Songs from Liquid Days is a collection of songs composed by composer Philip Glass with lyrics by Paul Simon, Suzanne Vega, David Byrne, and Laurie Anderson. Glass began the project scoring lyrics by Byrne and then thought to collaborate with additional songwriters.

Details

The album was conceived in 1983, but mostly written and recorded in 1985. Glass said, "I was curious. The question I asked myself was: 'If I, a person from the world of concert music and opera, wrote a song, what would it sound like?'" On the project, Glass said: The recording features performances by Bernard Fowler, the Kronos Quartet, Janice Pendarvis, Douglas Perry, The Roches, Linda Ronstadt, and the Philip Glass Ensemble, directed by Michael Riesman. The recording was released in 1986 by CBS Records. The song "Lightning" was performed by the Philip Glass Ensemble on Saturday Night Live, March 22, 1986. The title comes from a lyric written by Byrne. Glass said, "It had a feeling of how the songs flowed into each other, as if each song were a day and the liquidity was the flow of the songs from one to the other. There’s no break between the songs. The end of one becomes the introduction to the next."

Reception

Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote in 1986, Holden concludes, "But with all its charms, Songs From Liquid Days is still minor Glass." Freddy Stidean for AllMusic, wrote that "Songs From Liquid Days became Philip Glass' most popular and successful recording," and concluded that "Songs From Liquid Days may be their [the minimalist composers'] single greatest achievement."

Track listing

All songs feature the Philip Glass Ensemble under direction of Michael Riesman.

Artwork

Cover photo of Philip Glass is by Robert Mapplethorpe.

Certifications