Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives Of Q Lazzarus OST (2CDs, Sacred Bones)

“Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus (Music From The Motion Picture)”. For almost everyone, the introduction to the music of Q Lazzarus was through “Goodbye Horses.” The song first appeared in Jonathan Demme’s “Married to the Mob” in 1988, but it wouldn’t fully cement itself in people’s consciousness until its reappearance in Demme’s “The Silence of the Lambs” in 1991. “Goodbye Horses” felt like a self-contained universe—dreamlike and completely unusual, an instant classic that captivated listeners and made them curious about the mysterious voice behind it. That voice belonged to Diane Luckey, a uniquely talented artist whose music was ahead of its time and who would ultimately remain largely unrecognized during her lifetime. In conjunction with the release of Aridjis Fuentes’ documentary “Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus,” Sacred Bones is releasing a collection of songs spanning Q’s entire career, showcasing the various eras of her work and the full breadth of her personality. “Goodbye Horses” is the first collection of music to receive the blessing of Q’s remaining family and has the distinction of being her first and only full-length album release. Recorded between 1985 and 1995, this treasure trove of previously unreleased music reflects some of the most interesting facets of popular music of the past four decades in a way that feels both accomplished and wildly eclectic. The title track “Goodbye Horses” remains a unique piece of ghostly new wave perfection, and one could imagine an entire Q-Lazzarus album centered around this aesthetic, but similar to vocal icons Alison Moyet, Annie Lennox, or Lisa Gerrard, Q’s chameleon-like voice lends itself perfectly to a variety of styles and settings. Her cover of Talking a Heads’ “Heaven” transforms the song into a full-throated power ballad with tinkling piano embellishments, while her rendition of Gershwin’s “Summertime” sounds like a dubby club reduction that could have fit a nightclubbing-era Grace Jones track. Tracks like “My Mistake” and “Hellfire” flirt with house music, showcasing how sassy and bell-like Q’s voice can be when she’s really letting loose, while “Don’t Let Go” sounds like a bombastic radio single Cher could have released decades ago. Other songs like “Bang Bang” and “I See Your Eyes” have a guitar-driven alt-rock sensibility that, in a parallel universe, could have been featured on MTV’s 120 Minutes show. “Goodbye Horses” embodies the potential for so many different kinds of careers that, for whatever reason, were never fully realized. That we now have these songs out in the world and a clearer picture of the person behind them is nothing short of a blessing.