United States Live

United States Live was the third album release by avant-garde singer-songwriter Laurie Anderson. Released as a four-LP box set (later reissued on four CDs), United States Live was recorded at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City in February 1983.

Related Topics:
Avant-garde - Laurie Anderson - Brooklyn Academy of Music - New York City - 1983

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United States was Anderson's magnum opus performance art piece featuring musical, spoken word, and animated vignettes about life in America. Segments ranged from humorous, such as "Yankee See" which gently chided Anderson's record label Warner Brothers for signing her in the first place, to the apocalyptic anthem "O Superman" which had been an unexpected Top 10 hit for Anderson on the United Kingdom music charts in 1981.

Related Topics:
Magnum opus - Performance art - America - Warner Brothers - O Superman - United Kingdom - 1981

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Originally, United States (which was originally titled America on the Move) was presented over the course of two nights, running some eight hours. The United States Live box set is a truncated rendering of the performance, omitting many segments that were of a visual nature.

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Among the songs performed on the album was "Language is a Virus (from Outer Space)", a pop-like song based upon a phrase attributed to William S. Burroughs. Anderson would later perform a modified arrangement of the song in her 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave.

Related Topics:
William S. Burroughs - 1986 - Home of the Brave

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Although Anderson has since created numerous other major performance pieces (i.e. Moby Dick, Stories from the Nerve Bible, Happiness, The End of the Moon), United States Live remains, to date, the only serious attempt at producing a recording of any of these performances.

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