release date: Apr. 4, 2000
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,15]
producer: Lou Reed, Hal Willner
label: Sire records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "Paranoia Key of E" - 4. "Ecstasy" - 6. "Tatters" - 8. "Turning Time Around" - 9. "White Prism" - 10. "Rock Minuet"
18th studio album by Lou Reed is released more than 4 years since his last studio release, although, the years in between gave birth to at least two live albums and three compilation releases. Ecstacy is another conceptual album - this time about love and relationships. The album doesn't really contain single great tracks but it sort of documents how Reed has evolved from being this wild art rocker to become a fine and subtle story-teller in his older days. It seems like aeons ago that New York (1989) showcased Reed's fine balanced rock & roll stories in a tight band-backed wrapping.
On Ecstacy his story-telling is the strongest when he's most vulnerable, reciting quietly in a jazz and rock-fusion style as a more serene singer / songwriter, and the music itself becomes less relevant.
[ allmusic.com 3 / 5 stars, Rolling Stone 4 / 5 stars ]
