laurie anderson / albums

55,502 plays
30 SHARES
28 FAVS
10 fans

- Mister Heartbreak
- - 4,666 plays
  - 1 favs
  - 1 shares
Laurie Anderson
Released 1984

Sharkey's Day
07:43
821 plays

Excellent Birds
03:16
801 plays

Gravity's Angel
06:04
750 plays

- Add to cart
- buy
- share

songs

- 1
- Sharkey's Day
- 07:43
- 821 plays

- 2
- Langue D'Amour
- 06:14
- 577 plays

- 3
- Gravity's Angel
- 06:04
- 750 plays

- 4
- Kokoku
- 07:04
- 543 plays

- 5
- Excellent Birds
- 03:16
- 801 plays

- 6
- Blue Lagoon
- 07:06
- 570 plays

- 7
- Sharkey's Night
- 02:29
- 604 plays

- play all

album review

Probably the most pop-accessible of Laurie Anderson's recorded work, Mister Heartbreak features a number of stunning luminaries on the cutting edge of popular music at the time. Striking guitar work by King Crimson guitarist Adrian Belew permeates this disc -- notably on "Sharkey's Day" -- punchy and angular. The production and bass work from Bill Laswell is superb. Peter Gabriel -- at the time still coming off the buzz of his departure from Genesis -- is featured in a duet with Anderson on "Excellent Birds." There is a heavy reliance on early-'80s synthesizers which would normally be very off-putting, but here they are executed well. Nowhere does the music slip into irreparable '80s cliché; it is still an entertaining listen. Lyrics are typical of Anderson' work -- complex, literate, provocative, difficult to fully comprehend. Haunting "Gravity's Angel" borrows imagery from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow. Spoken word delivery on "Sharkey's Night" is given by the legendary William S. Burroughs. This is a very satisfying listen and a great intro for those unfamiliar with Anderson's work. ~ Mark W. B. Allender, All Music Guide