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Laurie Anderson: Home of the Brave

 A l b u m   D e t a i l s

Artist: Laurie Anderson
Title: Home of the Brave
Released: 1986
Label: Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Time: 34:49
Producer(s): Roma Baran, Laurie Anderson
Appears with:
Category: Pop/Rock
Rating: *********. (9/10)
Media type: CD
Purchase date:  1999.11.06
Price in €: 7,27
Web address: www.laurieanderson.com

 S o n g s ,   T r a c k s


[1] Smoke Rings (Laurie Anderson) - 7:00
[2] White Lily (Laurie Anderson) - 1:16
[3] Late Show (Laurie Anderson) - 4:30
[4] Talk Normal (Laurie Anderson) - 5:27
[5] Language Is a Virus (Laurie Anderson) - 4:10
[6] Radar (Laurie Anderson) - 2:01
[7] Sharkey's Night (Laurie Anderson) - 6:16
[8] Credit Racket (Laurie Anderson) - 3:28

 A r t i s t s ,   P e r s o n n e l


LAURIE ANDERSON - Keyboards, Synthesizer, Violin, Vocals, Sound Effects, Synclavier

ADRIAN BELEW - Guitar
BILL LASWELL - Bass, Producer
BRENDA WHITE-KING - Backing Vocals
CURTIS KING - Backing Vocals
DANIEL PONCE - Percussion
DAVID VAN TIEGHEM - Percussion, Drums
DIANE GARISTO - Backing Vocals
DOLETTE MACDONALD - Vocals
FRANK SIMMS - Backing Vocals
ISIDRO BOBADILLO - Percussion
JANICE PENDARVIS - Vocals
JIMMY BRALOWER - Drums
JOY ASKEW - Keyboards, Vocals, Moog Synthesizer
KEVIN JONES - Synclavier Programming
NILE RODGERS - Synthesizer, Guitar, Keyboards, Sound Effects, Synclavier
RICHARD LANDRY - Clarinet, Saxophone
ROBERT ARRON - Saxophone
ROBERT SABINO - Keyboards
TAWATHA AGEE - Backing Vocals

BILL MARINO - Post Production
BOB LUDWIG - Mastering
KNUT BOHN - Sound Effects, Second Engineer
JAMES FARBER - Engineer, Mixing
LAURA FRIED - Assistant Producer
KEN HAHN - Post Production
P. DENNIS MITCHELL - Remix Assistant
PHIL BURNETT - Remix Assistant
LEANNE UNGAR - Engineer
TOM DURACK - Sound Effects
WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS - Sampling

 C o m m e n t s ,   N o t e s


The soundtrack to Anderson's film, containing both older songs, such as "Sharkey's Night," and new material, notably "Language Is A Virus." It suffers by being shortened for album length and missing the visual element, but is still enjoyable.

William Ruhlmann, All-Music Guide



"'Home of the Brave' remakes the Sharkey songs and features some attractive guitar work by Adrian Belew."

ROLLING STONE ALBUM GUIDE ***



Home Of The Brave acts as a document of Laurie Anderson's recent touring, a digital recording from the soundtrack to the soon-to-be-released performance film of the same name. It's initially disappointing to hear more live material from an artist who's released only two studio LPs and, most recently, a five-album live set, but for a performance artist live is the medium, and the recordings a marketable adjunct to the show. Immaculate sounding and beautifully played, these tracks avoid Anderson's comic side, concentrating on the more "artistic" one. "Language Is A Virus" (from United States) is produced for this version by Nile Rodgers, who gives Anderson's voice a rhythmic quality that plays nicely against the background singers. The rest, handled by Roma Baran and Anderson, has the sharper feel that's more familiar; "Radar," "Smoke Rings" and "Talk Normal" (with great Adrian Belew guitar) all deserve special attention.

CMJ New Music Report



Laurie Swings

OK, maybe the soundtrack for Home of the Brave isn't the earth-shaking artistic statement that the movie was (if you haven't seen it, shame!). Nevertheless, it's Laurie's most accessible album to date; if it isn't the most shimmeringly beautiful, it's certainly the easiest to dance to. Smoke Rings is seven solid minutes of smart fun. Talk Normal is a dead-on parody of the intellectual type that infests our large cities. Sharkey's Night is the best song ever written about the Bomb, and Credit Racket is just flat out stomping. Yeah, Adrian Belew is amazing on guitar in his numbers, but nobody's mentioned David Van Tieghem's drumming - outstanding. This is the perfect introduction to Ms. Anderson's work. Grab it.

njcascone from Valley Village, CA USA, October 24, 2000



Return of the Artful Iconoclast

Working as a soundtrack to the concert film of the same name, "Home of the Brave" is the culmination of the "United States" box set and her two previous releases, "Big Science" (which was in itself an extension of "United States") and "Mr. Heartbreak". Though most of the music is new, the recurring theme of America Through the Looking Class has begun to grow tiresome, and with the definite exception of two absolutely astounding songs, the intellectual and creative spark seems to have been snuffed out. For "Home of the Brave", Anderson has retained most of the stellar musicians from her previous recording and, much like "Mr. Heartbreak", these individuals are faithful to both the artist and her vision. However, the droning "Late Show", the ludicrous "Talk Normal", the instantly irritating "Radar" and the vastly inferior version of "Sharkey's Night" all seem to waste the exceptionally talented players involved. This CD would be if not forgettable, unbearable, were it not for two absolutely stunning songs that showcase all of Anderson's strengths as a musican and songwriter. The first and lead track, "Smoke Rings", reads like a stream-of-consciousness term paper concerning levels of lust and obsession; the song's structure is comprised of several unrelated verses held together by a repeated chorus and in its entirety, blends world music, synth and do-wop into a wonderfully diverse whole. Track Five, "Language Is A Virus", takes its title from a piece by William S. Burroughs, entitled "Language is a Virus from Outer Space". Though its structure is similar to "Smoke Rings", it is undeniably catchy and smart in ways most music isn't nowadays. "Home of the Brave" is not an essential work by Anderson (for that, refer to her later release, "Strange Angels"), and yet it does have its moments. Personal Favorites: The only two songs worth buying this CD are "Smoke Rings" and "Language Is A Virus". Representative Lyrics: "Paradise/ Is exactly like/ Where you are right now/ Only much much better" ("Language Is A Virus"); "Ah desire!/ First it's red and then it's blue/ And every time I see an iceberg/ It reminds me of you" ("Smoke Rings")

southwestreview from El Paso, TX, April 14, 2000



Soundtrack? Uhhh...

This purports to be the 'soundtrack' from Laurie Anderson's "Home of the Brave". I somehow don't think so. Some versions of pieces on here, while they are part of the film of the same name, are in very different versions and arrangements than in the film. And there's a LOT of material that's absent here, most notably the "zero and one" thematic structure that's critical to the whole of that work. This release seems much better-described as 'hits from "Home of the Brave"' than the soundtrack; those doubting this are urged strongly to get a copy of the film and see for yourselves! This is a poor representation of what is, in fact, an amazing performance work that does exist in a visually _and_ aurally-recorded form...thankfully.

DAC Crowell from Champaign, IL, USA, April 10, 2000
 

 L y r i c s


Smoke Rings

Standby.  You're on the air.
Buenos noches Senores y Senoras.  Bienvenidos.
La primera pregunta es: Que es mas macho,
pineapple o knife?
Well, let's see.  My guess is that a pineapple is more
macho than a knife.  Si!  Correcto!
Pineapple es mas macho que knife.
La segunda pregunta es: Que es mas macho,
lightbulb o schoolbus?
Uh, lightbulb?
No!  Lo siento, Schoolbus es mas macho que lightbulb.
Gracias.  And we'll be back in un momento.

Well I had a dream and in it
I went to a little town
And all the girls in town were named
Betty.
And they were singing:
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo.

Ah desire!  It's cold as ice
And then it's hot as fire.
Ah desire!  First it's red
And then it's blue.
And everytime I see an iceberg
It reminds me of you.
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Que es mas macho iceberg or volcano?

Get the blanket from the bedroom
We can go walking once again.
Down in the bayou
Where our sweet love first began.

I'm thinking back to when I was a child -
Way back to when I was a tot.
When I was an embryo -
A tiny speck.  Just a dot.
When I was a Hershey bar -
In my father's back pocket.

Hey look!  Over there!  It's Frank Sinatra
Sitting in a chair.  And he's blowing
Perfect smoke rings
Up into the air.  And he's singing:
Smoke makes a staircase for you
To descend.  So rare.

Ah desire!
Ah desire!
Ah desire!  So random So rare
And everytime I see those smoke rings
I think you're there.
Que es mas macho staircase o smoke rings?


Get the blanket from the bedroom
We can go walking once again.
Down in the boondocks
Where our sweet love first began.

Ooo I'm gonna follow you.
Out in the swamps and into town.
Down under the boardwalk
Track you down.

Doo doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo.
Doo doo doo doo doo.


White Lily

What Fassbinder film is it?  The one-armed
Man walks into a flower shop and says:
What flower expresses
Days go by
And they just keep going by endlessly
Pulling you
Into the future.
Days go by
Endlessly
Endlessly pulling you
Into the future.
And the florist says:
White Lily.


Late Show

L-L-L
L-L-Listen
Listen T-
L-L-
Listen to my hearbeat.


Talk Normal

I don't know about your dreams
But mine are sort of hackneyed.
Same thing, night after night.
Just...repetitive.
And the color is really bad -
And the themes are just infantile.
And you always get what you want -
And that's just not the way life is.

First National Bank?  I love it!
            New Hat?  Forget it!
          Moby Dick?  Never read it!

I came home today
And both our cars were gone.
And there were all these new pink
Flamingoes arranged in star patterns
All over the lawn.
Then I went into the kitchen
And it looked like a tornado had hit.
And then I realized I was in the wrong
House.

Last night I had that dream again.
I dreamed I had to take a test
In a Dairy Queen on another planet.
And then I looked around
And there was this woman.
And she was making it all up.
She was writing it all down.

And she was laughing.
She was laughing her head off.
And I said: Hey!
Give me that pen!

I turned the corner in Soho today and someone
Looked right at me and said: Oh No!
Another Laurie Anderson clone!
And I said: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!
Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!
Look at me! Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!


Language is a Virus

Paradise
Is exactly like
Where you are right now
Only much much
Better.

I saw this guy on the train
And he seemed to gave gotten stuck
In one of those abstract trances.
And he was going: "Ugh...Ugh...Ugh..."

And Fred said:
"I think he's in some kind of pain.
I think it's a pain cry."
And I said: "Pain cry?
Then language is a virus."

Language!  It's a virus!
Language!  It's a virus!

Well I was talking to a friend
And I was saying:
I wanted you.
And I was looking for you.
But I couldn't find you.  I couldn't find you.
And he said: Hey!
Are you talking to me?
Or are you just practicing
For one of those performances of yours?
Huh?

Language!  It's a virus!
Language!  It's a virus!

He said: I had to write that letter to your mother.
And I had to tell the judge that it was you.
And I had to sell the car and go to Florida.
Because that's just my way of saying                 (It's a charm.)
That I love you.  And I                              (It's a job.)
Had to call you at the crack of dawn                 (Why?)
And list the times that I've been wrong.
Cause that's just my way of saying
That I'm sorry.                                      (It's a job.)

Language!  It's a virus!
Language!  It's a virus!

Paradise
Is exactly like
Where you are right now
Only much much                                       (It's a shipwreck,)
Better.                                              (It's a job.)

You know?  I don't believe there's such
a thing as TV.  I mean -
They just keep showing you
The same pictures over and over.
And when they talk they just make sounds
That more or less synch up
With their lips.
That's what I think!

Language!  It's a virus!
Language!  It's a virus!
Language!  It's a virus!

Well I dreamed there was an island
That rose up from the sea.
And everybody on the island
Was somebody from TV.
And there was a beautiful view
But nobody could see.
Cause everybody on the island
Was saying: Look at me! Look at me!
            Look at me! Look at me!

Because they all lived on an island
That rose up from the sea.
And everybody on the island
Was somebody from TV.
And there was a beautiful view
But nobody could see.
Cause everybody on the island
Was saying: Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!
            Look at me! Look at me! Why?

Paradise is exactly like
Where you are right now
Only much much better.


Radar

(Instrumental)


Sharkey's Night

Sun's going down
Like a big bald head
Disappearing behind the boulevard.

It's Sharkey's night.
It's Sharkey's night tonight.

And the manager says:
Sharkey?  He's not at his desk right now
Could I take a message?

Hey Kemosabe!
Long time no see
Hey Sport -
You connect the dots!
You pick up the pieces!

Well I drove down to Big D.C.
And I walked into Room 1003
And there they were
The Big Boys.
And they were talking
Big    B
Little O
Little M
Silent B
They were saying:
Let's teach those robots how to play hardball.
Let's teach those little fellas a little gratitude.

Hey!
What's that big noise from the sky?
Sounds like thunder -
Nope.
Sounds like the Fourth of July -
Nope...Wrong again.
You know?  It's just those angels walking
They're clomping around again
Wearing those big clumsy shoes
We got for them.

Well deep
In the heart
Of darkest America
Home of the Brave

Well HA
     HA
     HA
You've already paid
For this
Listen to my heart
Beat.


Credit Racket

(Instrumental)

 M P 3   S a m p l e s


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