My Amazon Reviews: Lou Reed "Essentials"

Lou Reed. March 2, 1942 - October 27, 2013
5 Out Of 5 Stars

There aren't too many figures in America Rock and Roll that have a footprint quite like Lou Reed's. From his start as part of Andy Warhol's factory band to his later status as a sort of NYC Poet Laureate, to even recording and album in cahoots with Metallica (not represented here, though), he is one of the USA's predominant rock icons. Or as he put it on one of his live albums, a Rock and Roll Animal. This "Essentials" set is a repackaging of "NYC Man," but still a great set if you don't already own that older package.

The tracklist is a varied set and covers most of his time with various incarnations and major labels (RCA, Arista and Warners). There are excellent liner notes courtesy of Lou himslef, describing the thought processes behind the songs. The sequencing is a bit odd, as the first song here is from "The Raven" (his adaptations of Edgar Alan Poe) and then ends on disc two with "Transformer's" "Pale Blue Eyes." Reed describes his concept for the sequencing as "the point of view which songs relate to each other in the best fashion." Because of the really sweet remastering job (mostly from 2003), many of the songs, even from the Velvets, slip into the others sounding as contemporary as ever. There's the basic rock of "Dirty Boulevard" to the atmospheric guitar the grinds through "Rocket Minuet," which Reed viewed as worthy of following each other. (Minuet" also featured his wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson, on violin.) He could make any sound he wanted, and he did, without compromise.

I have my own personal favorites here, especially from the albums "Magic and Loss" and "New York," which in my opinion, were brilliant even if it took a few years for an audience to catch up to them. And while the Arista albums tended to get slagged, selections from the likes of "The Blue Mask" and "Legendary Hearts" are here and deserve a re-listen. Of course, there are the magical songs from "Transformer," including "Perfect Day." As a compilation, it's a great starter kit, although I'd recommend any of the albums mentioned here (and "The Velvet Underground and Nico") as perfect albums in their own right. "The Essential Lou Reed" is a terrific overview of one of Rock's greatest cantankerous characters, and the world is a slightly less interesting place because of his passing.

     

My Amazon Reviews: Paul McCartney "New"

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4 Out Of 5 Stars
 

Like the modernistic neon bars used to indicate the "New" title, Paul McCartney steps up to the new world of modern-ish music and applies a sheen and glow to his newest collection of pop-tunes. While "Memory Almost Full" seemed like a coda to a long career and well lived life and "Kisses From The Bottom" had a wiff of the old-fogy about it, "New" tosses that aside and finds McCartney still willing to challenge his younger contemporaries, down to having hot-shot Mark Ronson produce a few selections, in particular, the buoyant title track.

The lead-off, "Save Us," is a rocker in the Wings mold, without the annoyance of "Nod Your Head" (from "Memory") or the screaming mania of "Cut Me Some Slack," the song Paul recorded with the surviving members of Nirvana. Yes, despite the willingness to go out on the occasional limb, "New" is an album that is eager to please, even if it doesn't play its hand as a totally safe one. In that aspect, it's reminiscent of "Flaming Pie," one of Paul's best from the 90's. Which also means that there's a shout out to his days as a Liverpool youngster on "Early Days," where he tells those who have romanticized The Beatles too much for his tastes by stating "I don't see how they can remember/When they weren't where it was at."

McCartney certainly isn't above a little cheekiness, as "Early Days" and the buzzy "Queenie Eye" show. And who would have thought Paul still had time for a little lyrical nonsense like the clever "Alligator?" It's also a pleasant surprise to hear the keyboard driven "Road," which is the haunting final song before the uncredited song "Scared." "I'm still too scared to tell you...the simplest of words won't come out of my mouth, though I'm dying to set them free," he croons in the way only McCartney can in "Scared." That McCartney can still be so emotionally naked and willing to try and challenge himslef in the way "New" does is a pretty remarkable feat for a man making music for over 50 years.

     

Zombie Attack

A little more from my work in progress:

“Brian, look out!” he shouted, but Ezekiel had already grabbed Brian by the hair and had slipped his scythe’s sharp under-blade against Brian’s neck. Susan and Conrad heard the sound of Brian’s gasp and turned to see Ezekiel with one arm pulling back Brian’s head and the other high on the scythe’s handle.

“You took my family,” Ezekiel snarled. “You killed my flock!”

Conrad had both hands on the hilt of his sword and was already in a defensive stance. Susan screamed and Keith bolted to the center of the standoff. “He’s my brother…don’t hurt him.”

More to come, second draft underway...