Big Science

Amazon.com
Big Science prompted trendy early-'80s art students to plug in their synthesizers and start their own postpunk performance-art-cum-rock-&-roll projects. The album actually produced a hit single in the form of "O Superman." That track and "Let X=X" are the two best-known things from this album, which is a condensation of United States, Anderson's four-and-a-half-hour performance-art piece. The entire show is available as United States Live, a four-disc box set. Big Science, however, presents the cream of the crop. Although a lot of Anderson's shrill non sequiturs seemed annoying at the time of her breakthrough, she predicted techno music years before it happened. Still, as rock critic J.D. Considine pointed out, her creations are often closer to theater than to music. --Bill Holdship

Big Science,Laurie Anderson,Warner Bros / Wea,Experimental,Experimental Rock,Pop,Popular Music,Rock,Rock/Pop

Big Science

Average customer rating:

An American minimalist music classic
Very nice remastering
Only worth it if you don't already own it.

Big Science
Laurie Anderson
Manufacturer: Nonesuch
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
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ASIN: B000QCU9QW
Release Date: 2007-07-17

Tracks:

From the Air
Big Science
Sweaters
Walking & Falling
Born, Never Asked
O Superman (For Massenet)
Example #22
Let X=X
It Tanga
O Superman [Multimedia Track]
Walk the Dog [MP3][*]

Album Description

The re-mastering of Laurie Anderson's Big Science still resonates just as deeply as the original. Articulating a dream-like American society amidst social and political anxiety, Anderson's work is both comforting and sinister at the same time.

Customer Reviews:

An American minimalist music classic.......2007-07-23

When "Big Science" was originally released in 1982, it was one of the most unexpected successes of that year, not only as an album, but also generating one of the most unlikely top 10 singles ever with the 8+ min. "O Superman (For Massenet)". Certainly the video helped it make a success, but there was more than that.

Now, 25 years after the original release, comes the remastered and upgraded version. "Big Science" (9 tracks, 41 min., plus bonus materials) starts off with one of its best tracks, "From the Air", a threatening piece from the perspective of an airline captain. The beautiful title track follows, with its slow yet mesmorizing tone. Other highlights for me on the album are of course "O Superman", which still sounds as intruigingand hypnotizing as it did 25 years ago (I still lived in Belgium then, and can attest that this was a genuine hit single there and in many other European countries), and "Let X = X", another minimalist masterpiece. Some of the shorter tracks, such as "Sweaters" and "Walking & Falling" doen't really catch on for me, but it doesn't diminish the overall classic status of the album.

I had this on vinyl but never got the original CD issue, so I don't know how much the audio differs or improves, but regardless I think the audio quality of this remaster is great, so I'm not certain what the complaint about that could be. The bonus materials on the enhanced portion of the CD are skimpy but nice: the video for "O Superman" and an audio file for for "Walk the Dog", which was the B-side of "O Superman". Even though the song is certainly not "essential", it's too bad that it wasn't added onto the regular audio portion. Laurie Anderson also provides some nice liner notes. Overall, I am very happy that I finally got this in my collection, and this album is a true classic of American minimalist music. Highly recommended!

Very nice remastering.......2007-07-19

The quality of the remastering is excellent. The material was totally unique when first released, and still is.

The extra MP3's are very cool. The "O Superman" video is basic but very innovative.
Laurie really knows how to use all the various elements she does in the video and it is a reflection of some of the multi-media tools she uses in her live shows.

The packaging is very nice as well. Groovy pics and a nice booklet with lyrics and backround information.

Note: I found that dragging the cursor from the track listing (Mp3's) and going over the little face in the middle allows you to create your own little "doggie" songs.

Go buy this now!

I can't wait for Mister Heartbreak and the live multi-disc remastered!

Only worth it if you don't already own it........2007-07-17

This remastered and "expanded" 25th anniversary edition of Big Science is a huge letdown. Not only is the one audio bonus track not included on the cd proper (it's a file on the enhanced portion of the cd) but the remastering itself is negligible. Also, the introduction to the title track has actually been truncated from the original version. My disappointment is compounded by my purchase of Holger Czukay's Movies which was remastered with such care that, even though it was recorded slightly earlier than Big Science, sounds like it was recorded yesterday.

Big Science is a phenomenal and groundbreaking album. If you're interested in delving into Laurie Anderson's work, this is the place to start. However, if you're already a fan and you already own Big Science on cd, this is simply a waste of money.

Average customer rating:

Difficult Listening--exercise your brain
"Jump out of the plane, there is no pilot. You are not alone. Stand by."
QUEEN of AVANTE GARDE
They Called it Performance Art
Deranged

Big Science
Laurie Anderson
Manufacturer: Warner Bros / Wea
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | American Alternative | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
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The Ugly One With The Jewels And Other Stories

ASIN: B000002KNM
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

From The Air
Big Science
Sweaters
Walking & Falling
Born, Never Asked
O Superman (For Massenet)
Example #22
Let X=X
It Tango

Amazon.com

Big Science prompted trendy early-'80s art students to plug in their synthesizers and start their own postpunk performance-art-cum-rock-&-roll projects. The album actually produced a hit single in the form of "O Superman." That track and "Let X=X" are the two best-known things from this album, which is a condensation of United States, Anderson's four-and-a-half-hour performance-art piece. The entire show is available as United States Live, a four-disc box set. Big Science, however, presents the cream of the crop. Although a lot of Anderson's shrill non sequiturs seemed annoying at the time of her breakthrough, she predicted techno music years before it happened. Still, as rock critic J.D. Considine pointed out, her creations are often closer to theater than to music. --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews:

Difficult Listening--exercise your brain.......2007-03-29

Big Science is the best. I'm a real Laurie Anderson fan, have seen her in person a couple of times and was always blown away. I just bought my 2nd copy of the CD, because my college age daughter absconded with my original copy. It seems to resonate with her, too. (Perhaps because I was listening to it while she was in utero?)

If you dig Big Science, get Strange Angels next. In fact...where the hell is *my* copy of that CD?

"Jump out of the plane, there is no pilot. You are not alone. Stand by.".......2006-05-22

I am currently a first year college student (but currently a sophomore, if I may boast a bit, as should be expected of a sophomore), am 18 years old, and a theater arts student, currently studying performance art, a medium which has facinated me since my youth. I was introduced to Laurie Anderson at around age 7 or earlier by my father. I fell in love with this album then, though I was unable to really grasp the gravity of it then.

The first track, From the Air, truely connected with me, for odd reasons. It was an anthem of what was coming in my life, though I only recently learned that. She captures the fleeting pain of the "American Dream" and what we do to ourselves to protect ourselves from the freedome we are (or were) allowed. She explores everyday human emotion to a ten, trying to help us connect our life to our own tribal nature, also attempting to find what "God" is. Obviously she finds that God within us in the title track, although I recomend everyone to listen to her, despite (if that need be) her Buddhist philosophy. Many will, as another said, "run screaming", but some will find something opens up inside themselves as they experience this journey with Laurie.

"You know, I think we should put some mountains here, otherwise, what are the characters going to fall off of? And what about stairs?"

QUEEN of AVANTE GARDE .......2006-03-08

I love this album! I listen to it when I'm kicked back, relaxing and having a smoke. All of the tracks are enjoyable and she utilizes that vocoder so well. I have most of Laurie's albums but this one and "STRANGE ANGELS" are my absolute favorites. These are my favorite "Avante Garde" divas: BJORK, DIAMANDA GALAS, YOKO ONO, NINA HAGEN, LENE LOVITCH and of course LAURIE ANDERSON who's tops on my list.

Julius-Allan

They Called it Performance Art.......2006-01-14

Somewhere in the 70's a new genre was created called performance art. Some of it was shocking, some of it mind numbingly repetative and dull. Laurie Anderson, however, got it right. Complex use of electronics and a somewhat no wave take on music and lyrics creates a fascinating album. Big Science is edgy, clever, fun and intelligent. The only thing missing is the visual aspect of when this material was performed live.

Deranged.......2004-10-21

This is the most deranged thing I've ever heard in my life. Yes, quite possibly even more deranged than Syd Barrett's solo material, but only just. Whether this is a good thing or a bad thing is totally a matter of personal taste. I reckon listening to this could induce acid flashbacks regardless of whether or not you've ever taken LSD. Musically this is probably not THAT complex, just extreemly experimantal. Certainly not for teenyboppers or casual music listeners though. Justin Trousersnake fans will run screaming, and probably piss themselves in the process. Maybe if I gave it a few good spins I may take to it a bit more, but frankly I'm afraid. Then again, I was born in the 1980's which means I have the attention span of a goldfish and probably about the same IQ, so what would I know about music ;-)

Average customer rating:

Modern Rock 1982-1983
1. Down Under -- Men At Work 2. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) -- Eurythmics 3. Come On Eileen -- Dexy's Midnight Runners 4. Hungry Like The Wolf -- Duran Duran 5. Shake It Up -- The Cars various artists , 6. She Blinded Me With Science -- Thomas Dolby 7. Too Shy -- Kajagoogoo 8. (She's) Sexy + 17 -- Stray Cats 9. Steppin' Out -- Joe Jackson 10. In A Big Country -- Big Country , 11. Love My Way -- The Psychedelic Furs 12. Mexican Radio -- Wall Of Voodoo Track Title 1. True -- Spandau Ballet 2. One Thing Leads To Another -- The Fixx , 3. Back On The Chain Gang -- The Pretenders 4. Vacation -- The Go-Go's 5. Love Plus One -- Haircut 100 6. I Want Candy -- Bow Wow Wow 7. Our House -- Madness 8. Always Something There To Remind Me -- Naked Eyes , and 9. Only The Lonely -- The Motels 10. I Ran (So Far Away) -- A Flock Of Seagulls 11. Goody Two Shoes -- Adam Ant 12. I Know What Boys Like -- Waitresses
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

New Wave | New Wave & Post-Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000NHZHKS

Product Description

Year: 1982 Track Title 1. Down Under -- Men At Work 2. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) -- Eurythmics 3. Come On Eileen -- Dexy's Midnight Runners 4. Hungry Like The Wolf -- Duran Duran 5. Shake It Up -- The Cars 6. She Blinded Me With Science -- Thomas Dolby 7. Too Shy -- Kajagoogoo 8. (She's) Sexy + 17 -- Stray Cats 9. Steppin' Out -- Joe Jackson 10. In A Big Country -- Big Country 11. Love My Way -- The Psychedelic Furs 12. Mexican Radio -- Wall Of Voodoo Track Title 1. True -- Spandau Ballet 2. One Thing Leads To Another -- The Fixx 3. Back On The Chain Gang -- The Pretenders 4. Vacation -- The Go-Go's 5. Love Plus One -- Haircut 100 6. I Want Candy -- Bow Wow Wow 7. Our House -- Madness 8. Always Something There To Remind Me -- Naked Eyes 9. Only The Lonely -- The Motels 10. I Ran (So Far Away) -- A Flock Of Seagulls 11. Goody Two Shoes -- Adam Ant 12. I Know What Boys Like -- Waitresses

Average customer rating:

This CD Keeps Paying Off
Before his time!
Fascinating, Evocative 60's Sun Ra
Tasty. Very tasty.
Fantastic transitional piece

When Angels Speak of Love
Sun Ra & His Myth Science Arkestra
Manufacturer: Evidence
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00004XSLF
Release Date: 2000-09-26

Tracks:

Celestial Fantasy
The Idea Of It All
Ecstasy Of Being
When Angels Speak Of Love
Next Stop Mars

Amazon.com

This recording catches Sun Ra in 1963, when he and the key personnel of his Arkestra were well settled in New York and in their most creative period. It's unusual in illustrating just how elements of the city's free jazz were entering the Arkestra's music, just as they were influencing it. Sun Ra's piano is far more animated than usual, at times resembling the dense percussive playing of early Cecil Taylor, while "The Ecstasy of Being" suggests the direct influence of Ornette Coleman and his drummer Ed Blackwell on Danny Davis and Clifford Jarvis. Several short tracks feature a single reed player along with trumpeter Walter Miller and the rhythm section. Marshall Allen's oboe is suitably exotic on "Celestial Fantasy," while Pat Patrick's baritone brings a rugged beauty to the ballad "When Angels Speak of Love." "The Idea of It All" is an intense, twisting line that inspires a coiling, kinetic solo from tenor saxophonist John Gilmore. The whole reed section is present in all its brilliance on "Next Stop Mars," chanting "We'll take a trip to space/The next stop Mars" before Sun Ra's piano leads them into a diverse, extended journey where saxophone multiphonics and mechanical reverb are just part of the scenery. Originally released on Sun Ra's Saturn label in 1966, this has been one of the rarest of his LPs. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

This CD Keeps Paying Off.......2005-03-06

On the Sun Ra spectrum, this certainly leans towards the "free" end; and at first it was a bit off-putting for me because it truly pushes the boundaries of musical cohesion. Now however, I think it is my favorite Arkestra effort.

Over time, I find myself going back to this over and over. Once you crack it and get a feel for what this group is saying, it becomes very soul-nourishing (I am assuming you already have been exposed to the open-ended free-jazz genre) and rewarding.

Yeah, he was an eccentric, but if you give this one time and approach it with an open mind, what they are doing begins to work its magic. It is about love. It means something. If you can take spiritual pleasure from this kind of music, then this CD is excellent. It doesn't really work if you want to hear a restatement of jazz form; rather it works as a statement of how this group feels, and why the music matters so much to them. For that, I love it.

Before his time!.......2003-11-01

Need I say more. He gives his view of the universe not through the eyes of a traditional religious man, but through the eyes of a man who let the true connection between he and the creator shine through. We are just begining to have that sort of true connection wide spread throughout the world.

Fascinating, Evocative 60's Sun Ra.......2002-03-01

This album was recorded between Sun Ra's incomparable "Cosmic Tones For Mental Therapy" and the equally incomparable "Magic City". If it's not quite the masterpiece of absolute music that those two albums are, it is nonetheless an intriguing, compelling work. "When Angels Speak Of Love" is somewhat more conservative, recognizable as jazz, or jazz-derived, much of the time, but unusually fluid, often leaving me wondering at the end of a piece exactly how a piece got from there to here, so varied are the structures that are generated. For this reason it can benefit from repeated listenings in a single sitting. Elements on this album, not so obvious on the other discs mentioned above, include quite a bit of furiously virtuousic, occasionally Scriabinesque, piano work by Sun Ra, and one of the more amusing or annoying features of many Sun Ra albums (depending on your point of view), a space chant, which is mercifully short. The title tune is particularly unusual, sounding something like what Messaien might have done if he composed jazz ballads, so neurotically mystical is it. This CD is a definite keeper.

Tasty. Very tasty........2001-08-03

What strikes me most about this early 60's Sun Ra album is how the horn playing is not so much dissonant as it is like whalesong played strenuously from somewhere beyond space and time. Then there is the slightly off-kilter percussion even on the ballad and the organic feel of this all acoustic (with reverb) set derived from rehersals. A sounscape piece followed by a bebop then a percussive piece. Then a ballad and a longform free piece. Yet they all sound like variations on a theme. It's charming more than anything. Five stars for that reason. Look elsewhere for the most far out Ra you have ever heard, but look here for yet another Sun Ra album with personality.

Fantastic transitional piece.......2001-02-10

First off, if you do not already own Cosmic Tones for Mental Therapy/Art Forms...that would be my first pick before this one, however, When Angels Speak of Love captures the arkestra half way between their big band origins and the all out otherness of pieces like Magic City, Atlantis, etc. Most of the instrumentation here is traditional with the exception of the echo effect, and at times this album might seem closer to a 'free jazz' album than a Sun Ra album. Nonetheless, no fan of Sun Ra will be dissapointed, and this might be a good entry point for fans of Ornette or Coletrane to break into the Sun Ra experience. Its also worth noting that it is good from time to time to hear another solid album from the Arkestra where Sun Ra is still playing piano instead of keyboards. What we have hear is a really very challenging album, but because it has been done organically, it may perhaps seem more conventional, but this is not true. Sun Ra found many ways to manifest his ideas of music. This is just one particular variation upon that theme. Fantastic stuff!

Average customer rating:

I Was a Supa-Dupa Pupa!
Lucas Miller
Manufacturer: Big Kids Productions
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Children's Music | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CAGZRK
Release Date: 2005-07-05

Tracks:

Living in Symbiosis
Chimichanga Song
It's All About the Hive
I'm Lookin' Fine
Can You See the Connection?
Out on the Prairie (Whoop-De-Doo Poo-Poo!)
Deer in My Cadillac (Oh, Deer)
Metamorphosis (Tadpole into a Frog)
Stinkle, Stinkle, Little Skunky
Go Wild-Read
Mutually

Average customer rating:

Live at the Hackney Empire
Sun Ra & the Year 2000 Myth Science Arkestra
Manufacturer: Leo Records UK
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000281VY
Release Date: 2000-02-29

Tracks:

Astro Black
Other Voices
Planet Earth Day
Prelude To A Kiss
Hocus Pocus
Love In Outer Space
Blue Lou
Face The Music

Tracks:

String Singhs/27-11/I'll Wait For You
East Of The Sun
Somewhere Over The Rainbow
Frisco Fog
Sunset On The Nile
Skimming And Loping
Yeah Man!
We Travel The Spaceways
They'll Come Back

Average customer rating:

Beauty Based on Science
Microscopic Septet
Manufacturer: Stash
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00000IIQO
Release Date: 1993-01-05

Tracks:

Off Color
Come from Behind
Rocky's Heart
Infernal Garden Blues
Waltz of the Recently Punished Catholic School Boys
Little Bobby
Dream Detective
Lobster in the Limelight
Visit

Average customer rating:

In Da Lab

Manufacturer: HOT4EVA Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000B9RMJM
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Product Description

"The new generation of Hip Hop Music." As seen in XXL Magazine - 14 song tracks - 1-Time 4 a Change 2-Verbal Assault 3-Love Potion 4-Hot4Eva 5-Energy Movement 6-Whatchu Ridin on? 7-The Scientist 8-Believe in Yourself 9-Not Gonna Stop 10-Hot in Here 11-Chemical Imbalance 12-con-Science 13-In Da Lab 14-The Conclusion