Homeland (Laurie Anderson album)

Homeland is the seventh studio album by American artist Laurie Anderson, released in 2010. A loose concept album about life in the United States, it was her first album of new material since 2001's Life on a String.

Homeland
Studio album by Laurie Anderson
Released	June 22, 2010
Recorded	2007–2010
Studio	Masterdisk (New York City)
Genre	Avant-garde experimental pop
Length	66:00
Label	Nonesuch
Producer	Laurie Anderson Lou Reed Roma Baran
Laurie Anderson chronology
Live in New York (2002) Homeland (2010) Landfall (2018)
Singles from Homeland
"Only an Expert" Released: 18 May 2010

The record was produced by Anderson, Lou Reed and Roma Baran. Anderson began touring the project in late 2007. The album was originally slated for release in 2008. Because the project kept changing in form, the release was pushed back several times. The final release in 2010 was a two-disc set consisting of a CD of music and a DVD.

The song "Only an Expert" was released as a 12" vinyl single on May 18, 2010. A song titled "Pictures and Things" was the single's B-side.^[1]

The album's last track "Flow" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 2011.

The heavily eyebrowed, mustachioed character is named Fenway Bergamot.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.3/10[2]
Metacritic	82/100[3]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[4]
Drowned in Sound	8/10[5]
Entertainment Weekly	B[6]
Los Angeles Times	[7]
musicOMH	[8]
Pitchfork	8.3/10[9]
PopMatters	9/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]
Slant Magazine	[12]
Uncut	[13]

The Wire magazine said that Homeland "reminds us why Anderson, now in her sixties, is the (modulated) voice of America's conscience."^[14]

Margaret Wappler of The Los Angeles Times wrote of the album, "'Homeland' isn't so much an album as it is a poetic capturing of the still moments of a restless mind".^[7]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Laurie Anderson, except where noted.

Homeland - CD

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Transitory Life"		6:52
2.	"My Right Eye"		4:58
3.	"Thinking of You"		4:12
4.	"Strange Perfumes"		4:45
5.	"Only an Expert"		7:26
6.	"Falling"	Laurie Anderson George W.S. Trow	3:20
7.	"Another Day in America"		11:24
8.	"Bodies in Motion"		7:10
9.	"Dark Time in the Revolution"		5:14
10.	"The Lake"		5:39
11.	"The Beginning of Memory"		2:45
12.	"Flow"		2:14
Total length:			65:59

Homeland - Deluxe edition^[15]

No.	Title	Length
13.	"Lost Art of Conversation"	3:50
14.	"Only an Expert" (Tech Support Glitch Mix)	3:19
Total length:		73:08

Homeland - DVD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Homeland: The Story of the Lark"	41:00
2.	"Laurie's Violin"	7:00
Total length:		48:00

Personnel

• Laurie Anderson – vocals, keyboards, percussion, violin (on tracks 3, 7, 12), radio (9)
• Peter Scherer – keyboards
• Rob Burger – keyboards (2–5, 8, 9), orchestron (2–3, 8), accordion (3, 4, 9, 10), marxophone (4)
• Eyvind Kang – viola
• Tuvan group Chirgilchin (Aidysmaa Koshkendey, Igor Koshkendey, Mongoun-Ool Ondar) – vocals (1, 11), igil (1)
• Lou Reed – additional percussion (2), guitar (5)
• Anohni – vocals (4), background vocals (7)
• Shahzad Ismaily – percussion (4)
• Kieran Hebden – keyboards (5)
• Omar Hakim – drums (5)
• Skúli Sverrisson – bass (7, 9), guitar (8)
• Ben Wittman – drums, percussion (7)
• John Zorn – alto saxophone (8, 11)
• Lolabelle – piano (8)
• Joey Baron – drums (9)
• Mario J. McNulty – percussion (11)

Technical

• Produced by Laurie Anderson with Lou Reed and Roma Baran
• Engineered by Laurie Anderson, Patrick Dillett, Mario J. McNulty and Marc Urselli
• Mixed by Mario J. McNulty
• Mastered by Scott Hull at Masterdisk, New York, NY
• Andrew Zuckerman – cover photography

DVD

• Directed by Braden King
• Produced by Katie Stern Truckstop Media

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2010	German Albums Chart	62
2010	Greek Album Charts	41