Originally released in '79, this stands as one of Reed's most critically acclaimed albums, as well being a favorite of the artist himself. Tracks include "Stupid Man," "Disco Mystic," "I Want to Boogie with You," "All Through the Night" and more [Note: This product is an authorized CD-R and is manufactured on demand]
Product details
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer
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No
Language
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English
Product Dimensions
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5.5 x 5.5 x 0.25 inches; 2.5 ounces
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Reviewed in the United States on December 22, 2022
I'm a fan of the Velvet Underground but have found Lou Reed's solo work to be hit-and-miss. This 1979 offering is his best solo album in my opinion. When the opening track "Stupid Man" kicks in, at once the listener is alerted that this will be something different from his usual fare. Was Reed listening to Bowie at the time? Check out the Bowiesque vocals on "Stupid Man," "With You," "Looking For Love," and the title track. Or the use of the saxophone as essentially a rhythm instrument on "I Want to Boogie" and "Families." Then again, there's plenty of sax on this album, credited to Marty Fogel, and even some trumpet by the legendary Don Cherry, who also arranged the horns on "With You."
The album begins to kick in for me with "I Want to Boogie," with a slow tempo that belies the song title. The highlights can be found in a killer four-song sequence beginning with "Looking for Love," which starts with an extended rocking sax intro that continues throughout the song as Reed sings, when it's joined by a counter melody on piano, brilliantly executed. "City Lights" bounces along with a Reed vocal that recalls his Velvet Underground days and what sounds like a violin, although no violinist is credited. It seems likely the violin sound was created by synthesizer, which is in generous use throughout the album. "All Through the Night," co-written with Cherry, has a nightclub atmosphere, complete with the sound of voices in the background along with Cherry's trumpet. "Families" has an irresistible repeated line sung by a group of background singers. For me, Reed has never sounded more inspired in his solo work.
The album has worn well over time. One can't overlook the contributions of Fogel and Cherry as jazz influences permeate throughout. The entire album can be summed up as jazz meets glam rock. This is hammered home in the closing nine-minute-and-seventeen-seconds long "The Bells," an experimental tune presenting free jazz before abruptly veering into a drone and a wall of noise. The only track that doesn't quite stack up to the others is the repetitive "Disco Mystic," a puzzling choice for the album's first single.
It's no secret that Lou Reed was a heavy drinker. In fact, there were polls in the 70's that had Lou Reed and Keith Richards as the two rock stars most likely to die from drinking and drugs (ironic that they're still around in 2013). I mention this because Lou Reed was in a very bad state by the tail end of the 70's and his music reflected it. Aside from Metal Machine Music, the live Take No Prisoners, Growing Up In Public and Rock N Roll Heart are the worst albums in Lou Reed's career and they all came out in the late 70's. The Bells and Street Hassle(the latter mostly because the title track is about a third of the album) stand apart from these weak efforts.
The Bells is Lou Reed's attempt to update his sound and embrace the current trends his way. To do this, Lou Reed seems to have written an entire album of new compositions. That in itself is a departure because most of Reed's solo albums had at least one song he was working on from his VU days. Those earlier tracks don't really work with what he was trying to do with this.
Much of his songs are storytellers. They're about characters Reed either knew or invented. He was still a few albums away from going autobiographical. "Stupid Man" opens the album and it sounds a little like Proto mid 80's New Wave (without the drum machines). "Disco Mystic" is a slow sludgy disco song with just the words "disco mystic" repeated throughout the four minutes. "I Want to Boogie With You" is a ballad with heavy horns ad Phil Spectoresque airy wall of sound production. "With You" sounds like another antidisco song like "Stupid Man" and "Disco Mystic." "Looking For Love" is a rocking song with heavy bass, piano and horns dominating the mix. "All Through The Night" has snippets of conversation backing up the song much like "Kicks" on Coney Island Baby. "Familes" is a storytelling song as is the moody and atmospheric title track "The Bells."
The Bells layered production with lots of synths, horns and piano in the background sounds as much a departure from his norm as Iggy Pop's Idiot was for Iggy. Both albums have the same combination of horns, synths and piano. Unlike Iggy, Lou Reed's unique songwriting borrows nothing from the German synthpop bands or David Bowie. There really isn't anything quite like The Bells before or after it came out.
You won't find another Reed album like this and don't start listening to his music with 'The Bells' because nothing else he did sounds like this. You'll know this immediately when the keyboards of 'Stupid Man' kick off the album. By the time you reach the evolving title track which finishes the album, you'll either love what you experienced or you'll hate it wishing Lou Reed had just did another Transformeresque album. It is that polarizing and my 5 stars labels me as a fan.
This is essential Reed if you want to hear the artist make a transitional album during a dark time in his life.
Un album splendido, originale, divertente e rock. Un Lou Reed in piena forma. Per me è uno dei migliori album di Lou Reed, che viaggia sempre su alti livelli.
Probabilmente non riesco a cogliere la bellezza di alcuni album di Reed, che considero uno (se non il) mito musicale in assoluto, però a me gli album come questo e come Street Hassle dove lui canta in "vibrato" non vogliono assolutamente piacermi. Do comprare solo per completare la discografia per quanto mi riguarda. I suoi capolavori sono (molti) altri
amo i dischi di lou reed...questo non lo conoescevo preso a due soldi...direi che appartiene alla discografia "minore" del musicista newyorkese. spunti jazz, soliti odori metropolitani ma le canzoni non mi convincono granchè
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