Big Science (Laurie Anderson album)

Big Science is the 1982 debut album by avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson and the first of a 7-album deal she signed with Warner Bros. Records. It is best known for the single "O Superman", which unexpectedly reached No. 2 in the UK. The work is a selection of highlights from her eight-hour production, United States Live, which was itself released as a 5-LP box set and book in 1984. United States Live was originally a performance piece, in which music was only one element. After Big Science music played a larger role in Anderson's work.[9]

Big Science
Studio album by Laurie Anderson
Released	April 19, 1982 June 18, 2007 (reissue)
Recorded	The Lobby, The Hit Factory, New York City
Genre	Avant-garde, art pop, electronic
Length	38:19
Label	Warner Bros. 23674 Nonesuch/Elektra Records (reissue) 79988
Producer	Laurie Anderson Roma Baran
Laurie Anderson chronology
You're the Guy I Want To Share My Money With (1981) Big Science (1982) Mister Heartbreak (1984)
Singles from Big Science
"O Superman" Released: 1981

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Blender	[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[3]
Pitchfork	8.7/10[4]
Rolling Stone	[5]
Spin	[6]
Uncut	[7]
The Village Voice	A−[8]

Although considered her debut album, Anderson had previously recorded one side of a 2-LP set titled You're the Guy I Want to Share My Money With, a collaboration released on Giorno Poetry Systems with William S. Burroughs and John Giorno. She had also contributed two pieces to a 1977 compilation of electronic music.

Background

Track 8, without the tango or the horns, was released as a flexi disc in the February issue of Artforum earlier in 1982.[10] A sleeve for the disc could be cut out from the magazine and assembled.

A newly remastered version of the album was released on 18 June 2007 by Nonesuch/Elektra Records with new liner notes, and, in the data portion of the CD, the bonus track "Walk the Dog" (B-side of the original "O Superman" single) and the "O Superman" video.

Slant Magazine listed the album at #44 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s."[11] In 2018, Pitchfork listed the album at #22 on its list of the "200 Best Albums of the 1980s."[12]

Laurie Anderson enjoyed a surprise popular hit in the United Kingdom with "O Superman" in 1981. Her subsequent albums Big Science and Mister Heartbreak each sold between 100,000 and 125,000 copies domestically, and even the five-record United States - Live sold 40,000, according to Elliot Abbott, Anderson's manager and the executive producer of Home of the Brave. [13] As of 1983, the album has sold 150,000 copies worldwide.[14]

Track listing

All tracks by Laurie Anderson.

1. "From the Air" – 4:29
2. "Big Science" – 6:25
3. "Sweaters" – 2:18
4. "Walking & Falling" – 2:10
5. "Born, Never Asked" – 4:56
6. "O Superman (for Massenet)" – 8:21
7. "Example #22" – 2:59
8. "Let X=X/It Tango" – 6:52

Personnel

• Laurie Anderson – vocals, vocoder, farfisa organ, percussion, Oberheim OB-Xa, sticks, violins, electronics, keyboards, handclaps, whistling, marimba
• Roma Baran – farfisa bass, glass harmonica, sticks, handclaps, casiotone, accordion, whistling
• Perry Hoberman – bottles and sticks, handclaps, flute, sax, piccolo, backing vocals
• Bill Obrecht – alto saxophone
• Peter Gordon – clarinet, tenor saxophone
• David Van Tieghem – drums, rototoms, timpani, marimba, percussion

Additional personnel

• Rufus Harley – bagpipes on 3
• Chuck Fisher – alto and tenor saxophone on 7
• Richard Cohen – b-flat clarinet on 7, e-flat clarinet on 7, bass clarinet on 7, bassoon on 7, baritone saxophone on 7
• Leanne Ungar – backing vocals on 7
• George Lewis – trombones

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
1982	Pop Albums	124[15]
1982	New Zealand Albums	8[16]
1982	UK Albums	29

References

1. Mason, Stewart. "Big Science – Laurie Anderson". AllMusic. Retrieved August 31, 2005.
2. "Laurie Anderson: Big Science". Blender. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 6, 2017.
3. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
4. Klein, Joshua (August 2, 2007). "Laurie Anderson: Big Science". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 3, 2007.
5. Holden, Stephen (June 10, 1982). "Laurie Anderson: Big Science". Rolling Stone (371). Archived from the original on July 26, 2008. Retrieved May 12, 2006.
6. Hermes, Will (September 2007). "Reissues". Spin. 23 (9): 124. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
7. "Laurie Anderson: Big Science". Uncut: 89. [T]he broader themes of alienation and disconnection, as voiced in deadpan manner on 'From the Air' still resonate ...
8. Christgau, Robert (June 1, 1982). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
9. McClary, Susan (2001). "Laurie Anderson". In Root, Deane L. (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Oxford University Press. ‎
10. "Artforum.com". artforum.com.
11. "The 100 Best Albums of the 1980s - Feature - Slant Magazine".
12. "The 200 Best Albums of the 1980s - Page 9". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2019-10-02.
13. Freedman, Samuel G. "MAINSTREAM CATCHES AVANT-GARDE".
14. Shewey, Don. "THE PERFORMING ARTISTRY OF LAURIE ANDERSON".
15. Big Science - Laurie Anderson > Charts & Awards > Billboard Album at AllMusic. Retrieved 16 March 2006.
16. Charts.nz