Burroughs without restraintby JohnQ
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June 29, 2009:
This contains some of William Burroughs' most disturbing routines without restraint and without apology. This is a very adult CD. It contains one of his most famous readings of "Words of Advice for Young People", which alone makes this worth owning, but everything on this CD is amazing, even if it is crude at times and even if it makes you flinch at times (concerning it's content, not it's quality). The music background for the readings is fine and rarely interferes with the stories. There is a 90's hip hop cut which I could have done without, but it does not hurt the album in any way.
I Also Recommend: Howl and Other Poems, Dead City Radio, The Jack Kerouac Collection.
Beat Writer Meets Beat Mixersby Anonymous
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February 19, 2001:
In 1992, producer Hal Willner returned to William S. Burroughs' home in Lawrence, Kansas, to record the follow-up to the excellent ''Dead City Radio.'' This time, the author's words are paired up with beats and loops provided by Michael Franti and Rono Tse of the alternative rap group Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy. Burroughs' characteristic voice has been set to everything from orchestral pieces to screaming guitar feedback, and Franti's jazz-influenced music adds a new flavor to the list. Bay Area hero Charlie Hunter also contributes some guitar work to the album. The selections include readings from seven of his books (''Naked Lunch,'' ''Interzone,'' ''Nova Express,'' ''The Western Lands,'' ''The Cat Inside,'' ''The Last Words of Dutch Schultz'' and ''Exterminator!'') as well as some ad-libbed interludes. The epic ''Junky's Christmas'' was also made into a 20-minute animated short film, and is an alternate version of the story told on ''The Priest They Called Him'' EP. This album was released during somewhat of a Burroughs revival. He appeared on Ministry's ''Just One Fix,'' collaborated with Tom Waits on ''The Black Rider,'' and a reworked version of ''Words Of Advice'' was included on Material's ''Hallucination Engine.'' Burroughs is in fine form here, and Franti and company do a wonderful job of backing him up. Sadly, this project was the last we'd hear of the talented Disposable Heroes before they disbanded, with Michael Franti moving on to form Spearhead.