''Bright Red'' is the fifth studio album by American

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

musician

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

, released by

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

in 1994. The album continues the more pop-oriented direction Anderson launched with '' Strange Angels''. Produced by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

(who also co-wrote several of the songs with Anderson), ''Bright Red'' is divided into two parts: "Bright Red" and "Tightrope". The song "The Puppet Motel" was also featured on an interactive

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains data. Computers can read—but not write or erase—CD-ROMs. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold both comput ...

titled ''Puppet Motel'', released by Anderson in 1994. "Speak My Language" is a re-recording of a song Anderson previously performed on the soundtrack to the 1993 film ''

Faraway, So Close ''Faraway, So Close!'' (german: In weiter Ferne, so nah!) is a 1993 German fantasy film directed by Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by Wenders, Richard Reitinger and Ulrich Zieger. It is a sequel to Wenders' 1987 film ''Wings of Desire''. Actors ...

'' and was also featured in the 1995 film ''

Fallen Angels A fallen angel is an angel that has been exiled or banished from Heaven. Fallen Angels may also refer to: Film and television * ''Fallen Angels'' (1948 film), a Greek film by Nikos Tsiforos * Fallen Angels (1985 documentary film) by Gregory Dark * ...

''. The song "Beautiful Pea Green Boat" has additional lyrics from the poem "

The Owl and the Pussycat "The Owl and the Pussy-cat" is a nonsense poem by Edward Lear, first published in 1870 in the American magazine '' Our Young Folks: an Illustrated Magazine for Boys and Girls'' and again the following year in Lear's own book ''Nonsense Songs, S ...

" by

Edward Lear Edward Lear (12 May 1812 – 29 January 1888) was an English artist, illustrator, musician, author and poet, who is known mostly for his literary nonsense in poetry and prose and especially his limerick (poetry), limericks, a form he popularised. ...

(misspelled "Edwin" in the album's liner notes).

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

duets with Anderson on the album's lone single, "In Our Sleep", and can be heard singing backup on many other songs. Reed and Anderson later married.

Track listing

All lyrics and music by

, except where otherwise indicated. ;Bright Red #"Speechless (The Eagle and the Weasel)" – 5:20 #"Bright Red" (additional lyrics from

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...

13:21) – 3:12 #"The Puppet Motel" (lyrics: Anderson; music: Anderson,

) – 3:09 #"Speak My Language" – 3:38 #"World Without End" – 2:47 #"Freefall" – 4:32 #"Muddy River" (lyrics: Anderson; music: Anderson, Eno) – 3:02 ;Tightrope #

"Beautiful Pea Green Boat" (additional lyrics from "

" by

) – 4:20 #"Love Among the Sailors" – 2:49 #"Poison" (lyrics: Anderson; music: Anderson, Eno) – 3:47 #"In Our Sleep" (lyrics: Anderson,

; music: Anderson) – 2:31 #"Night in Baghdad" – 3:23 #"Tightrope" (lyrics: Anderson; music: Anderson, Eno) – 6:02 #"Same Time Tomorrow" – 3:51

Personnel

;Musicians *

– vocals (tracks 1–14), keyboards (1–2, 4–6, 8–14), violin (4), percussion (8) *Phil Ballou – back-up vocals (1, 7–8) *

Cyro Baptista Cyro Baptista (born December 23, 1950) is a Brazilian percussionist in jazz and world music. He creates many of the percussion instruments he plays. Career Born in São Paulo, Brazil, Baptista arrived in the U.S. in 1980 with a scholarship to C ...

–

temple block Temple blocks are a type of percussion instrument consisting of a set of woodblocks. It is descended from the muyu, an instrument originating from eastern Asia, where it is commonly used in religious ceremonies. Description It is a carved ho ...

s (1),

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

(1),

surdo The surdo is a large bass drum used in many kinds of Brazilian music, such as Axé/Samba-reggae and samba, where it plays the lower parts from a percussion section. It is also notable for its association with the cucumbi genre of the Ancient Near ...

(3–4, 8, 11, 13–14), shaker (3–4, 8, 12–14),

triangle A triangle is a polygon with three Edge (geometry), edges and three Vertex (geometry), vertices. It is one of the basic shapes in geometry. A triangle with vertices ''A'', ''B'', and ''C'' is denoted \triangle ABC. In Euclidean geometry, an ...

(4, 12), tambourine (11), ceramic drum (12), tubes (12) *

Joey Baron Bernard Joseph Baron (born June 26, 1955 in Richmond, Virginia) is an American avant-garde jazz drummer who plays frequently with Bill Frisell and John Zorn. Music career Baron was born on June 26, 1955, in Richmond Virginia. When he was nine, ...

– drums (1, 3–4, 6–7, 10–11) *

– treatments (1, 3–4, 13), keyboards (1–6, 8, 10–11, 13), drum treatments (6, 10–11), loops (8, 10) *Ben Fenner – bass guitar (1) *

Guy Klucevsek Guy Klucevsek (born February 26, 1947) is an American-born accordionist and composer. Klucevsek is one of relatively few accordion players active in new music, jazz and free improvisation. Klucevsek was born in New York City, and raised outside ...

– accordion (1, 4, 8, 12) *

Gerry Leonard Gerry Leonard is an Irish lead guitarist and solo artist, known for his harmonic and ambient guitar style and for his work with David Bowie. He has lived and worked in Dublin, Copenhagen, and Manhattan. Hinterland From Clontarf in Dublin, Le ...

– guitar (1, 5–6, 8, 11–12) *

Arto Lindsay Arthur Morgan "Arto" Lindsay (born May 28, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer, record producer and experimental composer. He was a member of the pioneering 1970s no wave group DNA, which featured on the 1978 compilation ''No New York''. In ...

– vocals (2) *

Greg Cohen Greg Cohen (born July 13, 1953) is an American jazz bassist who has been a member of John Zorn's Masada quartet and worked with numerous other noted musicians for over four decades. Career Cohen plays traditional jazz and other styles, includi ...

– guitar (3–4), bass guitar (3–4, 6) *Jamie West-Oram – guitar (4, 6) *

Kevin Killen Kevin Killen (born October 22, 1959) is a music producer, engineer, and mixer. His work has been recognized by multiple awards and nominations, and he has worked with a range of recording artists including Shakira, Peter Gabriel, U2, David Bowie ...

– treatments (5, 8) *

Adrian Belew Robert Steven "Adrian" Belew (born December 23, 1949) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. A multi-instrumentalist primarily known as a guitarist and singer, he is noted for his unusual and impressionistic approach to ...

– guitar (6, 8, 10, 12–13) *

Neil Conti Neil Conti (born 12 February 1959) is an English drummer and music producer best known as a member of the English pop band Prefab Sprout (1983–1993, 2000). As an in-demand session drummer, he has collaborated with acts such as David Bowie, Mi ...

– shaker (6) *Dougie Bowne – drums (8) *

Marc Ribot Marc Ribot (; born May 21, 1954) is an American guitarist and composer. His work has touched on many styles, including no wave, free jazz, rock, and Cuban music. Ribot is also known for collaborating with other musicians, most notably Tom Wait ...

– guitar (10) *

– vocals (11), guitar (11) *Peter Scherer – keyboards (12) ;Technical *Brian Eno – producer *Laurie Anderson – co-producer *Kevin Killen – engineer, mixing *Greg Cohen – music director *Joe Ferla – additional basic tracks engineer *Ben Fenner – overdubs engineer (Westside) *Alec Head – additional overdubs engineer (The Lobby) *Hiro Ishihara – assistant engineer *Andy Baker – assistant engineer *

Danton Supple Danton Supple is a British record producer and mixer, best known for his work with Coldplay. Early career (1985–1994) Danton Supple was introduced to the world of recording studios in the 1980s, at his girlfriend's uncle Paddy Kingsland's BBC ...

– assistant engineer *Miles Green – assistant engineer *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering * Yolanda Cuomo – design *Monika Rittershaus – cover photo *

Neil Selkirk Neil Selkirk (born June 25, 1947) is a British-born American photographer known for his portraiture. Photography career Selkirk was born in London, England, in 1947. “An accomplished portrait photographer and masterful documentarian,” he stud ...

– inside front cover photo *Stephen Cohen – back cover photo *John Walker – video images *

Annie Leibovitz Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...

–

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

image *Samantha Levin – snapshots

References

{{Authority control 1994 albums Albums produced by Brian Eno Laurie Anderson albums Warner Records albums