Includes FREE MP3
version
of this album.
or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Sell Us Your Item
For up to a $3.50 Gift Card
Trade in
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Big Science [Enhanced, Original recording remastered]

Laurie AndersonAudio CD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)

Price: $13.99 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
 : Includes FREE MP3 version of this album.
   Provided by Amazon Digital Services, Inc. Terms and Conditions. Does not apply to gift orders.
Only 9 left in stock (more on the way).
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.
Want it tomorrow, June 20? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
Complete your purchase to save the MP3 version to Cloud Player.

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
MP3 Music, 10 Songs, 2011 $9.49  
Audio CD, Enhanced, Original recording remastered, 2007 $13.99  
Vinyl, 1982 --  
Audio Cassette, 1990 --  

Amazon's Laurie Anderson Store

Music

Image of album by Laurie Anderson

Photos

Image of Laurie Anderson

Videos

Homeland

Biography

Calling Laurie Anderson “the most important multimedia artist of our time,” The Los Angeles Times recently noted the “rare, profound maturity” of her latest songs. Thirty years into her recording career—in which she has simultaneously remained busy as a visual artist, composer, poet, photographer, filmmaker and internationally touring live performer—she has ... Read more in Amazon's Laurie Anderson Store

Visit Amazon's Laurie Anderson Store
for 15 albums, 3 photos, videos, discussions, and more.

Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • Buy a CD or a vinyl record, get a $1 Amazon MP3 Credit. Limit one promotional credit per customer. Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Includes FREE MP3 version of this album Here's how (restrictions apply)

Frequently Bought Together

Big Science + Homeland
Price for both: $31.74

Buy the selected items together
  • Homeland $17.75


Product Details

  • Audio CD (July 17, 2007)
  • Original Release Date: 2007
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Enhanced, Original recording remastered
  • Label: Nonesuch
  • ASIN: B000QCU9QW
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (52 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #68,009 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. From the Air
2. Big Science
3. Sweaters
4. Walking & Falling
5. Born, Never Asked
6. O Superman (For Massenet)
7. Example #22
8. Let X=X
9. It Tango
10. Walk the Dog [Enhanced CD MP3]

Editorial Reviews

Critics lauded the sonic experiments of this NY performance artist, and the UK gave her an unlikely hit when O Superman shot to #2. Here's the 1982 Warner Bros. LP that followed: O Superman; Big Science; From the Air , and the rest of these songs full of tape loops, found sounds and other ahead-of-their-time elements. Bonus audio and video, too!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 38 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Note From Nonesuch Records August 7, 2007
Format:Audio CD
While we feel that the remastering of Laurie Anderson's Big Science dramatically improves the sound quality of the original CD, there was indeed a small omission: the first of two wolf howls that introduces track 2, "Big Science," is missing in the master used for the initial production run of the reissue. This error has since been fixed. Anyone who purchased the CD with the 'truncated' introduction to the title track may return it to us and we will send you the corrected version free of charge. Please see the product description above for more details.
Was this review helpful to you?
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Classic! April 25, 2001
Format:Audio CD
Having been a fan of different and "alternative" music, I was intrigued when I first saw the videos for "Sharkey's Day" and "O Superman" on MTV. I was just blown away. So, I went out and picked up my first Laurie Anderson album, Big Science. I was simply amazed at the quality and consistency of this album. I wanted to hear O SUPERMAN first, but when I started with FROM THE AIR, I didn't stop until the album was over. Mesmerizing is the best word I can think of in describing this album. While the lyrics may seem loony, they are actually very intelligent and thought provoking. One of the most haunting songs is BORN, NEVER ASKED. There is a line in that song that says, "What is behind that curtain?" This just underscores the simple yet fascinating aspects of Laurie's lyrics. I just never knew that I was "always falling when I was walking." If you didn't know that, then you must own this album. In fact, everyone should. This is simply a magical piece of art.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars An American minimalist music classic July 22, 2007
Format:Audio CD
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.
... Read more ›
Was this review helpful to you?
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
The strangeness of this album's lyrics, instrumentation and structure is eclipsed and made totally irrelevant by the absolute beauty and vision of the work. As others have said, Big Science is a highly "technological" album, using a lot of collage elements, which she often uses as the basis for her tracks. I'd say the most unusual example of this (with the exception of Example #22, which could've been a bonus track on Bjork's "Telegram" if it didn't pre-date it by more than a decade) is "O Superman" where she uses a tiny vocal sample less than a second long as a metronome over which she layers enigmatic lyrics and a beautiful, fluttering flute melody.

Another one of the most amazing songs on the album is "Sweaters" not for the lyrics, or for the melody, but because it manages to use the bagpipes in a serious way without trying to be cute or gimmicky, and without it sounding like Laurie is trying to get a (now-fashionable) "Celtic" sound. It's just used in a totally un-selfconscious way and it comes off beautifully.

The songs, while diverse in sound and structure, are all marked by a simplicity of design and a clean-lined beauty that is really a joy to listen to, again and again. (And believe it or not, this is coming from an 18-year-old who's only had this album for about 4 months. I was in diapers when this was released, which should give you some idea of this record's timelessness.)

Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
42 of 52 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Only worth it if you don't already own it. July 17, 2007
Format:Audio CD
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.
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent !
Product quality, very beautiful, I recommend to everyone. The service was fast and secure! I will do more shopping!! Tks !!!
Published 5 months ago by Augusto Cesar Portella Malheiros
4.0 out of 5 stars Prescient Vision
First off, I must ask, for those that somehow heard an LSD influence on here, you must be joking or we are not listening to the same album? Read more
Published 12 months ago by Baranabus
5.0 out of 5 stars Some things never get old
I was reminded about this album when I saw the t-mobile commercial about the HTC phone. I used to have it on cassette (remember them? Read more
Published 12 months ago by Philip C. Dunbar
5.0 out of 5 stars this is the time... and this is the record, of the time...
This is and wil always be one of the best records all time. I have had it on every format you can get, except 8 track... And I have my Vinyl too still and listen regularly. Read more
Published 15 months ago by chuckybuss
4.0 out of 5 stars Great big fun
If you like Laurie Anderson you most likley already have this one. My old cassette tape was getting too worn (got it in '86, I belive). Read more
Published 19 months ago by J. Coombs
5.0 out of 5 stars Laurie Anderson at Her Best
If you're a die-hard Laurie Anderson fan like I am, then I don't need to recommend this CD to you. It was, perhaps, her most commercially successful work, built around "O... Read more
Published on April 22, 2010 by Jon Bastian
2.0 out of 5 stars Among the forgettable
In 1982, Laurie Anderson, already in her thirties, astonishingly was kept off the top of the British singles charts only by David A. Read more
Published on April 6, 2010 by mianfei
5.0 out of 5 stars So annoying, yet enjoyable
Laurie Anderson was the queen of weird in the 1980s. Her songs are novel if not novelty. If you are interested in different sound textures mixed with humorous poetry then this... Read more
Published on October 15, 2009 by Thomas C. Poff
5.0 out of 5 stars Green Andy Reviews: Laurie Anderson - Big Science
Laurie Anderson rarely thinks small. Her first large-scale performance piece was an eight-hour event entitled "United States I-IV", which was eventually condensed into the... Read more
Published on October 4, 2009 by A. ZIATS
5.0 out of 5 stars Remastered Sound = Awesome
I'm not sure what some reviewers are hearing when they play this remaster, but Nonesuch Records has done an awesome job. Read more
Published on July 28, 2009 by Shawn
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Listmania!


So You'd Like to...


Create a guide

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?



Look for Similar Items by Category