Here Lies Love (Deluxe Version)

David Byrne? Big fan! Fatboy Slim? Big fan! Imelda Marcos? Not a big fan but she has an interesting story. A disco musical? I had my doubts! I listened to the CD a couple of times, the songs were pretty good. I wonder why they decided to do this as a disco musical. I think it would have been a really good, straight up, musical (piano, orchestra, strings, etc. etc.) My favorite is the title song, very catchy.

First of all, the whole concept behind this is totally brilliant and fresh. If you know anything about the Marcos Administration in the Philippines, then you will totally get it (especially with the videos). The music is an awesome cross between the Spanish influence in the country and the time period. Also, if you want to see this live and you just happen to be in NYC, I would suggest you head over to the Public Theater and partake in the immersion theater experience set to this music. The show, just like the album, is revolutionary and an absolutely fantastic experience. For real though, it is 100% amazing. You fall in love with these characters while you dance the night away with them...literally. In the end, if you don't know the backstory, you don't get it. I can totally understand why it would be weird if you knew nothing about this or had not seen the show. Personally, I studied abroad in the Philippines for three months during college, so this was something that I knew a lot about. Take a chance on this. Google the backstory. Go see the show if it's playing. You will not be sorry.

On the surface, this is an album full of very listenable pop songs. There's not a bad track here, but there are a few that are outstandingly good. To really get the most out of the album, however, there are demands to be met. You can't just put it on while reading the newspaper or doing chores around the house; you really need to give it an attentive listen (or two, or three or four). At 22 songs long, that represents a significant committment of time to one album. I've only listened once thus far, so I can neither praise nor critique how well the songs serve to tell the story, but the initial run-through has left me excited about the prospect of returning to the songs and really delving into the story. The videos are facinating and do add much to the experience, as I expected they would, but I would stop short of calling them essential. If price might keep you from experiencing this, then I would say forego the vids, the songs and the booklet are all you really need. Highly recommended.

Where is the stripped down, lamenting reprise version of the title track of "Here Lies Love"? This would be awesome with David doing the sad vocals and Fatboy composing some sort of minimalistic electronica something or other. Please consider creating it and letting me download it off of iTunes. I rarely give anything the highest rating and though this work is clearly flawed, I have to give it the accolades it deserves. It is challanging, controversial, fresh, and ultimately rewarding. I have only had it for a week but I look forward everyday to listeng to it - and find myself singing it here and there. No, it will not be appreciated by everyone because it requires the listener to take an active part in enjoying it - you must engage your imagination. But I have to also express my opinion that, after reading what Byrne imagined for this project - a disco oprera - it falls short of that. There is deffinitely a disco influence but there is not one track that I would call a disco tune. If I could have collaborated on this I would have had Georgio Moroder (is he still alive?) put a disco gloss on some of the tunes (not the whole thing) and I would have had Donna Summer singing Solano Avenue - could you imagine that with the "whoa, whoa, whoa's" singing in the background? Here's a list of the tracks that made it on to my ipod: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,14,18,19,20,22. Finally David wrote in his book that he intentionally did not want to refer to Imelda's massive shoe collection because it wasn't discovered untli after her downfall but it is clearly referenced in "Every Drop Of Rain". And It should be referenced as this is a mysterious and salient character traight of Imelda Marcos- seriously what kind of person does that and what did she do and think when she was among all those shoes? A remake of Big Audio Dynamite's "Two Thousand Shoes" might have been good here...hmmm. Anyway, I will deffinitely go see the show if it is ever created and I will download that reprise version of "Here Lies Love", too - oooh, how about also includng in this yet to be created reprise version the sound of thousands of shoes tap dancing on Imelda's grave! (Is she still alive?) Anyway, like Mamma always said: Peace & Love/Dream & Create.

It all sounds the same very dull

In the era of ringtone attention span- David Byrne and Fatboy Slim have crafted a modern opera that is absolutely mesmerizing. Be sure to buy the deluxe version, complete with videos and a detailed booklet.

Does it really glorify Marcos? I don't get that from listening. Bad people can be an interesting topic. It's good music, but I do agree that it is not Rock

This is very dangerous music here. Pop music should be about love and sex, not about politics or history. These tunes could cause people to think for themselves, and could empower women beyond their ordained place in society. The only political use that Pop music should have is to coerce detainees to confess--and this stuff is too melodic and complex to be blared at maximum levels. iTubes should remove this music before it influences someone to develop complicated perspectives, which is antithetical to the American cultural landscape. Everyone who worked on this album needs to be arrested and re-educated.

save your money and do not buy this festering wound of an album. i love david byrne; i love fatboy slim. i would have thought that together they could make something passably entertaining...but this album proved me wrong. the lyrics are juvenile and insulting (why the f is anyone singing songs about nixon or fidel castro in 2010?); the vocals are, on the whole, painfully bad. they completely missed the mark for social criticism ("americans all drive big cars..." and an image of imelda marcos? really? that's the best you two can do?) and end up sounding patheticly out-of-touch. who green lit this album? epic fail from two artists who should know better.

Why would anyone laud and glorify Marcos' wife? Haven't they done so much damage to the P.I.?