Here Lies Love

How many will buy "Here Lies Love" not because it's the new David Byrne release but because it's a rock/pop opera that explores the psyche of Imelda Marcos? A bar chart of that statistic would make for interesting analyzing. Given that potential demographic dichotomy, no one needs knowledge of Marcos, the Philippines or even anything west of the International Date Line to groove to this funky collection of songs that will hook listeners like helpless fish. Though Byrne's vocals only appear noticeably on three of the twenty-two tracks, his presence nonetheless pervades and inhabits every song and vocal inflection. Longtime fans will notice the "Fuzzy Freaky" guitar timbre straight away. Others will notice numerous familiar signature song structures and transitions. One listen reveals that this indeed is a David Byrne collection. Also, given the amazing slew of amazing vocal acrobatics contained herein, many will probably not mind the absence of Byrne's voice. And what a lineup: Natalie Merchant, Cyndi Lauper, Kate Pierson, Tori Amos, Steve Earle, and various other well-known singers shake their golden larynxes. The results of this harmonic convergence of pleasure may even overwhelm some on first listen. Here indeed lies the new David Byrne project. No doubt. Not to diminish the contributions of collaborator Fatboy Slim, who provided many of the funky beats (Byrne and Slim worked together previously on the incredible song, and mandible-plunging video, "Toe Jam"). Byrne fans with or without a sense of modern history will find plenty for their brains to feast on. But those who go further than the music will discover even more. Initiate additional saccadian motion.

Imelda Marcos remains a downright enigma. Equally loved and hated, she still lives in the Philippines, a country she once ruled with her husband, Ferdinand. Many still laud her for the hospitals, schools and museums she built while in power. Others remind us that her democratically elected husband declared martial law and murdered or tortured thousands. Today, Imelda Marcos apparently only acknowledges the story's positive side. Critics slam what they call her convenient obliviousness to the crimes she committed against her own country. "Here Lies Love" has also received criticism for being "too soft" on Marcos and for potentially intensifying her cult of personality. In a recent interview, Byrne conceded that he may have unintentionally done just that. He defends himself by claiming that "Here Lies Love" explores the mind and motivations of a powerful person and not necessarily the political or social consequences of that mindset. In other words, this song cycle was meant as a character study, not as a protest piece. Fervent detractors of Mrs. Marcos may (in many cases understandably) not find themselves able to see past this and subsequently condemn the entire collection. The over 100-page book that accompanies the deluxe edition helps clear up Byrne's perspective and may help ameliorate misunderstandings. Here, in Byrne's own words, are both the stories behind the songs and Imelda Marcos' rise to power. Many passages reflect Byrne's personal political stance towards the Marcos regime (at one point he claims that the USA came close to the point of a Marcos-like regime during George W. Bush's administration). Other highlights include a graphical description of Marcos' theory of beauty and harmony, which includes a viscous Pac-Man creature. This accompanies the hilarious yet disturbing Kate Pierson sung "The Whole Man." The story also weaves in the jilted Estrella Cumpas, who helped raise Imelda after her mother died. Imelda Marco's attitude towards Cumpas, as depicted here, can only be described as heartless. In the book this relationship takes on a draconian dimension. Imelda does not come out of this looking good (and what happened to Estrella remains a little ambiguous). Those who groove to the music while ingesting the accompanying text will find no cause for labeling "Here Lies Love" a pro-Marcos propaganda piece (although the DVDs included in the deluxe set, which include fascinating archival film footage, could potentially come across as hype pieces if taken out of context). Ultimately, the story behind the songs adds a compelling dimension to this song cycle and elevates it far above the usual collection of songs. Byrne hasn't really done anything like this before.

"Here Lies Love" (taken, like many other of the lyrics, from Imelda's own mouth) stands as another intriguing and hugely enjoyable Byrne collaboration (other salient partnerships have included Brian Eno, Twyla Tharp, Philip Glass, and Robert Wilson). Byrne continues to beguile, educate, enlighten and entertain. As such, it remains little wonder that his work has the staying power of plutonium. Long past the age that many rock stars burn out, Byrne just continues exploring. Hopefully he won't stop.

(This is a review of the special edition "book" version of Here Lies Love.) (3 & 1/2 stars)
The Amazon Product Description already does an excellent job of telling about this item, so I will focus on commentary rather than description. If you have already read my review of the music in the regular edition, skip to the paragraph at the end, which contains the Special Edition comments.
The 22 songs on Here Lies Love pretty effectively carry out David Byrne's desire to create a musical theater piece centered around the life of Imelda Marcos and the woman who essentially raised her, Estrella Cumpas. (The whole thing is vaguely reminiscent of the Madonna Evita.) With Imelda's love of dancing and disco, Byrne sought out Fatboy Slim to help him lay down the grooves that propel this music forward. In some cases the songs are just flat-out disco, as with "Ladies In Blue." More often it's just the presence of dance beats in a more rock, pop or "world" oriented tune. Mr. Byrne is no stranger to dance beats, having previously written Heads and solo songs that featured a high dance-ability quotient, and encouraged dance-heavy remixes of his songs. On Here Lies Love, the dance flavor is mostly a good thing, although the dance tracks do occasionally veer into cheesy territory. The decision to use an armada of guest vocalists is also one that I ended up mostly supporting. Although having a different singer on every song did slightly deprive the story of a continuous narrative voice, but I ended up thinking of each different "Imelda" singer as portraying a different side of Imelda's personality, or at least how she was a different person at different points in her life. Generally speaking, the various singers all did a decent job with their parts, but only Cindy Lauper, Sharon Jones, and a couple of others really brought the character to life to any great degree. I would like to have heard Byrne himself sing more than just the one and a half songs he does the vocals for, but I guess doing that wouldn't have been compatible with the female-centered nature of the story. Most of the singers are already familiar names, but I had never heard of some of them - Roisin Murphy and Charmaine Clamor, for instance. Googling those unknowns gave me an added appreciation for the international nature of the project's "cast". These people come from all over the world! (I guess that shouldn't have been a surprise with DB, "world music guy.") The backing musicians do a very competent job of setting a solid backdrop that never takes over the song, the kind of approach you would hope for with a "song cycle" like this. From what I can tell, they are mainly artists who are part of the current Byrne or Fatboy studio stables.
Getting the Special Edition of this album is the way to go, mainly for the hardbound book. It contains relatively detailed descriptions by David about each song, as well as many photos relevant to the story. We know he is an established author, having just recently put out his bicycle book, and he has an appropriately accessible and insightful take on Imelda's life (and Estrella's) that comes through in the text. The DVD is fairly negligible, just some vintage Marcos film footage with six of the HLL songs playing as a soundtrack. Had it been footage of the musicians making and/or performing the songs, I would have been more interested.

Leave it to David Byrne, one of pop's great innovators/eccentrics, to deliver a concept album (and a double album at that) about the life of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Phillipines. If that wasn't strange enough, take a look at some of the talent that he has managed to bring on board. Tori Amos, Cyndi Lauper, Steve Earle, Nellie McKay, Natalie Merchant, Santigold, Kate Pierson and Allison Moorer among others handle the vocals on the 22 tracks set to dance beats and disco grooves. It sounds as weird as all get out, but amazingly it works, for the most part. Even if you know next to nothing about Marcos and the controversy surrounding her time in power (and I'll be the first to admit that I don't), you'll find it hard not to be drawn into the melodic and dancebale concoctions that Byrne and Fatboy Slim have cooked up. The first half of the album is the stronger of the two, by far. Fatboy Slim's beats and the dance grooves take a backseat to Byrne's melodies and sharp lyrics. On the albums's second half, things tend to get reversed as the focus goes away from melody somewhat and a no holds barred dance party breaks out. Still, taken as a whole, Here Lies Love is an engrossing and largely entertaining pop record from a true genius. If it encourages listeners to open a book and learn more abut its enigmatic central figure, all the better.

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