Strange Angels (Laurie Anderson album)

Strange Angels
Studio album by Laurie Anderson
Released October 24, 1989
Genre Avant-garde, experimental, pop
Length 46:04
Label Warner Bros.
25900
Producer Laurie Anderson
Roma Baran
Mike Thorne
Arto Lindsay
Ian Ritchie
Laurie Anderson chronology
Home of the Brave
(1986)		 Strange Angels
(1989)		 Bright Red
(1994)
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Robert Christgau (A)[2]

Strange Angels is the title of singer Laurie Anderson's fifth album, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1989.

With this release, Anderson attempted to move away from her previous image as a performance artist into a more musical realm. Although music had always been part of her performance, it was never brought to the fore as much as it was on Strange Angels.

Completion of this album was delayed for nearly a year when Anderson decided that she needed to take singing lessons; in the process she discovered that she was a mezzo-soprano.

The album includes contributions from vocal artist Bobby McFerrin. Its striking cover photo was shot by Robert Mapplethorpe. One of the songs on this album, "The Dream Before" (also known as "Hansel and Gretel Are Alive and Well") had been introduced several years earlier in her short film What You Mean We? while she had performed "Babydoll" and "The Day the Devil" years previously on Saturday Night Live.

Reaction to Anderson's new direction was mixed, with some critics praising her new style, while some accused her of abandoning her performance art roots, even though Anderson soon began work on a major piece titled The Nerve Bible. Her next album would not be released for five years.

Strange Angels received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.

Beautiful Red Dress was covered in Portuguese by the Brazilian singer Marina Lima, on her 2006 album 'La nos Primordios', titled "Vestidinho Vermelho" (Little Red Dress).

Contents

Track listing

All tracks composed by Laurie Anderson except where indicated

  1. "Strange Angels" – 3:51
  2. "Monkey's Paw" – 4:33
  3. "Coolsville" – 4:34
  4. "Ramon" – 5:03
  5. "Babydoll" – 3:38
  6. "Beautiful Red Dress" – 4:43
  7. "The Day the Devil" (Laurie Anderson/Peter Laurence Gordon) – 4:00
  8. "The Dream Before" – 3:03
  9. "My Eyes" – 5:29
  10. "Hiawatha" – 6:53

Personnel

"Babydoll"

The lyrics to this song appeared on the liner for the vinyl recording the words centered and formatted into the shape of a doll.[3]

References

  1. ^ Allmusic review
  2. ^ Robert Christgau review
  3. ^ Anderson (1989). Album notes for Strange Angels by Laurie Anderson [vinyl]. Warner Bros. (25900).