Strange Angels

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Strange Angels
Studio album by Laurie Anderson
Released	1989
Genre	Avant-garde, Experimental, Pop
Label	Warner Bros. Records
Producer	Laurie Anderson, Roma Baron, Mike Thorne, Arto Lindsay, Ian Ritchie
Laurie Anderson chronology
Home of the Brave (1986) Strange Angels (1989) Bright Red (1994)

Strange Angels is the title of singer Laurie Anderson's fifth album, released by Warner Bros. Records in 1989.

With this release, Anderson attempted to move away from her previous image as a performance artist into a more musical realm. Although music had always been part of her performance, it was never brought to the fore as much as it was on Strange Angels.

Completion of this album was delayed for nearly a year when Anderson decided that she needed to take singing lessons; in the process she discovered that she was a mezzo-soprano.

The album includes contributions from vocal artist Bobby McFerrin. Its striking cover photo was shot by Robert Mapplethorpe. One of the songs on this album, "The Dream Before" (also known as "Hansel and Gretel Are Alive and Well") had been introduced several years earlier in her short film, What You Mean We?, while she had performed "Babydoll" and "The Day the Devil" previously on Saturday Night Live.

Reaction to Anderson's new direction was mixed, with some critics praising her new style, while some accused her of abandoning her performance art roots, even though Anderson soon began work on a major piece entitled The Nerve Bible. Her next album would not be released for five years.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 2.1 Babydoll 3 References

[edit] Track listing

All tracks composed by Laurie Anderson; except where indicated

1. "Strange Angels" – 3:51
2. "Monkey's Paw" – 4:33
3. "Coolsville" – 4:34
4. "Ramon" – 5:03
5. "Babydoll" – 3:38
6. "Beautiful Red Dress" – 4:43
7. "The Day the Devil" – 4:00 (Peter Laurence Gordon)
8. "The Dream Before" – 3:03
9. "My Eyes" – 5:29
10. "Hiawatha" – 6:53

[edit] Personnel

• Laurie Anderson - vocals, keyboards, drums on "Coolsville"
• Chris Spedding - guitar
• Jimi Tunnell - guitar
• Peter Scherer - bass
• Mark Dresser - bass
• Sue Hadjopollus - drums
• Joey Baron - drums on "Hiawatha"
• Cyro Baptista - drums on "Beautiful Red Dress"
• Alex Foster - alto saxophone
• Bobby McFerrin - vocals on "Monkey's Paw", "Ramon" & "The Dream Before"

[edit] Babydoll

The lyrics to this song appeared on the liner for the vinyl recording the words centered and formatted into the shape of a doll.^[1]

[edit] References