New York

To all those too young during 1981-1989, too rich during that period to have a fair assessment, and those who during the Reagan funeral ceremony that lasted a week, look back with nostalgia to that "GREAT" period in American history, this is the WAKE UP call you NEED TO HEAR! Lou Reed reminds us of all the hell this country (New York specifically) was going through during the Reagan years. Ghetto life, drug addiction, psychos seeking fame, AIDS torn communities, starving children here and abroad and all we can think about in this country is another "million dollar rocket, another million dollar [movie] star".. This album RAILS and takes no prisoners, but it tends to be as somber and mournful at times than necessarily angry, although there is still plenty of anger as well. Although the last few songs ("Good Evening", "Dime Store Mystery") don't quite hold up to the unbelievable standard set at the beginning, this is still a classic that should be missed by no one, especially those of you with fond thoughts of that DARK period in U.S. history: 1981-1989.

This is reed's most socially consious album to date,also the album is not overy-produced,and the arrangement's are not layered with alot of instrumentation and effects.Although his spoken word delivery is at a faster pace for those who are not overly familiar with Lou Reed,It may take repeated listening to catch ever phrase of every song on the album.It has a strong driving rock and roll feel to it on the faster numbers,However on the slower softer tracks,the band sounds more melodic.Some reviewers have not been so complimentary to Reed's lyrics,suggesting that he come's off sounding preachy and self-righteous,Instead he comes off giving an intimate portrait of the darker side of life.Reed could just as easily spoken of the affluence of new york city,given that he's not exactly a poor musician,But Reed has a strong sense of community,and a concern for all the downtrodden in society.He paints a mental picture in your mind of new york city,as well as urban conditions in most any large city.Reed has assembled a trio of musicians along with him including Mike Ratke on lead guitar,Rob Wasserman on upright bass and Fred Maher on drums,Which adds a backdrop to Reed's visual lyric's,However ,there are a couple of tracks on the album where Reed's lyrics seem to run off the page,Because the songs appear to be overwritten,and not simplified enough.Example:On "Dime store mystery",The duality of nature\Godly nature\human nature\ splits the soul\Fully human\fully divine and divided.The great immortal soul split into pieces\whirling pieces."The begining of a great adventure"
Some wizened toothless clod,some gibbering old fool,Some senile old fart suggest too many examples to describe himself as well as other events and situations.This is the only problem i have with the album ,Otherwise ,this is an excellent listen for any rock enthusiast.

In addition

This is a great disk,But if you can find a live video cassette of the album,I would recommend it along with the album.In my opinion,the live version is more free flowing and relaxed than the CD.

Sonics: Grungy and Dense

Performance: Excellent and Strong.

Songwriters ought to stick to songs and stay away from social commentary. That doesn't mean they can't write about a social issue that irks them, they should--they are human, after all. But few songsters can create consistently relevant socio-politcal tunes. Dylan could for a while. Some rap artist do. But Lou Reed should have stuck to more personal issues. On a subjective level, Lou comes off a bit hypocritical. New York City was just fine for him in the late 60s and much of the 70s. He made tons of money as a New York icon and "poet". Suddenly, in the 1980s (and when he was in his 40s) Lou decided that New York's social ills were intolerable (as if they were any better in the 1970s) and it was time for an album to excoriate Gotham. Please. I don't have to tell Lou Reed the two words that most of the New Yorkers I knew had for him.

To be fair, though, there are individual tracks which are classic Reed: "Busload of Faith" and "Strawman" in particular. Musically, the album is very appealing. I just couldn't get beyond the lyrics.