31-08-2024, 14:33
LAURIE ANDERSON ~ Amelia
![[Image: MzgtNDMwMy5qcGVn.jpeg]](https://i.discogs.com/igeNDfKi_-SpL1v2kM7lAStVMi_FL0r0RmF7Ip-8sno/rs:fit/g:sm/q:90/h:598/w:600/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTMxNjEw/NzU1LTE3MjUwMjA2/MzgtNDMwMy5qcGVn.jpeg)
Aside from and in addition to everything else going on here, Laurie Anderson has managed to capture a bygone era in her newest release, IMHO. Yes, what she has done could be considered to be a less than conservative history lesson, and it won’t appeal to everyone, but I find that it’s 100% accessible and also incredibly evocative.
Although I can’t claim to be sure of all the facts of this tale, I’d hazard a guess that the timeline of Amelia Earhart’s epic flight and the events that unfold in the release are historically accurate – this is one lady who thoroughly researches and immerses herself in what she does. She narrates and sings, or speaks and almost sings, as is her style (sounds no different to what she did many moons ago – somehow ageless), and although the tragic fate of Ms Earhart has been told over and again, it still managed to draw me in completely.
The release triggered my imagination and I think it offers perspectives of the story that have not as yet been explored in sound (to my knowledge – there are, of course other artists who’ve presented their interpretations in musical form). We know so many details of this attempt to circumnavigate the globe, and even so, what Ms Anderson has done is to convincingly portray the physical challenges and experiences of that flight – the humanness of hunger, thirst, tiredness, elation, observation, confusion, a whole gamut of emotion.
In one interview, Anderson says that she has a ‘feel’ for Amelia Earhart and for what drove her, and I believe she genuinely does. She spent a long time thinking about why Amelia did what she did and examining all the surrounding circumstances including the period in time in which she lived, which in itself informed so much - 1937. This was truly pioneering stuff. A carefully thought out and a properly complete project – I think of it as architectural, with so many facets. A super interesting and engaging listen, to my ears.
I heard it on Bandcamp – there are a few tracks available on YT but not the whole album – yet. I have seen, after the fact, that there is at least one less than complimentary review. I beg to differ … vive la difference!
The personnel lineup is …
Laurie Anderson: voice, viola, keyboards, electronics
Featuring:
Filharmonie Brno: Orchestra (Czek Republic - I remember the name of this city, Brno, because of the wonderful house Ludwig Mies van der Rohe built there, with a solid onyx wall - https://www.tugendhat.eu/en/fotogalerie-...2012-2022/)
Trimbach Trio: Strings
Anohni: vocals
Martha Mooke: viola
Aside from and in addition to everything else going on here, Laurie Anderson has managed to capture a bygone era in her newest release, IMHO. Yes, what she has done could be considered to be a less than conservative history lesson, and it won’t appeal to everyone, but I find that it’s 100% accessible and also incredibly evocative.
Although I can’t claim to be sure of all the facts of this tale, I’d hazard a guess that the timeline of Amelia Earhart’s epic flight and the events that unfold in the release are historically accurate – this is one lady who thoroughly researches and immerses herself in what she does. She narrates and sings, or speaks and almost sings, as is her style (sounds no different to what she did many moons ago – somehow ageless), and although the tragic fate of Ms Earhart has been told over and again, it still managed to draw me in completely.
The release triggered my imagination and I think it offers perspectives of the story that have not as yet been explored in sound (to my knowledge – there are, of course other artists who’ve presented their interpretations in musical form). We know so many details of this attempt to circumnavigate the globe, and even so, what Ms Anderson has done is to convincingly portray the physical challenges and experiences of that flight – the humanness of hunger, thirst, tiredness, elation, observation, confusion, a whole gamut of emotion.
In one interview, Anderson says that she has a ‘feel’ for Amelia Earhart and for what drove her, and I believe she genuinely does. She spent a long time thinking about why Amelia did what she did and examining all the surrounding circumstances including the period in time in which she lived, which in itself informed so much - 1937. This was truly pioneering stuff. A carefully thought out and a properly complete project – I think of it as architectural, with so many facets. A super interesting and engaging listen, to my ears.
I heard it on Bandcamp – there are a few tracks available on YT but not the whole album – yet. I have seen, after the fact, that there is at least one less than complimentary review. I beg to differ … vive la difference!
The personnel lineup is …
Laurie Anderson: voice, viola, keyboards, electronics
Featuring:
Filharmonie Brno: Orchestra (Czek Republic - I remember the name of this city, Brno, because of the wonderful house Ludwig Mies van der Rohe built there, with a solid onyx wall - https://www.tugendhat.eu/en/fotogalerie-...2012-2022/)
Trimbach Trio: Strings
Anohni: vocals
Martha Mooke: viola
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson