Lou Reed - The Bells (1979) - Review

Under Rated (4/5)

I recently got the CD to replace the old scratchy vinyl I've had for years. It confirmed what I always knew. Lou Reed reaches the parts other musical geniuses can't reach.

Widely ignored, this album has a couple of barnstorming classic Reed tracks which touch nerves with both ease and disease. The Family will strike chords with those of you who are in a real place and Stupid Man will make you raise a knowing eye brow. This is a very jazzy album. Lots of horn and synth fill every beat of the record, facets lost on my duff vinyl. This is both dense and demanding.

Many clueless moan that Lou Reed failed to produce anything as good as the Velvet's stuff. What they often miss is the fact that his own stuff was great on his own terms, in a different way to the Velvet's stuff. Your loss, Lou has produced some of the most unique, demanding and rewarding music of the past thirty years. Don't let the fact it don't sound like the velvets put you off. It sounds like Lou and that is more than most musicians will ever achieve.

Lou Reed - The Bells (1979) - Review

Under Rated (4/5)

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