Bright Red | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | October 25, 1994 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | Art pop, ambient pop | |||
Length | 52:19 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Producer | Brian Eno, Laurie Anderson | |||
Laurie Anderson chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [1] |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
Bright Red is the fifth studio album by American avant-garde musician Laurie Anderson, released by Warner Bros. in 1994. The album continues the more pop-oriented direction Anderson launched with Strange Angels . Produced by Brian Eno (who also co-wrote several of the songs with Anderson), Bright Red is divided into two parts: "Bright Red" and "Tightrope".
Anderson originally planned to forgo electronics for the recording of Bright Red and instead focus on more organic instrumentation from bass guitars, accordions, violins, Brazilian percussion, and drums. However, Anderson later decided to process these instruments with a computer program and slow them down. Eno advised Anderson to remove some instrumentation from certain songs to keep the production sparse. Anderson likened the final product to some of her music from the early 1980s and said that the songs on Bright Red were less structured compared to her more recent work. [3]
The song "The Puppet Motel" was also featured on an interactive CD-ROM titled Puppet Motel , released by Anderson in 1995. [4] "Speak My Language" is a re-recording of a song Anderson previously performed on the soundtrack to the 1993 film Faraway, So Close and was also featured in the 1995 film Fallen Angels . The song "Beautiful Pea Green Boat" has additional lyrics from the poem "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear (misspelled "Edwin" in the album's liner notes). Lou Reed co-wrote "In Our Sleep" with Anderson and also contributed guitar and vocals to the song, which also featured drumming from Joey Baron, tambourine polyrhythms from Cyro Baptista, and synth textures from Eno. [5] Reed and Anderson married in 2008 after living with each other in West Village for over a decade. [6]
No commercial singles were originally planned for the album, although Billboard announced in its July 1994 publication that "The Puppet Motel", "World Without End", "Poison" would be serviced to college rock, modern rock, and Adult album alternative radio stations. Linda Goldstein, who served as Anderson's manager, expressed optimism that these formats, particularly album alternative, would lead to more commercial success. She also said that there were negotiations underway to release the album in select book stores to promote Anderson's book, Stories From the Nerve Bible. [3] Despite initial plans not to issue a commercial single, "In Our Sleep" was released as a CD single in 1995. [7]
All lyrics and music by Laurie Anderson, except where otherwise indicated.
Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band The Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground came to be regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.
Laura Phillips "Laurie" Anderson is an American avant-garde artist, musician and filmmaker whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and sculpting, Anderson pursued a variety of performance art projects in New York City during the 1970s, focusing particularly on language, technology, and visual imagery. She achieved unexpected commercial success when her song "O Superman" reached number two on the UK singles chart in 1981.
The Raven is the nineteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on January 28, 2003 by Sire Records. It is a concept album, recounting the short stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe through word and song, and was based on his 2000 opera co-written with Robert Wilson, POEtry.
No New York is a no wave compilation album released in 1978 by record label Antilles under the curation of producer Brian Eno. Although it only contains songs by four different artists, it has been considered important in defining and documenting the scene and movement, with the name "no wave" being influenced by that of the album according to some accounts.
Mister Heartbreak is the second studio album by American avant-garde artist, singer and composer Laurie Anderson, released on February 14, 1984, by Warner Bros. Records.
Strange Angels is the fifth album overall and fourth studio album by performance artist and singer Laurie Anderson, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1989.
Life on a String is the sixth studio album by performance artist Laurie Anderson, released in 2001 on Nonesuch Records.
New Sensations is the thirteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1984 by RCA Records. John Jansen and Reed produced the album. New Sensations peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and at No. 92 on the UK Albums Chart. This marked the first time that Reed charted within the US Top 100 since his eighth solo studio album Street Hassle (1978), and the first time that Reed had charted in the UK since his sixth solo studio album Coney Island Baby (1976). Three singles were released from the album: "I Love You, Suzanne", "My Red Joystick" and "High in the City", with "I Love You, Suzanne" being the only single to chart, peaking at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "I Love You, Suzanne" did, however, receive light rotation on MTV.
Tubeway Army is the debut studio album by the English new wave band Tubeway Army, released in 1978. Its initial limited-edition run of 5,000 sold out but did not chart. When reissued in mid-1979, following the success of the follow-up Replicas (1979), the more commonly known cover art featuring a stylised portrait of Gary Numan was introduced. This release made No. 14 in the UK Albums Chart.
"Heroin" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song, which overtly depicts heroin usage and its effects, is one of the band's most celebrated compositions. Critic Mark Deming of Allmusic writes, "While 'Heroin' hardly endorses drug use, it doesn't clearly condemn it, either, which made it all the more troubling in the eyes of many listeners." In 2004, it was ranked at number 448 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and was re-ranked at number 455 in 2010.
Set the Twilight Reeling is the seventeenth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on February 20, 1996, by Warner Bros. Records.
Ecstasy is the eighteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on April 4, 2000, by Reprise Records. A concept album about Reed's personal experiences with marriage and relationships, it is his final rock album that is not a collaboration.
The Ugly One with the Jewels and Other Stories is the second live album, first spoken-word album, and the sixth album overall released by avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson, released on Warner Bros. Records on March 14, 1995. It was the last of the seven-album deal that she signed in the early 1980s.
Live in New York is a live album by performance artist Laurie Anderson released as a double-CD by Nonesuch Records in 2002. The album cover reads Laurie Anderson Live at Town Hall New York City September 19–20, 2001.
The Catherine Wheel is an album by Scottish-American musician David Byrne, released in 1981 by Sire Records. It contains Byrne's musical score for choreographer Twyla Tharp's dance project of the same name. The Catherine Wheel premiered September 22, 1981, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City.
Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology is a retrospective of the seven albums recorded by American experimental music composer Laurie Anderson for Warner Bros. Records. All tracks had been previously released. This was the final Anderson release on the main Warner Bros. label before moving to the subsidiary Nonesuch.
Havana Winter is the fourth album by Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle. It was released on July 30, 2009. Kevin Hearn wrote all of the tracks on the album, which was produced by Hearn and Michael Phillip Wojewoda. It was packaged in a double-fold digipak, with no booklet or liner notes.
Homeland is the seventh studio album by Laurie Anderson, released in 2010. A loose concept album about life in the United States, it was her first album of new material since 2001's Life on a String.
Rave On Buddy Holly is a compilation album by various artists released on June 28, 2011, through Fantasy Records/Concord Music Group and Hear Music. A tribute album to musician Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash in 1959 at age 22, the title refers to the song "Rave On", one of his biggest hits. Contributing artists included Paul McCartney, who owned Holly's publishing catalog at the time of the album's release, and Graham Nash, a former member of The Hollies, who were named in commemoration of Holly.
Released in late 2012, Odes is the fourth studio album from The Flowers of Hell. It is a covers record and the first release from the group to feature vocals and verse-chorus-verse song structures. It was premiered by Lou Reed, who opened the twelfth and final episode of his New York Shuffle radio show praising the group and airing three songs in a row, "O Superheroin", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft".