tuneage:

Laurie Anderson - O Superman (For Massenet)

We like to think of Tuneage as a blog aiding music discovery, but it’s also about music appreciation, and Laurie Anderson’s “O Superman”, over 8 minutes long, is a track that certainly deserves a certain some appreciation.

It was first released in 1981, reaching an unexpected #2 in the UK singles charts. Anderson wrote it as a cover of the aria “O Souverain, o juge, o père” from Jules Massnet’s 1885 opera Le Cid, after listening to a recording of it made by Charles Holland. It was released to mixed reception, but stands today as a widely lauded piece of music.

The Wikipedia page for the song has a lot more information about the song, and makes up a surprisingly interesting read.