JOSH ABBEY - Engineer, Mixing
TOM SIZE - Engineer
MIKE KROWIAK - Engineer
JAMES FARBER - Engineer
SCOTT ANSELL - Engineer
MALCOLM POLLACK - Engineer
JEFF LIPPAY - Engineer
FRANCIS MANZELLA - Engineer
ROGER MOUTENOT - Engineer
DOMINICK MAITA - Engineer
SCOTT HULL - Digital Editing
NEIL DORFSMAN - Mixing
BOB CLEARMOUNTAIN - Mixing
JAY HEALY - Mixing
BOB LUDWIG - Mastering
ROBERT DERBY - Assistant Engineer
PAUL ANGELLI - Assistant Engineer
GEORGE COWAN - Assistant Engineer
OZ FRITZ - Assistant Engineer
VALERIE GHENT - Assistant Engineer
KATHERINE MILLER - Assistant Engineer
CHRIS SAVINO - Assistant Engineer
DAVID SCHIFFMAN - Assistant Engineer
ADAM YELLIN - Assistant Engineer
JIM GOATLEY - Assistant Engineer
JOHN HERMAN - Assistant Engineer
ED KORENGO - Assistant Engineer
CHRIS LAIDLAW - Assistant Engineer
PATRICK DILLET - Assistant Engineer
EUGENE NASTASI - Assistant Engineer
ALAN FEIERSTEIN - Assistant Engineer
SCOTT GOOTMAN - Assistant Engineer
DIMITRI JAKIMOWICZ - Assistant Engineer
JOHN TUMMINIA - Assistant Engineer
JIM PETRIE - Assistant Engineer
ANTHONY STUART - Assistant Engineer
ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE - Photography
1989 CD Warner Brothers WB25900-2
1989 CS Warner Brothers 4-25900
1989 CD Warner Brothers 25900-1
1989 CD Warner Brothers 9259002
1989 LP Warner Brothers 25900
Purists may disagree, but I think Strange Angels is Anderson's most
stunning work. It may be due to its nearly giddy selection of pop songs
(including the supremely ecstatic "Babydoll"), but here Anderson sounds
supremely confident — as a pop singer/songwriter. Rather than
weighing down her songs with avant-gardisms, Strange Angels positively
luxuriates in this conflation of the avant-garde and the popular.
Hence, there is a relentless joyfulness that imbues this record, but
never sacrifices intelligence one iota. A brilliantly conceived record,
Strange Angels offers the best of both worlds to the benighted and
aficionados.
John Dougan, All-Music Guide
Long revered in trendy circles as a patron saint of performance art, an
often overlooked fact is that Laurie Anderson is a musician, and
although her records are often soundtracks for larger works, her
records are always presented as records. This is her first release in
nearly three years, and it's her most musical work to date; for
starters, on many of the tracks she's actually singing, and while many
of the songs are in her traditional talk-singing style, there's a hell
of a lot here that she's never done before. "Monkey's Paw" and
"Babydoll" incorporate world styles in a way reminiscent of David
Byrne's last couple of records, and "Ramon," "My Eyes" and "Hiawatha"
are softer, more ambient pieces-the latter contains references to
everything from Longfellow to Chuck Berry to Hendrix to Captain
Midnight! (And Laurie's sense of humor is in full effect: "Hansel and
Gretel are alive and well/And they're living in Berlin/She's a cocktail
waitress/He had a part in a Fassbinder film.") The pristine production
creates soundscapes that you can practically see, and if your respect
as a musician is determined by who plays on your records, Bobby
McFerrin, the Roches, Arto Lindsay, Chris Spedding, Tony Levin, Steve
Gadd, Nana Vasconcelos and Anton Fier lend plenty of credence. Strange
Angels is an impressively diverse and exotic record that gets better
and reveals more with each listen.
CMJ New Music Report Issue: 182 - Nov 03, 1989
Die US-Künstlerin ist ein seltsamer Engel. Sie kann fast himmlisch
singen, verwirrt aber gerne, etwa im Titelsong mit einem Hauch
Seemannsromantik. So- bald sich im Fluß der Rhythmen
Gewöhnung einstellen könnte, kommt garantiert der
nächste Stolperstein - verfremdete Stimmen, Synthetik-Effekte, das
Team- work mit Bobby McFerrin, der potentielle Latino-Hit Baby Doll.
Stets reiz- voll.
Mit ihrem Debütalbum "Big Science" lieferte Laurie Anderson 1981
zugleich auch ihr avantgardistisches Meisterwerk ab. Seither
rückte sie konsequent mit jeder weiteren Platte ein Stückchen
mehr von ihrer ursprünglich intellektuell-abgehobenen Linie ab.
Mit dem fünften Album "Strange Angels" hat die New Yorker
Multimedia-Künstlerin inzwischen fast die Schwelle des rein
kommerziellen Pop erreicht. Aber eben nur fast. Denn die Dame hält
sich nach wie vor genügend Raum frei für ihre manchmal
skurrilen Elektronikphantastereien - nur stehen die nicht mehr so sehr
im Vordergrund. Die perkussive Rhythmik hat mittlerweile auch an
Experimentierfreude eingebüßt. Dafür ist Laurie
Andersons Musik abwechslungsreicher und sogar tanzbar geworden. Das
feurige "Baby Doll" etwa, mit knackiger Bläsersektion
angereichert, hat seine Wurzeln im südamerikanischen Samba. Und
auf das lärmende, mit einem lebhaften Backgroundchor effektvoll
inszenierte Spektakel "The Day The Devil" folgt unmittelbar das
märchenhaft zarte Klanggebilde "The Dream Before", ein
melancholisches Gesangsduett mit Bobby McFerrin und sparsamster
Keyboardbegleitung. Nicht unerwähnt bleiben darf Gastgitarrist
Chris Spedding, der einigen Titeln mit seinen einfühlsamen und
prägnanten Untermalungen erst feinen Glanz verleiht.
Laurie Anderson's third studio release, 1989's "Strange Angels", is the
pinnacle of this artist's achievement; it's a brilliant, intelligent,
and coherent masterwork that she's been unable to equal either before
or since. Lyrically, the songs are much more optimistic than previous
efforts, many of them reading like Tama Janowitz short stories. Others
are firmly rooted in classic literature ("Monkey's Paw", "The Dream
Before" and "Hiawatha" being the most obvious examples). The supporting
music is ethereal, almost otherworldly, and works to unify the whole in
a beautiful tapestry of sound. Best (and perhaps most surprising) of
all, Anderson makes an honest attempt to sing in these tracks, and the
effect is absolutely gorgeous. There's still plenty of wry spoken
commentary throughout, but Anderson's melodic voice is definitely the
focus, and it is a joy to hear. The overall accessibility of "Strange
Angels", along with its fully-realized vision, makes this the one
Laurie Anderson CD every serious music lover should own. Personal
Favorites: the hauntingly melodic title track, and the stunning beauty
of "My Eyes". Representative Lyrics: "She said: What is history?/ And
he said: History is an angel/ being blown backward into the future"
("The Dream Before"); "They say that Heaven is like TV/ A perfect
little world/ That doesn't really need you" ("Strange Angels")
southwestreview from El Paso, TX, April 14, 2000
What can you say....
Enough said.... a great listening experience from a one of a kind artist
jeff bilby from Kingston, NH USA, April 9, 2001
SEVERAL EXCELLENT SONGS
AFTER HEARD "STRANGE ANGELS" AT THE MOVIE "THE DOCTOR" I RUSHED TO BUY
THIS CD. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST SONGS I HAVE EVER HEARD. BUT FOR MY
SURPRISE I AM LISTENING AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN THREE OTHER SONGS
TOO; HIAWATHA, MY EYES, AND BABYDOLL. I AM VERY PLEASANT WITH THESE
FOUR SONGS. I SUPPOSE THAT FOR HARDCORE LAURIE FANS THIS IS NO NEWS,
BUT HER MUSIC IS COMPLETELY FRESH FOR ME.
A music fan from GUAYNABO, P.R. USA, April 1, 2001
They say that heaven is like TV
A perfect little world
that doesn't really need you
And everything there
is made of light
And the days keep going by
Here they come Here they come
Here they come.
Well it was one of those days larger than life
When your friends came to dinner
and they stayed the night
And then they cleaned out the refrigerator -
They ate everything in sight
And then they stayed up in the living room
And they cried all night
Strange angels - singing just for me
Old stories - they're haunting me
This is nothing
like I thought it would be.
Well I was out in my four door
with the top down.
And I looked up and there they were:
Millions of tiny teardrops
just sort of hanging there
And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry
And I said to myself:
What next big sky?
Strange angels - singing just for me
Their spare change falls on top of me
Rain falling Falling all over me
All over me
Strange angels - singing just for me
Old Stories - they're haunting me
Big changes are coming
Here they come
Monkey's Paw
Well I stopped in at the Body Shop
Said to the guy:
I want stereo FM installed in my teeth
And take this mole off my back
and put it on my cheek.
And uh...while I'm here, why don't you give me
some of those high-heeled feet?
And he said: Listen there's no guarantee
Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
but listen look out for the monkey's paw
And I said: Whaaat? He said:
The gift of life it's a twist of fate
It's a roll of the die
It's a free lunch A free ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
It's sayin: Haw haw!
It's saying Gimme five!
It's sayin: Bye bye!
I know a man he lost his head
He said: The way I feel I'd be better off dead.
He said: I got everything I ever wanted
Now I can't give it up
It's a trap, just my luck!
The gift of life it's a leap of faith
It's a roll of the die
It's a free lunch A free ride
The gift of life it's a shot in the dark
It's the call of the wild
It's the big wheel The big ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
You better Stop!
Look around!
Listen!
You- could- be- an- oca- rina- salesman-
going- from- door- to- door.
Or- would- you- like- to- swing- on- a- star-
and- carry- moon- beams- home?
Or- next- time- around- you- could- be-
a- small- bug-
Or- would- you- like- to- be- a- fish?
The gift of life it's a twist of fate
It's a roll of the die
it's a free lunch A free ride
The gift of life it's a shot in the dark
It's the call of the wild
It's the big wheel The big ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
It's singin': Gimme Five!
It's singin': Bye Bye!
Coolsville
Coolsville Coolsville
Coolsville Coolsville
So perfect So nice
Hey little darlin,
I'm comin your way little darlin
And I'll be there Just as soon as I'm
all straightened out
Yeah just as soon as I'm
perfect.
Some things are just pictures
They're scenes before your eyes
And don't look now I'm right behind you
Coolsville Coolsville
So perfect So nice
So nice!
And down by the ocean
under the boardwalk
You were so handsome we didn't talk
You're my ideal I'm gonna find you
I'm goin to Coolsville
So perfect So ideal
This train This city This train
Some things are just pictures
They're scenes before your eyes
And don't look now I'm right behind you
Coolsville
She said:
Oh Jesus, why are you always
in the arms of somebody else?
He said:
Oh man! I don't need anybody's help
I'm gonna get there on my own.
This train This city This train This city
This train
Ramon
Last night I saw a host of angels
And they were all singing different songs
And it sounded like a lot of lawnmowers
Mowing down my lawn
And up above kerjillions of stars
spangled all over the sky
And they were spirals turning
Turning in the deep blue night.
And suddenly for no reason
The way that angels leave the grund
They left in a kind of vortex
Travelling at the speed of sound.
And just as I started to leave
Just as I turned to go
I saw a man who'd fallen
He was lying on his back in the snow.
Some people walk on water
Some people walk on broken glass
Some just walk round and round
in their dreams
Some just keep falling down.
So when you see a man who's broken
Pick him up and carry him
And when you see a woman who's broken
Put her all into your arms
Cause we don't know where we come from
We don't know what we are.
So when you see a man who's broken
Pick him up and carry him
And when you see a woman who's broken
Put her all into your arms
Cause we don't know where we come frm.
We don't know what we are.
And you? You're no one
And you? You're falling
And you? You're travelling
Travelling at the speed of light.
And you? You're no one
And you? You're falling
And you? You're travelling
Travelling at the speed of light.
Baby Doll
I don't know about your brain-
but mine is really bossy
I come home from a day on the golf course
and I find all these messages
scribbled on wrinkled up scraps of paper
And they say thing like:
Why don't you get a real job?
Or: You and what army?
Or: Get a horse.
And then I hear this voice
comin from the back of my head Uh huh
(Whoa-ho) Yep! It's my brain again
And when my brain talks to me, he says:
Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the park
Take me to the movies
Cause I love to sit in the dark
Take me to Tahiti
Cause I love to be hot
And take me out on the town tonight
Cause I know the new hot spot. He says:
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo He says:
Babydoll! I love it when you come when I call
Babydoll! You don't have to talk I know it all
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo
Well I'm sitting around trying to write a letter
I'm wracking my brains trying to think
of another word for horse
I ask my brain for some assistance.
And he says: Huh...Let's see...How about cow?
That's close. He says:
Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the park
Take me to the movies
Cause I love to sit in the dark
Take me to your leader
And I say: Do you mean George?
And he says: I just want to meet him
And I say:
Come on I mean I don't even know George!
And he says:
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo He says:
Babydoll! I love it when you come when I call
Babydoll! You don't have to talk I know it all
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo
Babydoll! Babydoll! Ooo oo oo
Babydoll! Babydoll! Ooo oo oo
Babydoll! Babydoll! Ooo oo oo
Beautiful Red Dress
Well I was down at the Zig Zag
And everybody was talking at once
and it was getting real shrill.
And I've been around the block
But I don't care I'm on a roll - I'm on a wild ride
Cause the moon is full and look out baby -
I'm at high tide.
I've got a beautiful red dress
And you'd look really good
standing beside it...
I've got some beautiful new red shoes
and they look so fine
I've got a hundred and five fever
and it's high tide.
Well just the other day I won the lottery
I mean lots of money
I got so excited I ran into my place and i said:
HEY! Is anybody home?
Nobody answered but I guess that's not too weird
Since I live alone.
I've got a beautiful red dress
And you'd look really good
standing beside it...
Girls?
We can take it And if we can't
we're gonna fake it
We're gonna save ourselves
We're gonna make it And if we don't
we're gonna take it
We're gonna save ourselves
Save ourselves
Well they say women shouldn't be
the president
Cause we go crazy from time to time
Well push my button baby here I come
Yeah look out baby
I'm at high tide
I've got a beatiful red dress
and you'd look really good
standing beside it...
I've got a little jug of red sangria wine
and we could take little sips
from time to time
I've got some bright red drop dead lips
I've got a little red card
and mechanical hips
I've got a hundred and five fever!!!
OK! OK! Hold it!
I just want to say something.
You know, for every dollar a man makes
a woman makes 63 cents.
Now, fifty years ago that was 62 cents.
So, with that kind of luck, it'll be the year 3,888
before we make a buck. But hey, girls?
We can take it And if we can't
we're gonna fake it
We're gonna save ourselves
save ourselves
(Yeah tell it to the judge)
We're gonna make it And if we don't
we're gonna take it
We're gonna save ourselves
save ourselves
We've got a fever of a hundred and five
and look baby
It's high tide.
Well I could just go on and on and on...
But tonight
I've got a headache
The Day the Devil
The day the devil comes to getcha
you know him by the way he smiles
The day the devil comes to getcha
He's a rusty truck with only twenty miles
He's got bad brakes he's got loose teeth
He's a long way from home
The day the devil comes to getcha
he's got a smile like a scar
He knows the way to your house
He's got the keys to your car
And when he sells you his sportcoat
You say: Funny! That's my size
Attention shoppers!
Everybody please rise
Give me back my innocence
Get me a brand new suit
Give me back my innocence
Oh Lord! Cut me down to size
Well you can hide under the porch
And you can hide behind the couch
But the day the devil comes to getcha
He's right on time
Here he comes
Well I'm sick of hearin bout your problems
Yeah girlie your breakin my heart
I'm the original party animal
Hey! Hey! Babaloo
So don't come bangin your Bibles
Cause you've been laughin
all the way to the bank
And don't give me those crocodile tears
Cause you've been doing it for years
I'm everywhere! Sign right here
Mr. Jones
The day the devil comes to getcha
He's a long way from home
And you know he's gonna getcha
Cause you're stuck in the middle
Everybody please rise
Give me back my innocence
Get me a brand new suit
Give me back my innocence
Oh Lord! Cut me down to size
Give me back my innocence
Get me a new Cadillac
Cause when I get on up to heave Lord
You can have it all back
Cause in heaven, you get it all back
In heaven it all comes back
Cause in heaven, you get it all back
In heaven
Cause in heaven......
In heaven......
The Dream Before
(for Walter Benjamin)
Hansel and Gretel are alive and well
And they're living in Berlin
She is a cocktail waitress
He had a part in a Fassbinder film
And they sit around at night now
drinking schnapps and gin
And she says: Hansel, you're really bringing me down
And he says: Gretel, yu can really be a bitch
He says: I've wated my life on our stupid legend
When my one and only love
was the wicked witch.
She said: What is history?
And he said: History is an angel
being blown backwards into the future
He said: History is a pile of debris
And the angel wants to go back and fix things
To repair the things that have been broken
But there is a storm blowing from Paradise
And the storm keeps blowing the angel
backwards into the future
And this storm, this storm
is called
Progress
My Eyes
Sometimes I wish I hadn't gotten that tattoo
Sometimes I wish I'd married you
One hundred fires One hundred days
Sometimes I feel like a stranger
Sometimes I tell lies (Whoa ho)
Sometimes I act like a monkey
Here come the night
And then kerjillions of stars start to shine
And icy comets go whizzing by
And everything's shaking with a strange delight
And here it is: the enormous night
And oo my eyes They're lookin all around
And oo my feet I'm upside down
If I were the president If I were Queen for a day
I'd give the ugly people all the money
I'd re-write the Book of Love I'd make it funny
Wheel of fortune Wheel of fame
Two hundred forty million voices
Two hundred forty million names
And down in the ocean where nobody goes
Some fish are fast Some are slow
Some swim round the world Some hide below
This is the ocean So deep So old.
And then kerjillions of stars start to shine
And icy comets go whizzing by
And everything's shaking with a strange delight
And here it is: the enormous night
And oo my eyes They're lookin all around
And oo my feet They've left the ground
So cry me a river that leads to a road
That turns into a highway that goes and goes
And tangles in your memories
So long So old.
Hiawatha
By the shores of Gitche Gumee
By the shining Big- Sea- Water
Downward through the evening twilight
In the days that are forgotten
From the land of sky blue waters
And I said: Hello Operator
Get me Memphis Tennessee
And she said: I know who you're tryin
to call darlin And he's not home
he's been away
But you can hear him on the airwaves
He's howlin at the moon
Yeah this is your country station
And honey this next one's for you.
And all along the highways
and under the big western sky
They're singing Ooo oooooo
They're singing Wild Blue.
And way out on the prairie
and up in the high chaparral
They hear a voice it says: Good evening
This is Captain Midnight speaking
And I've got a song for you
Goes somethin like this:
Starlight Starbright
We're gonna hang some new stars
in the heavens tonight.
They're gonna circle by day
They're gonna fly by night
We're goin sky high. Yoo Hooooo hooo.
Yeah yoo hooo Ooo Hooooooooo
So good night ladies
And good night gentlemen
Keep those cards and letters coming
And please don't call again.
Geronimo and little Nancy
Marilyn and John F. dancing
Uncle took the message
and it's written on the wall.
These are pictures of the houses
Shining in the midnight moonlight
While the King sings Love Me Tender.
And all along the watchtowers
and under the big western sky
They're singing Yoo Hooooo
They're singing Wild Blue.
And wau wau up there, bursting in air
Red rockets, bright red glare
From the land of sky blue waters
Sent by freedom's sons and daughters.
We're singing Ooo Hoooooooo
We're singing Wild Blue.
We're singing Ooo Hoooooooo
Ooo Hooooooooo
And dark behind it rose the forest
Rose the black and gloomy pine trees
Rose the firs with ones upon them
And bright before it beat the water
Beat the clear and sunny water
Beat the shing Big- Sea- Water
Ooo Hooooooooo
Ooo Hooooooooo
Ooo Hooooooooo