Seven Souls

Seven Souls is a 1989 album by the American 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.

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

 * 1) "Ineffect" (Bill Laswell, Nicky Skopelitis, William S. Burroughs, Simon Shaheen) – 7:34
 * 2) "Seven Souls" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 5:42
 * 3) "Soul Killer" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 4:32
 * 4) "The Western Lands" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Burroughs) – 6:54
 * 5) "Deliver" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Foday Musa Suso) – 5:48
 * 6) "Equation" (Laswell, Skopelitis, Rammellzee) – 5:06
 * 7) "The End of Words" (Laswell, Burroughs) – 5:06

Seven Souls (Remix)
The rest of the album as per the original release
 * 1) "The Western Lands" [a Dangerous Road Mix] (Laswell, Burroughs) – 8:31
 * 2) "Seven Souls" [Tim Simenon Mix] (Tim Simenon, Burroughs) – 7:06
 * 3) "Soul Killer" [Remote Control Mix by Terre Thaemlitz] (Terre Thaemlitz, Burroughs) – 8:15

The Road to the Western Lands

 * 1) Bill Laswell – "The Seven Souls" (Burroughs, Laswell) – 5:47
 * 2) Talvin Singh – "The Western Lands" (Burroughs, Talvin Singh) 6:36
 * 3) DJ Soul Slinger – "The Western Lands" (Burroughs, DJ Soul Slinger) 5:09
 * 4) Spring Heel Jack – "The Road to the Western Lands" (Burroughs, John Coxon, Ashley Wales) 6:17
 * 5) The Audio Janitor (DJ Olive) – "Joan's Haunted Hints at the Gate to the Western Lands" (Burroughs, DJ Olive) 6:37
 * 6) Bill Laswell – "Seven Souls" [The Secret Name] (Burroughs, Laswell) 10:37
 * 7) 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 closing credits of The Sopranos Season 6 episode, "Members Only".