David Anderson

This wonderful DVD is the same 95-minute-or-so concert from Jethro Tull's lead vocalist/songwriter and the Neue Philharmonie Frankfurt that you'll find on the double-CD audio counterpart, 20 songs beginning with the five-piece band and expanding from there. The visuals are lovely – shots from above, fade ins, split screen, black-and-white footage superimposed on color – which makes the viewing quite appealing…

Jon Anderson joins conductor Nigel Warren-Green and his London Chamber Academy for orchestral arrangements of new material and old favorites on Change We Must (and that sound you hear in the distance is the small army of Anderson's detractors crying "This time he's really gone too far"). But far from being the exercise in self-indulgence that some would charge, Change We Must proves to be a lovely setting for Anderson's compositions. Expertly produced by the vocalist and Tim Handley, the disc finds Anderson's voice in harmonic balance with a wonderful landscape of orchestral sounds. The combined effect is, in a word, lovely. Beginning with the Jon & Vangelis chestnut "State of Independence," the singer and orchestra achieve a natural beauty that the previous pairing aimed at but rarely captured…

Animation is the third solo album by Jon Anderson, and it shows both hearkenings to the other two and a new energy and direction. When he recorded the first album, Olias of Sunhillow, he was a member of Yes. That album has a strong progressive rock texture, being composed of longer pieces that all weave into one conceptual piece. It is also important to note that that release is a true "solo" work, Anderson performing virtually every sound on the record. By the time he released Song of Seven, both his professional status (he was no longer a member of Yes) and musical theory seemed to have changed. The album was for more pop-oriented, although a few points (the title track, most notably) still contained strong progressive rock tendencies…

Animation is the third solo album by Jon Anderson, and it shows both hearkenings to the other two and a new energy and direction. When he recorded the first album, Olias of Sunhillow, he was a member of Yes. That album has a strong progressive rock texture, being composed of longer pieces that all weave into one conceptual piece. It is also important to note that that release is a true "solo" work, Anderson performing virtually every sound on the record. By the time he released Song of Seven, both his professional status (he was no longer a member of Yes) and musical theory seemed to have changed. The album was for more pop-oriented, although a few points (the title track, most notably) still contained strong progressive rock tendencies…

Laurie Anderson - United States Live (1983) {4CD Set Warner Bros. 9251922 rel 1991}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 1.26 Gb | MP3 @320 -> 702 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 75 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1983, 1991 Warner Bros. | 9 25192 2
Experimental Music / Avant-Garde / Alternative

Once her popularity seemed assured, Warner Bros. felt safe releasing this five-record set (since reissued on four CDs) comprising United States' entire four-and-a-half hours. It's not the first place I'd recommend going to hear Anderson's work, but for those so inclined it's well worth the effort. Although live performances of United States included film segments that ran during some of her monologues, United States is about communication and how we interpret and use language. It's a bit pretentious, a tad long-winded, and its size makes it unwieldy to listen to in one sitting, but this is an important work loaded with enough insight, wit, and humanity to make relistening and re-evaluating worthwhile.