Rising is a 1995 album by avant-garde artist Yoko Ono. Released on 7 November by Capitol Records, it features the backing band IMA (Japanese for "Now"), which included Ono's son Sean Ono Lennon, Timo Ellis, and Sam Koppelman. It was her first album of new material since 1985's Starpeace. The album has sold 11,000 copies in the U.S. to date.[1]
The British newspaper The Guardian named the album "Pop CD of the week" in January 1996.[4] In their review, the album was described as an "unexpected minor triumph".[4] The reviewer, Dan Glaister, further noted that "underlying all the hurt and anger" was also "an overwhelming honesty and humanity" and that the album "succeeds in imparting enormous positivity".[4] Glaister singled out the track "Kurushi" as a "haunting, gentle call to a loved one" and described "Goodbye, My Love" as a "mournful, jolly little ballad a la McCartney".[4]
Bruce Hainley of art magazine Artforum International wrote that the album "affirms her amazing talents as a musician" and described it as "an uncompromising blend of Conceptual art and rock 'n' roll" with Yoko using a "wide range of vocals [...] from the aggressive to the sultry to fusion".[3] He also felt that it was "hard to imagine a better place to start for those unfamiliar with her work".[3] Hainley also praised the remix album Rising Mixes, which "[showed] the continuing reach of Ono's influence on rock since the '70s".[3] He described the bonus song "Franklin Summer" as "hypnotic".[3]
