Customer Reviews

Here Lies Love [+Digital Booklet]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

How many will buy "Here Lies Love" not because it's the new David Byrne release but because it's a rock/pop opera that explores the psyche of Imelda Marcos? A bar chart of that statistic would make for interesting analyzing. Given that potential demographic dichotomy, no one needs knowledge of Marcos, the Philippines or even anything west of the International Date Line to groove to this funky collection of songs that will hook listeners like helpless fish. Though Byrne's vocals only appear noticeably on three of the twenty-two tracks, his presence nonetheless pervades and inhabits every song and vocal inflection. Longtime fans will notice the "Fuzzy Freaky" guitar timbre straight away. Others will notice numerous familiar signature song structures and transitions. One listen reveals that this indeed is a David Byrne collection. Also, given the amazing slew of amazing vocal acrobatics contained herein, many will probably not mind the absence of Byrne's voice. And what a lineup: Natalie Merchant, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Pierson, Tori Amos, Steve Earle, and various other well-known singers shake their golden larynxes. The results of this harmonic convergence of pleasure may even overwhelm some on first listen. Here indeed lies the new David Byrne project. No doubt. Not to diminish the contributions of collaborator Fatboy Slim, who provided many of the funky beats (Byrne and Slim worked together previously on the incredible song, and mandible-plunging video, "Toe Jam"). Byrne fans with or without a sense of modern history will find plenty for their brains to feast on. But those who go further than the music will discover even more. Initiate additional saccadian motion.

Imelda Marcos remains a downright enigma. Equally loved and hated, she still lives in the Philippines, a country she once ruled with her husband, Ferdinand. Many still laud her for the hospitals, schools and museums she built while in power. Others remind us that her democratically elected husband declared martial law and murdered or tortured thousands. Today, Imelda Marcos apparently only acknowledges the story's positive side. Critics slam what they call her convenient obliviousness to the crimes she committed against her own country. "Here Lies Love" has also received criticism for being "too soft" on Marcos and for potentially intensifying her cult of personality. In a recent interview, Byrne conceded that he may have unintentionally done just that. He defends himself by claiming that "Here Lies Love" explores the mind and motivations of a powerful person and not necessarily the political or social consequences of that mindset. In other words, this song cycle was meant as a character study, not as a protest piece. Fervent detractors of Mrs. Marcos may (in many cases understandably) not find themselves able to see past this and subsequently condemn the entire collection. The over 100-page book that accompanies the deluxe edition helps clear up Byrne's perspective and may help ameliorate misunderstandings. Here, in Byrne's own words, are both the stories behind the songs and Imelda Marcos' rise to power. Many passages reflect Byrne's personal political stance towards the Marcos regime (at one point he claims that the USA came close to the point of a Marcos-like regime during George W. Bush's administration). Other highlights include a graphical description of Marcos' theory of beauty and harmony, which includes a viscous Pac-Man creature. This accompanies the hilarious yet disturbing Kate Pierson sung "The Whole Man." The story also weaves in the jilted Estrella Cumpas, who helped raise Imelda after her mother died. Imelda Marco's attitude towards Cumpas, as depicted here, can only be described as heartless. In the book this relationship takes on a draconian dimension. Imelda does not come out of this looking good (and what happened to Estrella remains a little ambiguous). Those who groove to the music while ingesting the accompanying text will find no cause for labeling "Here Lies Love" a pro-Marcos propaganda piece (although the DVDs included in the deluxe set, which include fascinating archival film footage, could potentially come across as hype pieces if taken out of context). Ultimately, the story behind the songs adds a compelling dimension to this song cycle and elevates it far above the usual collection of songs. Byrne hasn't really done anything like this before.

"Here Lies Love" (taken, like many other of the lyrics, from Imelda's own mouth) stands as another intriguing and hugely enjoyable Byrne collaboration (other salient partnerships have included Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, and Robert Wilson). Byrne continues to beguile, educate, enlighten and entertain. As such, it remains little wonder that his work has the staying power of plutonium. Long past the age that many rock stars burn out, Byrne just continues exploring. Hopefully he won't stop.

(This is a review of the special edition "book" version of Here Lies Love.) (3 & 1/2 stars)
The Amazon Product Description already does an excellent job of telling about this item, so I will focus on commentary rather than description. If you have already read my review of the music in the regular edition, skip to the paragraph at the end, which contains the Special Edition comments.
The 22 songs on Here Lies Love pretty effectively carry out David Byrne's desire to create a musical theater piece centered around the life of Imelda Marcos and the woman who essentially raised her, Estrella Cumpas. (The whole thing is vaguely reminiscent of the Madonna Evita.) With Imelda's love of dancing and disco, Byrne sought out Fatboy Slim to help him lay down the grooves that propel this music forward. In some cases the songs are just flat-out disco, as with "Ladies In Blue." More often it's just the presence of dance beats in a more rock, pop or "world" oriented tune. Mr. Byrne is no stranger to dance beats, having previously written Heads and solo songs that featured a high dance-ability quotient, and encouraged dance-heavy remixes of his songs. On Here Lies Love, the dance flavor is mostly a good thing, although the dance tracks do occasionally veer into cheesy territory. The decision to use an armada of guest vocalists is also one that I ended up mostly supporting. Although having a different singer on every song did slightly deprive the story of a continuous narrative voice, but I ended up thinking of each different "Imelda" singer as portraying a different side of Imelda's personality, or at least how she was a different person at different points in her life. Generally speaking, the various singers all did a decent job with their parts, but only Cindy Lauper, Sharon Jones, and a couple of others really brought the character to life to any great degree. I would like to have heard Byrne himself sing more than just the one and a half songs he does the vocals for, but I guess doing that wouldn't have been compatible with the female-centered nature of the story. Most of the singers are already familiar names, but I had never heard of some of them - Roisin Murphy and Charmaine Clamor, for instance. Googling those unknowns gave me an added appreciation for the international nature of the project's "cast". These people come from all over the world! (I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise with DB, "world music guy.") The backing musicians do a very competent job of setting a solid backdrop that never takes over the song, the kind of approach you would hope for with a "song cycle" like this. From what I can tell, they are mainly artists who are part of the current Byrne or Fatboy studio stables.
Getting the Special Edition of this album is the way to go, mainly for the hardbound book. It contains relatively detailed descriptions by David about each song, as well as many photos relevant to the story. We know he is an established author, having just recently put out his bicycle book, and he has an appropriately accessible and insightful take on Imelda's life (and Estrella's) that comes through in the text. The DVD is fairly negligible, just some vintage Marcos film footage with six of the HLL songs playing as a soundtrack. Had it been footage of the musicians making and/or performing the songs, I would have been more interested.

Leave it to David Byrne, one of pop's great innovators/eccentrics, to deliver a concept album (and a double album at that) about the life of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Phillipines. If that wasn't strange enough, take a look at some of the talent that he has managed to bring on board. Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Earle, Nellie McKay, Natalie Merchant, Santigold, Kate Pierson and Allison Moorer among others handle the vocals on the 22 tracks set to dance beats and disco grooves. It sounds as weird as all get out, but amazingly it works, for the most part. Even if you know next to nothing about Marcos and the controversy surrounding her time in power (and I'll be the first to admit that I don't), you'll find it hard not to be drawn into the melodic and dancebale concoctions that Byrne and Fatboy Slim have cooked up. The first half of the album is the stronger of the two, by far. Fatboy Slim's beats and the dance grooves take a backseat to Byrne's melodies and sharp lyrics. On the albums's second half, things tend to get reversed as the focus goes away from melody somewhat and a no holds barred dance party breaks out. Still, taken as a whole, Here Lies Love is an engrossing and largely entertaining pop record from a true genius. If it encourages listeners to open a book and learn more abut its enigmatic central figure, all the better.

First off, this is a beautifully packaged special edition of this amazing project from David Byrne&Fatboy Slim. I've always been a fan of artistic concept albums. I had my reservations when I ordered this. Man, was it money well spent. It was learning something new(Philippino Imelda Marcos and her effect on her own people and the world). It was hearing an amazing array of singers, most of whom I have never heard of. It was reading along with very good song lyrics(and explanations to help explain how each section is vital in the telling of this amazing journey of this woman, and all the affected people along the way). It felt like a lot of time and thoughtful energy was put into this double cd. It was well appreciated by THIS LISTENER!
I have been a fan of David Byrne for a long time. I did not know much about Norman Cook(aka. Fatboy Slim), but what I have heard I have liked. When I read about this project, I was interested in what both of these minds would come up with musically. When I read what the subject was and saw the cover of the album, I almost gave up on pursuing this. I thought it was some corny project about a woman and her 5,000 pairs of shoes. I AM EXTREMELY HAPPY I GAVE THIS A CHANCE. The story has nothing to do with shoes. It is an incredible song cycle about the power of beauty and the beauty of power. After listening to this and reading along with the book, the listener will realize the importance of the title and see just how striking that portrait of Mrs. Marcos with the umbrella is on the cover.
This was a musical journey I took. I came back after having a special look into a certain time in history. I came back with a deeper appreciation to all involved with this project, especially David and Norman.
The only downer about this package was that there was not more info included on the dvd about this project. It just contains 6 videos. These are very well done videos with all kinds of archival footage that goes in tune with the songline. I just really wish there had been more than the videos on this.

All in all, this is money well spent on a package that is not only physically beautiful, but emotionally as well. It was a chance taken by this listener which gratifyingly paid off in many, many folds.

I have to admit, keeping track of David Byrne's career is a BIT bewildering, but still a great big adventure...and I've always been more an admirer more than a fan...I've owned Talking Heads and his solo records off-and-on since the mid-80s...but in recent years, I've been in off-mode...I eventually wanted to hop back on the Byrne train to catch the adventure again, but didn't know a good entry point...until now and this BEHEMOTH of a project!! I mean, I dig his work and adventure, but I also like Norman Cook (as Fatboy Slim, Beats International, and his work in Britpop pioneers The Housemartins)...so I heard about this collabo and I was like, "hmmmm, interesting"...THEN I saw who was singing on the project...Santigold(!!), St Vincent(!!), Alice Russell(??), Sharon Jones(love the Dap Kings!!), Shara Worden(??), Candie Payne(??), Cyndi Lauper(!!!!), B52 Kate Pierson(!!!!), Nicole Atkins (wha?? LOVE Nicole and collect her!!), David(of course but only 1 1/2 songs, fine with all that talent), Steve Earle and his wife Alison Moorer(Woah, an alt-country element too!!), Camille(??), Nellie McKay(I collect her too!!), Florence Welch(LOVE Florence & The Machine!!!!!!), Natalie Merchant(!!), Theresa Andersson(??), Martha Wainwright(!!), Charmaine Clamor(??), Roisin MURPHY(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Tori Amos(pretty cool), and Sia(!!)...

I saw that, and I was like, slapping my hands on my thighs, THAT's IT, I must buy this!!! I only knew about the regular 2CD edition, and read the Newsday review where it got an A-, UNTIL I read the Post review where it mentioned this deluxe edition with the DVD and 120 page book...like WHA???? I figured, lemme see the price...about 30 bucks, and I was like, it's mine...not many stores stocked it, no BestBuys, nothing...but I figured lemme see about my friend's indie store and their price if they had it...lo and behold, they had 1 copy left and the price was the same...about 30 bucks, so I bought it!!!!

The first thing I did was read the book as I wanted to read the story, see how it plays out, info, David's take on the whole thing, the inspiration, before I delved into the songs...lemme tell you...if it was just the book, I would have been satisfied because it's gripping reading, and the story is so profound, interesting and even moving...what was cool was how David took two interweaving and parallel and related stories and put them together...love how they dovetailed and had a commonality. It would make a great film...and in this case, disco musical!! And it had nothing to do with her shoe collection either, which was only found after the Marcoses fled the Philippines in 1986. I never knew anything about them until I read the book here. I also loved how David mentioned how the US under Bush Jr almost became Draconian like Marcoses' regime with opposition to his Iraq War...nice.

THEN I checked out the DVD...nice footage, but my only disappointment was that the DVD didn't have "videos" to all 22 songs...just 6 of them...maybe there wasn't enough footage or related footage??

Lastly, I checked out the 2CDs...masterpiece...the songs stand alone as brilliant artful disco-pop-modern rock hybrid songs with profound lyrics and catchy-as-frick hooks and great vocals by many of my fave female singers (and Steve and David)...and at the same time, they weave a thread that links the songs together, informing them in many ways, from many different angles. In a way, as one person says, each singer reveals different sides to the "characters" (I wouldn't say characters actually, as they are historical figures, real people) in each song...in this way, this album and soon-to-be-theatrical-production, has lots in common with the film and soundtrack to "I'm Not There", that film about the different sides of Bob Dylan, with many actors, male and female, portraying Dylan's many personalities, and the bands on the soundtrack...same thing. It's an interesting approach that works for me, as the lyrics are made of many of Imelda's actual quotes, the songs are well-constructed, with a cool disco/pop/modern rock feel, like mid-period Talking Heads, ZE-records catalogue, Kid Creole, Grace Jones, New Order, Kraftwerk, all that adventurous music where alt-rock & punk met the dancefloor in the clubs of the 70s and 80s but with a 21st century twist. There are also cool tunes with an alt-country feel and orchestral elements like brass, woodwinds...and this could be the best thing Norman Cook has ever been involved in as well.

Soooooo many highlights it's not even funny...I can even compare this record to Damon Albarn's Gorillaz project's new album "Plastic Beach", in that it weaves a story...in their case, fictional, but with an environmental theme...across a narrative arc, with many guest singers across the spectrum like Bobby Womack, Lou Reed, Mos Def, and the Fall's Mark E Smith...anyhoo, HLL's highlights include the title track sung by Florence, Cyndi Lauper's "Eleven Days", Allison Moorer's lovely "As You Passed By", Kate Pierson's fun/funky/interesting "The Whole Man", Tori Amos & Cyndi Lauper's set-ending duet "Why Don't You Love Me??", Natalie Merchant's historical-yet-wrenching "Order 1081"...all of it.

Concluding, I am not pro-Imelda or anti-Imelda, but I feel for the woman and all she went through, and I feel bad for Estrella as how she was treated...interesting parallel...in a way, this is a tragedy, but surely an uplifting one...

Could be album of the year so far...seriously...the 5 years it took to make this thing surely paid off...in spades. Kudos to David Byrne, I'm back on his adventure train for good it seems.

I'm a long-term music lover with esoteric tastes. Mostly I like things that are rock 'n' roll, but anything from classical to country may slip in to my listening from time to time. During the late 70s, I was totally overcome by stuff that was variously referred to as New Wave or Punk Rock. I loved it and bought a ton or records (LPs in those days). David Byrne and Talking Heads were one of my favorite groups. Just recently, I viewed the "Stop Making Sense" DVD and I was just stunned at how excellent the music was. And David Bryne was truly outstanding. Byrne was extremely active and, in fact, spastic, in his performance but never missed a note. Watch it if you ever get the chance.

In any case, my musical tastes wandered hither and yon and in the late 90s to the present I've been very intrigued by the Electronica genre. I've picked up all kinds of CDs by The Chemical Brothers, Orbital, The Prodigy and a host of others including Fatboy Slim (You've Come a Long Way Baby). I really enjoyed Fatboy, but didn't follow it up with any further purchases. My interests drifted elsewhere. Well, recently I read that David Byrne and Fatboy Slim were collaborating on a CD. Now, that's one I just have to have and I ordered it a month before the release. How those two ever got together is probably a story in itself, but it all makes sense in that either one provides excellent dance music and a collaboration could be magnificent.

"Here Lies Love" is the drawn-out (2 CDs) story of Imelda Marcos done up in excellent dance music fashion. Imelda Marcos? Are you kidding? What are you guys smoking these days? In any case, the music is excellent and well worth listening to in itself. It's real pleasant, real danceable stuff. Good, good, good. Well done! The two discs are somewhat different. I'd say disc 1 is a bit more like musical theatre and disc 2 is more like a dancehall environment. Which might I prefer? Well, I have no clear favorite, but I'd give the nod to disc 2. My wife is just the opposite and would favor disc 1 by a slight margin. Let's say, it's a tossup.

There's a plethora of guest artists, even including Steve Earle, and they do an admirable job with the vocal duties. The lyrics? Well, pardon me, but I'm kinda blown away. I haven't made any serious attempt, as yet, to follow them precisely all the way through, I'll admit, and eventually I will. I've been enjoying just listening to the music and then, every once in a while, I break into a grin or even into an outright belly laugh as I listen to the ongoing story of Imelda. This stuff is hilarious and pathetic at the same time and it's complicated enough that I'll be listening, off and on, for quite a while. It's a really, really strange musical production. My summation? This is great!

Gary Peterson

OK, before yet another enthusiastic but misguided reviewer mistakenly labels this as a disco collection, I thought I'd better jump in and set the record straight: This is not disco.

Andrea True Connection is disco. Silver Convention is disco. Donna Summer is disco (well, mostly anyway).

And while the original concept may have been to set this album in a Studio 54 environment, only one track--"Ladies In Blue"--has that 70's Saturday Night Fever disco sound. The rest of the tracks are pure modern-day electronica (except Steve Earle's & Martha Wainwright's, which are also the weakest overall). Fatboy Slim aka Norman Cook is one of the world's foremost electronic musician/composer/DJ/producers, so most of this set contains his expected samples, breaks & beats. In fact, I'd say the overall success of this project is due largely to Norman's involvement (sorry David). Really.

Of the twenty-two tracks, only four are just so-so: the aforementioned Steve Earle & Martha Wainwright tracks, the Natalie Merchant (sorry Natalie) and the David Byrne/Shara Worden duet. David's vocals just aren't up to the level of the ladies on this project (sorry again, David).

That leaves eighteen exceptional tracks, which let's face it, pretty much never happens, and why this album is likely to do the Grammy thing as well as land on everyone's Best Of 2010 lists (including mine).

The real standouts for me (starting with most favorite) are:

1. Dancing Together (Sharon Jones) - Sharon is flat-out phenomenal in everything she does. Period. This track is a funk tour-de-force and is worth the purchase price alone.

2. Eleven Days (Cyndi Lauper) - Radio-friendly, catchy with superb performance by Cyndi. One of her two best vocals in decades (the other being 2007's "Early Bird" with Erasure).

3. The Whole Man (Kate Pierson) - What? She's in her 60's? Unbelievable. Kate sounds as fresh and young as the day the B-52s stepped into the studio to record "Rock Lobster".

4. Men Will Do Anything (Alice Russell) - An amazing performance by this under-appreciated UK soul powerhouse. If there were any justice in the world of music, Alice Russell would be on everyone's iPod. Yes, she's that good.

5. Don't You Agree? (Roisin Murphy) - I've been a fan of Roisin (pronounced Ro-Shen) since her days with Moloko. Check out her "Ruby Blue" album for a truly inspired, bizarre, left-of-center electronica experience.

I have been a David Byrne fan for years. I got the booklet and the CD version mostly because it didn't cost that much more than just the two CD set. I got much more than I expected. While the book is quite small, it really greatly effected my appreciation of the music on the disk. While most of us are aware of Imelda Marcos from her shoes and the fall of the Marcos regime, many of us have never been aware of the story of Ms. Cumpas, the woman who (though not much older than Imelda) pretty much raised her or many details of Imelda's early life. The book included herein explains all of this and much more, including Ferdinand's whirlwind courtship and Imelda's earlier relationship with Begnino Aquino (who went on to marry Corazon - eventually the President of the Phillipines - and who was assassinated upon his return from exile). So the book was fabulous and worth the extra money. The music is sprinkled with a few gems ("Here Lies Love" and "Men Will Do Anything" spring to mind immediately) and stand out performances by guest singers. Byrne explains that he set out to write a song cycle that would provide a reason for people to buy an entire CD, rather than just download a few tracks. For someone who appreciates the sweep of history and some good music too, Byrne has succeeded.

How many will buy "Here Lies Love" not because it's the new David Byrne release but because it's a rock/pop opera that explores the psyche of Imelda Marcos? A bar chart of that statistic would make for interesting analyzing. Given that potential demographic dichotomy, no one needs knowledge of Marcos, the Philippines or even anything west of the International Date Line to groove to this funky collection of songs that will hook listeners like helpless fish. Though Byrne's vocals only appear noticeably on three of the twenty-two tracks, his presence nonetheless pervades and inhabits every song and vocal inflection. Longtime fans will notice the "Fuzzy Freaky" guitar timbre straight away. Others will notice numerous familiar signature song structures and transitions. One listen reveals that this indeed is a David Byrne collection. Also, given the amazing slew of amazing vocal acrobatics contained herein, many will probably not mind the absence of Byrne's voice. And what a lineup: Natalie Merchant, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Pierson, Tori Amos, Steve Earle, and various other well-known singers shake their golden larynxes. The results of this harmonic convergence of pleasure may even overwhelm some on first listen. Here indeed lies the new David Byrne project. No doubt. Not to diminish the contributions of collaborator Fatboy Slim, who provided many of the funky beats (Byrne and Slim worked together previously on the incredible song, and mandible-plunging video, "Toe Jam"). Byrne fans with or without a sense of modern history will find plenty for their brains to feast on. But those who go further than the music will discover even more. Initiate additional saccadian motion.

Imelda Marcos remains a downright enigma. Equally loved and hated, she still lives in the Philippines, a country she once ruled with her husband, Ferdinand. Many still laud her for the hospitals, schools and museums she built while in power. Others remind us that her democratically elected husband declared martial law and murdered or tortured thousands. Today, Imelda Marcos apparently only acknowledges the story's positive side. Critics slam what they call her convenient obliviousness to the crimes she committed against her own country. "Here Lies Love" has also received criticism for being "too soft" on Marcos and for potentially intensifying her cult of personality. In a recent interview, Byrne conceded that he may have unintentionally done just that. He defends himself by claiming that "Here Lies Love" explores the mind and motivations of a powerful person and not necessarily the political or social consequences of that mindset. In other words, this song cycle was meant as a character study, not as a protest piece. Fervent detractors of Mrs. Marcos may (in many cases understandably) not find themselves able to see past this and subsequently condemn the entire collection. The over 100-page book that accompanies the deluxe edition helps clear up Byrne's perspective and may help ameliorate misunderstandings. Here, in Byrne's own words, are both the stories behind the songs and Imelda Marcos' rise to power. Many passages reflect Byrne's personal political stance towards the Marcos regime (at one point he claims that the USA came close to the point of a Marcos-like regime during George W. Bush's administration). Other highlights include a graphical description of Marcos' theory of beauty and harmony, which includes a viscous Pac-Man creature. This accompanies the hilarious yet disturbing Kate Pierson sung "The Whole Man." The story also weaves in the jilted Estrella Cumpas, who helped raise Imelda after her mother died. Imelda Marco's attitude towards Cumpas, as depicted here, can only be described as heartless. In the book this relationship takes on a draconian dimension. Imelda does not come out of this looking good (and what happened to Estrella remains a little ambiguous). Those who groove to the music while ingesting the accompanying text will find no cause for labeling "Here Lies Love" a pro-Marcos propaganda piece (although the DVDs included in the deluxe set, which include fascinating archival film footage, could potentially come across as hype pieces if taken out of context). Ultimately, the story behind the songs adds a compelling dimension to this song cycle and elevates it far above the usual collection of songs. Byrne hasn't really done anything like this before.

"Here Lies Love" (taken, like many other of the lyrics, from Imelda's own mouth) stands as another intriguing and hugely enjoyable Byrne collaboration (other salient partnerships have included Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, and Robert Wilson). Byrne continues to beguile, educate, enlighten and entertain. As such, it remains little wonder that his work has the staying power of plutonium. Long past the age that many rock stars burn out, Byrne just continues exploring. Hopefully he won't stop.

After overcoming my dismay that this wasn't a David Byrne-sung record and forcing myself to repeated listenings, the payoff was well worth it. This is an excellent effort by Bryne and his collaborators, and I predict we'll be hearing about it plenty when the Best of 2010 lists and Grammy Nominations come out. You won't need all 22 tracks forever, but there's plenty that you will: "Eleven Days," "Dancing Together," "How Are You?," "Please Don't," "Don't You Agree?," and the David Bryne-sung "American Trogolyte" are all stellar cuts. And there's more --but you should buy this future "Best Music of 2010" record and discover 'em for yourself.