Length 38:19 Release date 19 April 1982 | Artist Laurie Anderson Label Warner Bros. Records | |
Released April 19, 1982
June 18, 2007 (reissue) Recorded The Lobby, The Hit Factory, New York City Producer Laurie Anderson
Roma Baran Big Science
(1982) Mister Heartbreak
(1984) Genres Pop music, Avant-garde, Experimental music, Avant-garde music Similar Laurie Anderson albums, Experimental music albums |
Laurie anderson big science mpg
Big Science is the 1982 debut album by avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and the first of a 7-album deal she signed with Warner Bros. Records. It is best known for the 8-minute epic "O Superman", which reached #2 in the UK. The album is minimalist and monochrome in sound, and like a great deal of Anderson's work is based largely on spoken word. It is a selection of highlights from her eight-hour production, United States Live, which was itself released as a 5-LP box set and book in 1984. United States Live was originally a performance piece, in which music was only one element. After Big Science music played a larger role in Anderson's work.
Contents
Although considered her debut album, Anderson had previously recorded one side of a 2-LP set titled You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With, a collaboration released on Giorno Poetry Systems with William S. Burroughs and John Giorno. She had also contributed two pieces to a 1977 compilation of electronic music.
A newly remastered version of the album was released on 18 June 2007 by Nonesuch/Elektra Records with new liner notes, and, in the data portion of the CD, the bonus track "Walk the Dog" (B-Side of the original "O Superman" single) and the "O Superman" video.
The album has been sampled in a number of hip hop songs:
Slant Magazine listed the album at #44 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".
Track listing
All tracks by Laurie Anderson.
- "From the Air" – 4:29
- "Big Science" – 6:25
- "Sweaters" – 2:18
- "Walking & Falling" – 2:10
- "Born, Never Asked" – 4:56
- "O Superman (for Massenet)" – 8:21
- "Example #22" – 2:59
- "Let X=X/It Tango" – 6:51 ("Let X=X" – 3:51; "It Tango" – 3:01)
Personnel
Additional personnel
Charts
Songs
1From the Air4:29
2Big Science6:14
3Sweaters2:18