In celebration of Yoko Ono’s 93rd birthday and the 45th anniversary of her most commercially successful solo work, Secretly Canadian has announced a comprehensive reissue of the seminal 1981 album, Season of Glass. Scheduled for release in summer 2026, the album will be available in expanded CD and digital formats, and—for the first time this century—on black and limited-edition white vinyl.
Originally released in June 1981, just seven months after the tragic murder of John Lennon, Season of Glass stands as a harrowing yet beautiful document of grief, rage, and resilience. Often viewed as a companion piece to the 1970 "primal scream" albums of the Plastic Ono Band, it captures Ono’s raw emotional state in the immediate wake of her loss. "It was like a primal scream in a way," Ono reflected. "It was therapeutic for me more than anything else."
The album is perhaps most famous for its provocative cover art: a photograph of Lennon’s blood-stained glasses resting on a table overlooking Central Park. Despite immense pressure from record executives to change the image, Ono remained steadfast. "I’m not changing the cover," she insisted. "This is what John is now." The image served as a stark reminder to the world of the reality of the violence that had occurred.
Musically, the album features the same band that performed on Double Fantasy, lending a sophisticated pop-rock sheen to Ono’s vulnerable, cracking vocals. The reissue includes the hit single "Walking on Thin Ice," the experimental dance track Ono and Lennon were perfecting on the night of his death. Critics at the time, including those from Rolling Stone and The Village Voice, hailed the work as "monumental" and "achingly affective."
Decades later, Season of Glass remains a definitive artistic statement on the nature of loss. While the album provided a creative outlet for Ono's survival, she famously noted that it was not a tool for "healing," but rather a permanent diary of a wound that stays. With enhanced artwork and bonus demo tracks, this 45th-anniversary edition ensures that Ono’s most personal "transmission" continues to resonate with a new generation.
