Search - Laurie Anderson :: Big Science

Only worth it if you don't already own it.

J. B. Land | 07/17/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"This remastered and "expanded" 25th anniversary edition of Big Science is a huge letdown. Not only is the one audio bonus track not included on the cd proper (it's a file on the enhanced portion of the cd) but the remastering itself is negligible. Also, the introduction to the title track has actually been truncated from the original version. My disappointment is compounded by my purchase of Holger Czukay's Movies which was remastered with such care that, even though it was recorded slightly earlier than Big Science, sounds like it was recorded yesterday.



Big Science is a phenomenal and groundbreaking album. If you're interested in delving into Laurie Anderson's work, this is the place to start. However, if you're already a fan and you already own Big Science on cd, this is simply a waste of money."

A Note From Nonesuch Records

J. Berman | New York, NY | 08/07/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While we feel that the remastering of Laurie Anderson's Big Science dramatically improves the sound quality of the original CD, there was indeed a small omission: the first of two wolf howls that introduces track 2, "Big Science," is missing in the master used for the initial production run of the reissue. This error has since been fixed. Anyone who purchased the CD with the 'truncated' introduction to the title track may return it to us and we will send you the corrected version free of charge. Please see the product description above for more details."

An American minimalist music classic

Paul Allaer | Cincinnati | 07/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When "Big Science" was originally released in 1982, it was one of the most unexpected successes of that year, not only as an album, but also generating one of the most unlikely top 10 singles ever with the 8+ min. "O Superman (For Massenet)". Certainly the video helped it make a success, but there was more than that.



Now, 25 years after the original release, comes the remastered and upgraded version. "Big Science" (9 tracks, 41 min., plus bonus materials) starts off with one of its best tracks, "From the Air", a threatening piece from the perspective of an airline captain. The beautiful title track follows, with its slow yet mesmorizing tone. Other highlights for me on the album are of course "O Superman", which still sounds as intruigingand hypnotizing as it did 25 years ago (I still lived in Belgium then, and can attest that this was a genuine hit single there and in many other European countries), and "Let X = X", another minimalist masterpiece. Some of the shorter tracks, such as "Sweaters" and "Walking & Falling" doen't really catch on for me, but it doesn't diminish the overall classic status of the album.



I had this on vinyl but never got the original CD issue, so I don't know how much the audio differs or improves, but regardless I think the audio quality of this remaster is great, so I'm not certain what the complaint about that could be. The bonus materials on the enhanced portion of the CD are skimpy but nice: the video for "O Superman" and an audio file for for "Walk the Dog", which was the B-side of "O Superman". Even though the song is certainly not "essential", it's too bad that it wasn't added onto the regular audio portion. Laurie Anderson also provides some nice liner notes. Overall, I am very happy that I finally got this in my collection, and this album is a true classic of American minimalist music. Highly recommended!"