Laurie Anderson

United States Live

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United States Live Review

by John Dougan

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.

Track Listing - Disc 1

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Say Hello Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	05:00	Amazon
2	Walk the Dog Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	06:37	Amazon
3	Violin Solo Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:11	Amazon
4	Closed Circuits Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	06:00	Amazon
5	For a Large and Changing Room Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:50	Amazon
6	Pictures of It Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:29	Amazon
7	The Language of the Future Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	07:58	Amazon
8	Cartoon Song Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:11	Amazon
9	Small Voice Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:03	Amazon
10	Three Walking Songs Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:19	Amazon
11	The Healing Horn Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:56	Amazon
12	New Jersey Turnpike Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	11:20	Amazon
13	So Happy Birthday Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	06:23	Amazon
14	English Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:07	Amazon
15	Dance of Electricity Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:02	Amazon
16	Three Songs for Paper, Film and Video Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	06:24	Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 2

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Sax Solo, Pt. 1 (Continued) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:51
2	Sax Duet, Pt. 1 (Continued) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:38
3	Born, Never Asked (Part One Continued) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:54
4	From the Air Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:44	Amazon
5	Beginning the French Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:15	Amazon
6	O Superman (For Massenet) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	10:57
7	Talkshow Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	06:52	Amazon
8	Frames for the Pictures Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:07	Amazon
9	Democratic Way Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:41	Amazon
10	Looking for You Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:18	Amazon
11	Walking and Falling Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:21	Amazon
12	Private Property Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:03	Amazon
13	Neon Duet Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:11	Amazon
14	Let X = X Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	06:14	Amazon
15	The Mailman's Nightmare Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:45	Amazon
16	Difficult Listening Hour Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:07	Amazon
17	Language Is a Virus Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	07:52
18	Reverb Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:27	Amazon
19	If You Can't Talk About It, Point to It Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:36	Amazon
20	Violin Walk Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:41	Amazon
21	City Song Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:14	Amazon
22	Finnish Farmers Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:35	Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 3

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Red Map Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:54	Amazon
2	Hey Ah Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:50	Amazon
3	Bagpipe Solo Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:15	Amazon
4	Steven Weed Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:05	Amazon
5	Time and a Half Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:14	Amazon
6	Voices on Tape Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:28	Amazon
7	Example #22 Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:33	Amazon
8	Strike Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:10	Amazon
9	False Documents Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:58	Amazon
10	New York Social Life Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:20	Amazon
11	A Curious Phenomenon Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:02	Amazon
12	Yankee See Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	07:59	Amazon
13	I Dreamed I Had to Take a Test... Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:20	Amazon
14	Running Dogs Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:24	Amazon
15	Four, Three, Two, One Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:30	Amazon
16	The Big Top Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:52	Amazon
17	It Was up in the Mountains Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:13	Amazon
18	Odd Objects Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:02	Amazon
19	Dr. Miller Laurie Anderson / Perry Hoberman	Laurie Anderson	05:19	Amazon
20	Big Science Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	07:14	Amazon
21	Big Science Reprise Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:48	Amazon

Track Listing - Disc 4

	Title/Composer	Performer	Time	Stream
1	Cello Solo Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:40	Amazon
2	It Tango Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	01:49	Amazon
3	Blue Lagoon Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	09:30	Amazon
4	Hothead (La Langue d'Amour) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	04:47
5	Stiff Neck Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:33	Amazon
6	Telephone Song Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:24	Amazon
7	Sweaters Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:48	Amazon
8	We've Got Four Big Clocks (And They're All Ticking) Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:21
9	Song for Two Jims Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:57	Amazon
10	Over the River Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:29	Amazon
11	Mach 20 Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	02:46	Amazon
12	Rising Sun Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:24	Amazon
13	The Visitors Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:48	Amazon
14	The Stranger Laurie Anderson / Robert Coe	Laurie Anderson	02:01	Amazon
15	Classified Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	05:18	Amazon
16	Going Somewhere? Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	01:00	Amazon
17	Fireworks Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	02:40	Amazon
18	Dog Show Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	00:51	Amazon
19	Lighting Out for the Territories Laurie Anderson	Laurie Anderson	03:08	Amazon