Life on a String (album)

Life on a String is the sixth studio album by performance artist Laurie Anderson, released in 2001 on Nonesuch Records.

Life on a String
Studio album by
ReleasedAugust 21, 2001
Recorded2000–2001
Studio
  • Lobby Studio, New York City
  • Magic Shop, New York City
  • Edison Recording, New York City
GenreAvant-garde
Experimental music
Pop music
Length43:55
LabelNonesuch
79539
ProducerLaurie Anderson
Hal Willner
Laurie Anderson chronology
Talk Normal: The Laurie Anderson Anthology
(2000)
Life on a String
(2001)
Live in New York
(2002)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic [1]
Rolling Stone[2]

One of Anderson's predominantly musical (as opposed to spoken-word) albums, Life on a String was recorded at the Lobby Studios in New York City under the musical direction of Skúli Sverrisson, and produced by Anderson and Hal Willner. Guest musicians on the album include Van Dyke Parks, Mocean Worker, Mitchell Froom and Lou Reed.

The first three songs, "One White Whale," "The Island Where I Come From," and "Pieces and Parts," were taken from her show Songs and Stories from Moby Dick. The song "Slip Away" is about the death of her father. "Washington Street" is about Washington Street, Manhattan.

Track listing

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All tracks composed by Laurie Anderson, except where indicated

  1. "One White Whale" – 1:58
  2. "The Island Where I Come From" – 4:08
  3. "Pieces and Parts" – 3:36
  4. "Here with You" – 2:22
  5. "Slip Away" – 5:50
  6. "My Compensation" – 2:28 (Anderson, Skúli Sverrisson)
  7. "Dark Angel" – 3:22
  8. "Broken" – 3:19
  9. "Washington Street" – 4:41
  10. "Statue of Liberty" – 4:24
  11. "One Beautiful Evening" – 5:05
  12. "Life on a String" – 2:57

Some copies have "Rumba Club" as a bonus track.

Personnel

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Technical
  • Produced by Laurie Anderson and Hal Willner
  • Recorded by Martin Brumbach at The Lobby, New York City
  • Additional engineers – Bob Brockmann, Dante DeSole, Josiah Gluck, Laurie Anderson
  • Mixed by Bob Brockman at NuMedia, New York City, except 2 and 10 by Martin Brumbach
  • Mastered by Robert C. Ludwig at Gateway Mastering Studios (Portland, ME, USA)
  • Executive producer – David Bither
  • Artwork – Barbara De Wilde
  • Photography by Victor Schrager
  • Cover photography – Noah Greenberg

References

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