRACK LISTING

7-inch promo listing

HELL IN PARADISE (SINGLE VERSION)

12-inch single listing
HELL IN PARADISE (CLUB VERSION) (Yoko Ono) 6:52
HELL IN PARADISE (DUB VERSION) (Yoko Ono) 8:25
HELL IN PARADISE (SINGLE VERSION) (Yoko Ono) 3:34

CREDITS

YOKO ONO -- solo vocals
JEFF BOVA -- keyboards
SLY DUNBAR -- Simmons drums, Syn drums, percussion
ANTON FIER -- percussion
BERNARD FOWLER -- background vocals
NONA HENDRYX -- background vocals
EDDIE MARTINEZ -- electric guitar
DANIEL PONCE -- percussion
ROBBIE SHAKESPEARE -- bass
SHANKAR -- violin
BERNIE WORRELL -- keyboards
Rob Stevens -- engineer
John Luongo -- mixing
Gary Hellman -- mixing engineer

REGION	RELEASE DATE	LABEL	MEDIA	ID NUMBER	FEATURES
US	1985	Polydor	7PRO	883 455	picture sleeve, feat. A only
US/AUSL	1985	Polydor	12	883 455-1

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