Here Lies Love
Encyclopedia
Here Lies Love is a concept album
and rock musical
made in collaboration between David Byrne
and Fatboy Slim
, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines
Imelda Marcos
along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave the Philippines. The album features 22 guest vocalists and was released on April 6, 2010, under Nonesuch Records
and Todomundo in several formats, including a deluxe double-Compact Disc
set with a DVD
of music videos from the album and a 120-page book. The title is taken from a comment made by Imelda Marcos during a visit to her husband Ferdinand Marcos
's embalmed body. Imelda Marcos expressed that she would like the phrase "Here Lies Love" to be inscribed on her tombstone.
David Byrne released the following statement regarding this album:
, Allison Moorer
, Nellie McKay
, Cyndi Lauper
, Tori Amos
, Martha Wainwright
, Natalie Merchant
, Sia Furler
, Santigold, Charmaine Clamor
, Nicole Atkins
, and Kate Pierson
among many others, alternately playing the roles of Imelda Marcos and Estrella Cumpas.
Byrne described Cyndi Lauper
's performance on the album as "amazingly fine-tuned" and "very impressive." The only male vocalists are Steve Earle
on "A Perfect Hand", and Byrne himself on "American Troglodyte" and "Seven Years", the latter being a duet with Shara Worden
from My Brightest Diamond
.
The first promotional single from Here Lies Love is "Please Don't" featuring Santigold on vocals. The single became available on Byrne's website as a free high-quality MP3
download on January 19, 2010. Additionally, 30 second segments of each track from the album are currently available for streaming.
, Australia
on March 10, 2006 with additional dates on March 13 and March 14, and was also performed live at the Carnegie Hall
in New York City
on February 3, 2007, as part of the Carnegie Hall Perspectives Series.
Act I: Flashback – Early Days
Act II: The Climb to Power
Act III: The Turning Point
Act IV: The Fall
Disc two
DVD videos
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
and rock musical
Rock musical
A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concept albums become rock musicals...
made in collaboration between David Byrne
David Byrne
David Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
and Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
, about the life of the former First Lady of the Philippines
First Lady of the Philippines
The First Lady/ Gentleman of the Philippines is the unofficial title of the hostess/host of the Malacañang Palace, the nation's residence of its head of state...
Imelda Marcos
Imelda Marcos
Imelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
along with the woman who raised her—Estrella Cumpas—and follows Marcos until she and her family were forced to leave the Philippines. The album features 22 guest vocalists and was released on April 6, 2010, under Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records
Nonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
and Todomundo in several formats, including a deluxe double-Compact Disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
set with a DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
of music videos from the album and a 120-page book. The title is taken from a comment made by Imelda Marcos during a visit to her husband Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Marcos
Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
's embalmed body. Imelda Marcos expressed that she would like the phrase "Here Lies Love" to be inscribed on her tombstone.
David Byrne released the following statement regarding this album:
-
- “The story I am interested in is about asking what drives a powerful person—what makes them tick? How do they make and then remake themselves? I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if—as this piece would be principally composed of clubby dance music—one could experience it in a club setting? Could one bring a ‘story’ and a kind of theater to the disco? Was that possible? If so, wouldn’t that be amazing!”
Recording and release
The album features mostly guest female singers, including Florence WelchFlorence Welch
Florence Leontine Mary Welch is an English singer-songwriter, best known worldwide as the lead singer of Florence and the Machine...
, Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer
Allison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
, Nellie McKay
Nellie McKay
Nellie McKay , is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums, and for her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera , for which she won a Theatre World Award...
, Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
, Tori Amos
Tori Amos
Tori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
, Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright
Martha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
, Natalie Merchant
Natalie Merchant
Natalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
, Sia Furler
Sia Furler
Sia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...
, Santigold, Charmaine Clamor
Charmaine Clamor
Charmaine Clamor is a Filipina jazz singer based in Hollywood, California best known for melding traditional Filipino folk songs and instruments with American jazz and blues in a newly developed musical genre called "Jazzipino"-Biography:...
, Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins
Nicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. She has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from the Brill Building era.-Early life:...
, and Kate Pierson
Kate Pierson
Catherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...
among many others, alternately playing the roles of Imelda Marcos and Estrella Cumpas.
Byrne described Cyndi Lauper
Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's performance on the album as "amazingly fine-tuned" and "very impressive." The only male vocalists are Steve Earle
Steve Earle
Stephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
on "A Perfect Hand", and Byrne himself on "American Troglodyte" and "Seven Years", the latter being a duet with Shara Worden
Shara Worden
Shara Worden is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. She was previously a backup vocalist for Sufjan Stevens and the frontwoman of Awry.-Life:...
from My Brightest Diamond
My Brightest Diamond
My Brightest Diamond is the project of singer–songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Shara Worden. The band has released two studio albums, 2006's Bring Me the Workhorse and 2008's A Thousand Shark's Teeth, along with a remix album Tear It Down and a download-only release through iTunes...
.
The first promotional single from Here Lies Love is "Please Don't" featuring Santigold on vocals. The single became available on Byrne's website as a free high-quality MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
download on January 19, 2010. Additionally, 30 second segments of each track from the album are currently available for streaming.
Live performances
Here Lies Love has been performed live four times. It debuted at the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts in AdelaideAdelaide
Adelaide is the capital city of South Australia and the fifth-largest city in Australia. Adelaide has an estimated population of more than 1.2 million...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
on March 10, 2006 with additional dates on March 13 and March 14, and was also performed live at the Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on February 3, 2007, as part of the Carnegie Hall Perspectives Series.
Scene structure
Prologue- "Here Lies Love"
Act I: Flashback – Early Days
- "Every Drop of Rain"
- "You'll Be Taken Care Of"
- "The Rose of Tacloban"
- "How Are You?"
- "A Perfect Hand"
- "Eleven Days"
Act II: The Climb to Power
- "Walk Like a Woman"
- "Don't You Agree?"
- "Ladies in Blue"
- "When She Passed By"
- "A Pretty Face"
- "A Whole Man"
- "American Troglodyte"
- "Dancing Together"
Act III: The Turning Point
- "Men Will Do Anything"
- "Never So Big"
- "Please Don't"
Act IV: The Fall
- "Solano Avenue"
- "Seven Years"
- "Order 1081"
- "Why Don't You Love Me?"
- "Here Lies Love" (Reprise)
Critical reception
The album has received mixed and positive reviews.Track listing
Disc one- "Here Lies Love" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 5:52
- "Every Drop Of Rain" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 5:34
- "You'll Be Taken Care Of" (David Byrne) – 3:20
- "The Rose of Tacloban" (David Byrne) – 2:33
- "How Are You?" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 2:43
- "A Perfect Hand" (David Byrne) – 4:58
- "Eleven Days" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 2:44
- "When She Passed By" (David Byrne and Tom Gandey) – 3:50
- "Walk Like a Woman" (David Byrne) – 3:59
- "Don't You Agree?" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 3:20
- "Pretty Face" (David Byrne) – 3:23
- "Ladies in Blue" (David Byrne) – 4:21
Disc two
- "Dancing Together" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 3:53
- "Men Will Do Anything" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 4:06
- "The Whole Man" (David Byrne) – 4:15
- "Never So Big" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 4:00
- "Please Don't" (David Byrne) – 3:59
- "American Troglodyte" (David Byrne, Norman Cook, and José Luis "Cheo" Pardo) – 4:07
- "Solano Avenue" (David Byrne and Norman Cook) – 3:56
- "Order 1081" (David Byrne) – 5:47
- "Seven Years" (David Byrne) – 5:40
- "Why Don't You Love Me?" (David Byrne and Tom Gandey) – 3:58
DVD videos
- "Eleven Days" – 2:20
- "When She Passed By" – 3:30
- "Don't You Agree?" – 2:51
- "Dancing Together" – 3:24
- "Please Don't" – 4:00
- "Order 1081" – 4:28
Personnel
- Tori AmosTori AmosTori Amos is an American pianist, singer-songwriter and composer. She was at the forefront of a number of female singer-songwriters in the early 1990s and was noteworthy early in her career as one of the few alternative rock performers to use a piano as her primary instrument...
– vocals on "You'll Be Taken Care Of" (as Imelda MarcosImelda MarcosImelda R. Marcos is a Filipino politician and widow of 10th Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos. Upon the ascension of her husband to political power, she held various positions to the government until 1986...
' mother Remedios Trinidad y de Guzman Romualdez) and "Why Don't You Love Me?" (as Estrella Cumpas) - Theresa AnderssonTheresa AnderssonTheresa Andersson is a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist.-General:Andersson came to New Orleans in 1990 to play violin with fellow singer-songwriter and Swede, Anders Osborne. Nine years later, she left the band...
– vocals on "Ladies in Blue" - Nicole AtkinsNicole AtkinsNicole Atkins is an American singer-songwriter. She has been compared to Roy Orbison and singers from the Brill Building era.-Early life:...
– vocals on "Solano Avenue" (as Estrella Cumpas) - David ByrneDavid ByrneDavid Byrne may refer to:*David Byrne , musician and former Talking Heads frontman**David Byrne , his eponymous album*David Byrne , Irish footballer*David Byrne , English footballer...
– composition, instrumentation, and vocals on "American Troglodyte" and "Seven Years" (the latter song as Benigno Aquino, Jr.Benigno Aquino, Jr.Benigno Simeon "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. was a Filipino Senator and a former Governor of Tarlac. Aquino, together with Gerry Roxas and Jovito Salonga, formed the leadership of the opposition to the Marcos regime in the years leading to the imposition of martial law in the Philippines...
) - Camille – vocals on "Pretty Face" (as Imelda Marcos)
- Charmaine ClamorCharmaine ClamorCharmaine Clamor is a Filipina jazz singer based in Hollywood, California best known for melding traditional Filipino folk songs and instruments with American jazz and blues in a newly developed musical genre called "Jazzipino"-Biography:...
– vocals on "Walk Like a Woman" (as Imelda Marcos) - Steve EarleSteve EarleStephen Fain "Steve" Earle is an American singer-songwriter known for his rock and Texas Country as well as his political views. He is also a producer, author, a political activist, and an actor, and has written and directed a play....
– vocals on "A Perfect Hand" (as Ferdinand MarcosFerdinand MarcosFerdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos, Sr. was a Filipino leader and an authoritarian President of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He was a lawyer, member of the Philippine House of Representatives and a member of the Philippine Senate...
) - Fatboy SlimFatboy SlimNorman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
– composition and instrumentation - SiaSia FurlerSia Kate Isobelle Furler or simply Sia, is an Australian pop, downtempo, and jazz singer and songwriter. In 2000, her single, "Taken for Granted" was a top 10 hit in the United Kingdom. Her 2008 album, Some People Have Real Problems peaked in the top 30 on the Billboard 200...
– vocals on "Never So Big" (as Estrella Cumpas) - Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
– vocals on "Eleven Days" and "Why Don't You Love Me?" (as Imelda Marcos) - Nellie McKayNellie McKayNellie McKay , is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and former stand-up comedienne, noted for her critically acclaimed albums, and for her Broadway debut in The Threepenny Opera , for which she won a Theatre World Award...
– vocals on "How Are You?" (as Estrella Cumpas) - Allison MoorerAllison MoorerAllison Moorer is an American alternative country singer and the younger sister of Shelby Lynne. She signed to MCA Nashville in 1998 and made her debut on the U.S...
– vocals on "When She Passed By" (as Estrella Cumpas) - Sharon Jones – vocals on "Dancing Together" (as Imelda Marcos)
- Natalie MerchantNatalie MerchantNatalie Anne Merchant is an American singer-songwriter and musician. She joined the alternative rock band 10,000 Maniacs in 1981 and left it to begin her solo career in 1993.-Early life:...
– vocals on "Order 1081" (as Imelda Marcos) - Róisín MurphyRóisín MurphyRóisín Marie Murphy is an Irish singer-songwriter and record producer, known for her electronic style.Murphy first came to note as part of the electronic music duo Moloko. Her partner in the band was then-boyfriend Mark Brydon. After the two ended their romantic relationship, Murphy released her...
– vocals on "Don't You Agree?" (as Imelda Marcos) - Candie PayneCandie PayneCandice "Candie" Payne is an English singer and songwriter from Liverpool. She released her debut album, I Wish I Could Have Loved You More, on Deltasonic in May 2007. She is the sister of singer/songwriter Howie Payne, former frontman of band The Stands and Sean Payne, the drummer of The...
– vocals on "Every Drop of Rain"(as Estrella Cumpas) - Kate PiersonKate PiersonCatherine Elizabeth "Kate" Pierson is an American vocalist and one of the lead singers and founding members of The B-52's. One of the multi-instrumentalists in the band, Pierson played guitar, bass and various keyboard instruments...
– vocals on "The Whole Man" (as Imelda Marcos) - Alice RussellAlice Russell (singer)Alice Russell is a British soul singer. She was born in 1975, the daughter of an organist, and grew up in Framlingham in Suffolk. At the age of nine, following in her father and sisters' musical footsteps, Alice began taking lessons on Cello, and sang in choirs, before studying art and music in...
– vocals on "Men Will Do Anything" (as Imelda Marcos) - St. VincentAnnie ClarkAnnie Erin Clark is an American multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter who performs as St. Vincent. She was a member of The Polyphonic Spree and also part of Sufjan Stevens' touring band, prior to forming her own band....
– vocals on "Every Drop of Rain" (as Imelda Marcos) - Santigold – vocals on "Please Don't" (as Imelda Marcos)
- Martha WainwrightMartha WainwrightMartha Wainwright is a Canadian-American folk-rock singer-songwriter. She is the daughter of American folk singer and actor Loudon Wainwright III and Canadian folk singer-songwriter Kate McGarrigle...
– vocals on "The Rose of Tacloban" (as Imelda Marcos) - Florence WelchFlorence WelchFlorence Leontine Mary Welch is an English singer-songwriter, best known worldwide as the lead singer of Florence and the Machine...
– vocals on "Here Lies Love" (as Imelda Marcos) - Shara WordenShara WordenShara Worden is the lead singer and songwriter for My Brightest Diamond. She was previously a backup vocalist for Sufjan Stevens and the frontwoman of Awry.-Life:...
– vocals on "Seven Years" (as Imelda Marcos)
External links
- David Byrne's homepage on Here Lies Love
- Here Lies Love at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...