International album "Here Lies Love" tracks the rise and fall of the controversial former first lady

David Byrne+ Fatboy Slim = Imelda Marcos

CEBU, Philippines - Part art project, part all-star indie gathering, “Here Lies Love” is David Byrne and Fatboy Slim’s unusual collaborative song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, the former first lady of the Philippines.

Through a series of songs written by the former Talking Heads frontman David Byrne, with musical contributions from the British DJ and big beat musician Fatboy Slim (Norman Cook), "Here Lies Love – A Song Cycle," according to the FAQ on DavidByrne.com, presents Imelda Marcos meditating on events in her life, from her childhood spent in poverty and her rise to power to her ultimate departure from the palace. In particular, the production looks at the relationship between Imelda and a servant from her childhood, Estrella Cumpas, who appeared at key moments in Imelda's life.

The lineup of guests, numbering to 22, includes Florence & the Machine’s Florence Welch, Tori Amos, Steve Earle and Santigold. The 22-track tribute features a diverse mix of thoughtful ballads and disco-influenced dance numbers. But no tracks that deal on Imelda’s shoe obsession.

Cyndi Lauper’s giddy vocals on “Eleven Days” and Roisin Murphy’s horn-driven “Don’t You Agree?” offer the most lasting thrills on the album. And winning duets include Candie Payne and St. Vincent on the breezy “Every Drop of Rain” and Byrne’s emotional collaboration with My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden on “Seven Years.” At times, “Here Lies Love” wobbles as a concept album, and listeners unfamiliar with Marcos’ story may not initially understand the lyrical conceits. But it contains enough solid material to justify repeated listens.

“I wanted to understand what made her tick,” Byrne explained the reason why he came up with such concept album in an interview on New York Daily News.

“The story I am interested in is about asking what drives a powerful person—what makes them tick? How do they make and then remake themselves? I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be great if—as this piece would be principally composed of clubby dance music—one could experience it in a club setting? Could one bring a ‘story’ and a kind of theater to the disco? Was that possible? If so, wouldn’t that be amazing!”

Byrne also said that the album came to be because he was attracted to Imelda’s love of the nightlife. He told NY Daily: “She had a private disco in her Manhattan house.”

“I wanted to make her sympathetic without making excuses for her,” he further said.

Overall, Byrne, who came to the Philippines in 2005, looks at this music project "as this conflation of fantasy, personal pain and politics that runs through history and played itself out here (in the Philippines) in a dramatically obvious way." (with reports from Billboard)