release date: Jan. 28, 2003
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,27]
producer: Hal Wilner, Lou Reed
label: Sire / Warner Bros. - nationality: USA
19th studio album by Lou Reed is an art rock conceptual album with songs based on the works by Edgar Allen Poe. The album was released in two different versions: a standard one disc edition, which is the one I have and know of, and in a two-disc Deluxe Edition with a completely altered track listing. The album feature several mainly vocal guest artists including Antony Hegarty, David Bowie, Amanda Plummer, Steve Buscemi, Willem Dafoe, Elizabeth Ashley, and Laurie Anderson to whom the album is dedicated with the words: "To Laurie Anderson, a constant source of inspiration." All tracks are written solely by Reed. It's not his most accessible work, and it mostly seems some what pretentious - but he has been that before. I don't really like it much, which is kind of sad 'cause to me this is his last studio album, although, he released the album Hudson River Wind Meditations in 2007, and the collaboration album Lulu with Metallica in 2011. A few things I still need to hear. I may not ever get in the mood to listen to the latter, though. This is Reed as we know him, sometimes he is just not being very accessible but he always returns to form - only this time he checked out before showing his artistic level, which to me makes Magic and Loss his last really fine album.
[ allmusic.com 3,5 / 5, Rolling Stone 3 / 5, Blender 2 / 5 stars ]
