Live In New York [Live]

Laurie Anderson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 21, 2002)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Nonesuch
• ASIN: B0000668N9
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #50,744 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #65 in Music > Indie Music > Alternative Rock > American Alternative

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Laurie Anderson scored an improbable hit in the early ‘80s with the atmospheric "O Superman," a song that appears near the end of this exhaustive two-disc live set. Despite a new arrangement, the track sounds just as entrancing as it did 20 years ago, if only because the 90 minutes leading up to it features some of the most complex, dreamlike, and unnerving music ever produced. But given that these concerts were recorded just days after the September 11 attacks in New York, the effect is all the more chilling--just try to hold back the goose bumps when Anderson sings, "Here come the planes / They're American planes / Made in America." The air of intensity is palpable throughout Live at Town Hall, as Anderson pulls out vintage pieces like "Let X=X" and "Strange Angels," each one taking new shape and meaning in the process. It is a harrowing listen. --Aidin Vaziri

Product Description

The set list captured on this specially-priced 2CD recording includes ten songs from Life on a String, plus 2002 arrangements of earlier songs from her catalog, including 'Let X=X', 'Coolsville', 'Strange Angels' and the classic 'O Superman' - one of the great compositions of the last two decades. Recorded live at Town Hall / Sept. 19-20, 2001. Trifold digipak.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I was there, July 11, 2002

By 

P. Lannan (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live In New York (Audio CD)

I had tickets to about 2 broadway shows and a 3 day vacation planned for Fla. the week of Sept 11th. Right after the attacks, I, of course, and every other New Yorker were too stunned to even leave our house except for work. I did'nt go to Fla., did'nt go to the plays - The next event I had scheduled prior to Sept 11 was Laurie - My friend and I dragged ourselves on the subway and to Town Hall on that wednesday Sept 19th.I can't even begin to tell you what a balming effect this music had in the wake of Sept 11th. I did'nt get the CD yet but this was the best sounding live show I ever attended - I was in the forth row and Laurie was phenominal. The drummer / percussionist just blew us away. I'm not sure this made the CD, but I remember when Laurie first walked out, she dedicated the night's music to peace.What a testament to that dedication. A lovely concert.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Attending the event, April 22, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Live In New York (Audio CD)

Playing this CD makes the listener feel they are attending the event itself. The music itself is amazing right through, as are the spken word pieces. There is an intimacy, some intensity, some discomfort but some delight too, for example when the anecdote ('Beginning French') about French 'traffic testers' gives way discreetly to the intro of 'O Superman.' But the intensity is felt most when Laurie refers to 9/11 and her reactions, playing that evening, the sense of an entirley changed world. Her songs fit. My favourites here are O Superman, which I knew from the 8os and Strange Angels, which I didn't know before.
The discomfort comes in when you've listened all the way through and get to O Superman on Disc 2, when the references to 'Amercian planes, made in America' are heard.
This is a good place to go for a live compilation of Laurie Anderson songs.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Stellar!, March 9, 2005

By 

M. Kobb (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Live In New York (Audio CD)

I've seen Laurie Anderson live on a half-dozen occasions, and the shows are always somehow new.

This show is no different. Unlike most of her shows in recent years, this one heavily features her earlier, most-quirky material. But, that material is re-conceived for the live band. Although updated and punched up a bit, it's still true to its original spirit.

The results are wonderful. If you enjoy the earlier albums like Big Science, you'll love hearing their formerly-sparse arrangements augmented with a really great live band. Some of these songs haven't been performed live for many years, and hearing them now is a treat.

I have to agree with the Amazon reviewer and a couple of others: "O Superman" is clearly the climax of the show. The audience's reaction -- surprised and then delighted -- to the opening of O Superman fading in as if sent from long ago is exhilarating.

Knowing the conext of this show and hearing Laurie sing, voice barely controlled, about the "American planes", gives me chills every time I listen. To think that this song was written nearly 20 years before the events of 9/11 is eerie. Extremely powerful stuff.