David Byrne & Fatboy Slim – Here Lies Love

I bought the CD in 2011 at the SM Mall in Angeles City, Philippines. I have always thought it was fantastic. Of course when I saw it at Barnes and Noble yesterday I had to grab it. First of all it is a quiet, dynamic pressing. It is not as loud as the CD but it is crankable.
GZ Media Canada/PRP did a really nice job. JN-H Sterling is in the dead wax.

David Byrne and Fat Boy Slim along with the various singers attempted to a make a rather bizarre concept album that portrays Imelda Marcos and 20th Century Philippine history through the metaphor of disco clubs and dance music. It is not perfect but comes close.

Some may not like using various female singers instead of one to portray the characters but they tend to all sound the same...which for me works. The more you listen the more they become a bit individualized but they tend never to lose that ability to sound like the same singer. Only Sharon Jones, Shara Worden and Natalie Merchant are recognizable right off the mark. Steve Earl as Ferdinand Marcos actually works.

As far as the politics and suitability of projecting Imelda Marcos in an ambiguous light let me just say that the Marcos years are viewed by citizens of the Philippines in much the same way...negatively and positively on different aspects of their tenure.

If you like the CD I would definitely buy this LP. I can only see this one going up in value as time goes on. If I am wrong it would still be great if this remains inexpensive.

Sounds pretty good! There are a couple of non-fill spots (mostly between tracks, luckily), but it’s a pretty dynamic pressing otherwise!

Off-topic : the woman on the cover (Imelda Marcos) is one of the worst human beings ever lived. To give you an idea - Philippines' deranged mass-killer/president Rodrigo Duterte - well, he's her puppy on a leash. For anyone interested, there is an excellent, much acclaimed documentary on her, called "The Kingmaker" (premiered last year at the Venice Film Festival).

David Byrne & Fatboy Slim recruit a bevy of talented vocalists for this rendition of their Imelda Marcos musical HERE LIES LOVE. As Florence Welch powers her way through the opening title track and its disco breakdown, it becomes clear that these songs serve as a narrative for Marcos' life, as St. Vincent and Candie Payne cha-cha their way through the childhood on "Every Drop Of Rain." Tori Amos slinks across "You'll Be Taken Care Of," while Martha Wainwright takes a delicate approach to the ballad "The Rose Of Tacloban." The Latin jazz of "How Are You?" is ably handled by Nellie McKay, while Steve Earle brings his earnest voice to "A Perfect Hand" (his wife, Allison Moorer takes the lead on "When She Passed By"). But Cyndi Lauper takes to the disco-rock of "Eleven Days," as much as Róisín Murphy funks out "Don't You Agree?" "Ladies in Blue," with Theresa Andersson, hearkens back to classic ABBA, closing out the first disc. Sharon Jones, of course, brings down the house with "Dancing Together," though Alice Russell holds her own on "Men Will Do Anything." Kate Pierson of the B-52s lends her distinctive voice to "The Whole Man," while Sia gets into the Afro-infused "Never So Big." The more electronic- and politically-oriented "Please Don't" suits Santigold quite well, and David Byrne takes the stage of "American Troglodyte," later sharing a duet with Sharon Worden on "Seven Years." But the Wall of Sound soul, as tackled by Nicole Atkins on "Solano Avenue" slides easily into your brain, while the disturbing "Order 1081" is made more palatable the the Natalie Merchant's lullaby-like rendition. Cyndi Lauper and Tori Amos return to wrap up with "Why Don't You Love Me." As a whole, surprisingly catchy, and surprisingly strong.

This is an extraordinary piece of work.
First off, it's not what you'd expect - I, at least, was "expecting" (I didn't really know WHAT to expect, which was why I've bought it) a much more clubby and raucous thing. What I got instead was intricate, subtle, beautifully arranged and composed, and incredibly wise musically. Sure, there are some typical 'byrneisms' here and there, and Norman Cook delivers his trademark sounds as well, but all this is so elegantly layered that on the whole it actually becomes some sort of seamlessly constructed hybrid of Musicals, Electronic, Funk/Soul, Blacksplotation, Pop/Rock, Disco and Latin-American/Brazillian beats.
Add to that the wonderful lyrics as delivered by a truly staggering lineup of (mostly) female vocalists, and you have something truly special.
I've heard it 5-6 times in the last week, which is a lot for me, just to be able to take it all in.
If there is one minor weakness to this work, is that it's maybe TOO cohesive. The difference between the vocalists is somewhat muted. While you can still easily identify Sharon Jones, Tori Amos or Kate Pierson, the rest blend in a bit, which (this being a 'song cycle') I get thematically, but I can't help but feel that it would have been a more adventurous and even more compelling listen, since you've recruited all these talents, to cater a bit more to what makes them unique.

In a word - Highly recommended!

(OK, two words)

I am a fan of David Byrne. I am a fan of Fatboy Slim. I even think the concept and idea behind this album are really good. And it sounds like a great collaboration! However I found it really hard to get behind this release. In fact I find it pretty much unlistenable. It's difficult to put my finger on why this is so...

Given Fatboy Slim is behind the rhythms here, I was expecting a nice fullness behind the tracks, and interesting beats. The mix of the songs does not present any of the beats as the star of the track (fair enough really) but the result is fairly generic, sounding like a beat from a sample CD tacked onto a singer's demo track.

The aim here is a disco representation of the subject's life. Compared to hits of 1970s disco, the songs are far from classic. Again, the performance and tonality has none of the funk, pizazz, or just that intangible raw goodness that made 70s disco exciting. No funky bass lines, no vivacious violins, no divas! I think this was a grand experiment in remote collaboration, sending files back and forth over the internet. A worthy goal to bring many interesting artists into the project. But at the core I feel what got left out in this scenario was that great gelling, that great interplay and emotion of a band performing as one. Despite great singers on the album, the performances are underwhelming. Combined with unmemorable songs, it's a miss for me.