Elvis Of Letters [Limited Edition]

William S. Burroughs | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 27, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Limited Edition
• Label: Tim Kerr Records
• ASIN: B00004UDB2
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,828 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Burroughs Break

2. Word Is Virus

3. Millions Of Images

4. The Hipster Be-Bop Junkie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Third Mind Sings, September 4, 2000

By 

Rob Lightner - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis Of Letters (Audio CD)

Just four tracks of old-school Burroughs sound-bites (cut up, even!) over guitar/drum/bass folky jazziness by Van Sant the future filmmaker. Unlike most of the work WSB did with Bill Laswell et al., these are less about the content of his writing and more about its effects. They demonstrate cut-ups and repetition and inching and can launch endless psychosensory experimentation.

I must say that I was disturbed at first by the mundanity of Van Sant's music, but now appreciate it as inobtrusive. It does what it does quite well, providing quiet rhythm to Burroughs' "melodies." The man's voice lends itself remarkably well to musical accompaniment, even when cut-up - it's amazing that any kind of verbal flow can remain after cut-and-paste, much less normal-sounding speech! You've never heard anything like this before, though it seems as familiar as a remembered dream.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to William Burroughs, December 7, 2007

By 

Vicky Newman (Belfast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elvis Of Letters (Audio CD)

I first heard the track "Hipster Be-Bop" when I was about 16, listening to a John Peel programme, and the feeling has never left me - the pure excitement and...weirdness. It took me years to track this down; in the meantime, I bought several other WB albums and read many of his books. I have to say on balance I love his music more than his books. His voice is so beautiful, so knowing and wrecked, but his sense of humour is for me the thing that shines through most. This is the best example of his "cut-up" style on CD, but you should buy up everything he ever recorded. The word genius is hugely over-used, but he is absolutely that.