Seven Souls (album)
Seven Souls is a 1989 album by New York based music group Material. A collaboration with author William S. Burroughs, the album features his narration of passages from his novel The Western Lands (1987) set to musical accompaniment.
| Seven Souls | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1989 | |||
| Studio | Platinum Island Studio and BC Studio, New York | |||
| Genre | No wave | |||
| Label | Virgin Records, CDV 2596 | |||
| Producer | Bill Laswell and Material | |||
| Material chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
The album was re-released in 1997 with bonus tracks, three re-mixes that were added to the beginning of the album. In 1998, a new title, The Road to the Western Lands, was issued, composed of new mixes of the tracks.
"Equation" / "Ineffect" was released as a single in 1989 (Virgin America, PR 3380).
Track listing
- "Ineffect" (Bill Laswell, Nicky Skopelitis, William S. Burroughs, Simon Shaheen) – 7:34
- "Seven Souls" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 5:42
- "Soul Killer" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 4:32
- "The Western Lands" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Burroughs) – 6:54
- "Deliver" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Foday Musa Suso) – 5:48
- "Equation" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Rammellzee) – 5:06
- "The End of Words" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 5:06
Seven Souls (Remix)
- "The Western Lands" [a Dangerous Road Mix] (Laswell, Burroughs) – 8:31
- "Seven Souls" [Tim Simenon Mix] (Tim Simenon, Burroughs) – 7:06
- "Soul Killer" [Remote Control Mix by Terre Thaemlitz] (Terre Thaemlitz, Burroughs) – 8:15
The rest of the album as per the original release
The Road to the Western Lands
- Bill Laswell – "The Seven Souls" (Burroughs, Laswell) – 5:47
- Talvin Singh – "The Western Lands" (Burroughs, Talvin Singh) 6:36
- DJ Soul Slinger – "The Western Lands" (Burroughs, DJ Soul Slinger) 5:09
- Spring Heel Jack – "The Road to the Western Lands" (Burroughs, John Coxon, Ashley Wales) 6:17
- The Audio Janitor (DJ Olive) – "Joan's Haunted Hints at the Gate to the Western Lands" (Burroughs, DJ Olive) 6:37
- Bill Laswell – "Seven Souls" [The Secret Name] (Burroughs, Laswell) 10:37
- Material – "The Western Lands" [A Dangerous Road Mix] (Burroughs, Laswell) – 8:31
Personnel
Material
- Bill Laswell – 4, 6 and 8-string basses, acoustic guitar, tapes, percussion
Additional personnel
- William S. Burroughs – voice
- Rammellzee – voice ("Equation")
- Foday Musa Suso – voice ("Deliver")
- Fahiem Dandan – voice ("Ineffect")
- Nicky Skopelitis – 6 and 12 string guitars, baglama, coral sitar, saz, Fairlight CMI
- Simon Shaheen – violin
- L. Shankar – violin
- Jeff Bova – electronic keyboards
- Sly Dunbar – drums, Fairlight
- Aïyb Dieng – percussion
"The Western Lands" [a Dangerous Road Mix]
- Jah Wobble – bass
- Bill Laswell – bass samples
- Nicky Skopelitis – guitar
- Tetsu Inoue – electronics
- DJ Spooky – noise
"The Seven Souls" [The Secret Name]
- Alicia Renee aka Blue Eyes: vocals
- Nicky Skopelitis: guitar
- Bill Laswell: bass, keyboards, turntable
Production
- Recorded at Platinum Island Studio and BC Studio, New York.
- Produced by Bill Laswell / Material.
Release history
- Seven Souls – 1989 – Virgin, CDV 2596 (CD)
- Seven Souls (Remix) – 1997 – Triloka Records, 314 534 905-2 (CD)
- The Road to the Western Lands – 1998 – Triloka / Mercury, 314 558 021-2 (2x 12" / CD)
In popular culture
The track "Seven Souls" is featured in the opening scene and in the opening credits of The Sopranos Season 6 episode, "Members Only".
