Growing Up in Publicformat: vinyl (AL 9522) / digital
[album rate: 3 / 5] [3,06]
producer: Michael Fonfara, Lou Reed
label: Arista Records - nationality: USA
Track highlights: 1. "How Do You Speak to an Angel?" - 2. "My Old Man" - 3. "Keep Away" - 8. "The Power of Positive Drinking" - 10. "Think It Over"
10th studio album by Lou Reed is another pop / rock release somewhere in the middle of the road. All tracks are written in a collaboration with keyboardist (and guitarist) Michael Fonfara. The album has some of the same characteristics as the predecessor, The Bells (Apr. 1979), although, he here has chosen not to work with neither disco nor funk, which really is on the positive side. It's not up there with Street Hassle (Feb. 1978) but it has much more potential. The album, however, wasn't met with the most positive reviews, and it's by many considered a bit of a low point in his career. It also turned out to be his last on Arista who let him go after this - another non-commercial release for the label.
I think, it's clearly above mediocre without being really great, but it also indicates and may be seen as a bit of a blue print to the same stylistic shape as found on his much lauded New York (Jan. 1989) where everything just falls into place.
(My issue is a US-import cut-out record).
[ allmusic.com 2,5 / 5 stars ]
