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Magic and Loss [CD]

Lou Reed Audio CD
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
Price: £4.98 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Music

Image of album by Lou Reed

Photos

Image of Lou Reed

Biography

by Richie Unterberger

The career of Lou Reed defies capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he has made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam rocker to scary-looking junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. A firmer grasp of rock's earthier qualities has ensured a more consistent ... Read more in Amazon's Lou Reed Store

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Product details

  • Audio CD (13 Jan 1992)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: CD
  • Label: Warner
  • ASIN: B000002LQD
  • Other Editions: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 15,286 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Listen to Samples and Buy MP3s

Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or view the MP3 Album.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

Samples
Song Title Time Price
Listen  1. Dorita - The Spirit (LP Version) 1:07£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  2. What's Good - The Thesis (LP Version) 3:21£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  3. Power And Glory - The Situation (LP Version) 4:23£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  4. Magician - Internally (LP Version) 6:23£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  5. Sword Of Damocles - Externally (LP Version) 3:42£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  6. Goodby Mass - In A Chapel Bodily Termination (LP Version) 4:25£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  7. Cremation - Ashes To Ashes (LP Version) 2:54£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  8. Dreamin' - Escape (LP Version) 5:09£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen  9. No Chance - Regret (LP Version) 3:14£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen10. Warrior King - Revenge (LP Version) 4:26£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen11. Harry's Circumcision - Reverie Gone Astray (LP Version) 5:28£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen12. Gassed And Stoked - Loss (LP Version) 4:18£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen13. Power And Glory Part II - Magic - Transformation (LP Version) 2:57£0.69  Buy MP3 
Listen14. Magic And Loss - The Summation (LP Version) 6:39£0.69  Buy MP3 


Product Description

CD

Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars
4.0 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cathartic Rock Masterpiece 25 Jan 2009
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I think you need to have been to a very dark and unpleasant place some time in your life to appreciate this album. If you haven't been to anywhere dark yet, then be warned this album is good enough to take you there ! I think that is why some people find it very uncomfortable.

The song cycle works to create a journey through darkness, misery and pain, reflecting responses of anger guilt frustration and desparation. I liked the mystical parallel reflecting a necessity for the journey through pain, in order to grow and accept loss and death as necessary parts of life. Then, in case by the end you still didn't get it, the title track gives a "Summation", "There's a bit of Magic in everything, but then some loss to even things out", and "Life is good, but not fair at all".

Musicaly the opening track "Dorita" makes one of my favourite ever rock introductions, but doesnt in any way set the style for the rest of the album, which has a very varied presentation. Including two different versions of the same song.

You will never hear this music in a shop or elevator. The lyrics might be compared with Dylan or Cohen ? The music is mainly quite simple and open with lots of space and clear vocals. It feels very well produced and carefully balanced.

I loved this album from first hearing it, but i dont recall anyone thanking me for sending them a copy. Its still a gem in my collection !
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5.0 out of 5 stars Flinching in the face of death 30 April 2012
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
From the first Velvet Underground album right up to his extraordinary and brilliant collaboration with Metallica, Lulu, Lou Reed has consistently been expanding the boundaries of what kind of topics can be explored through the medium of rock'n'roll. Here he moves beyond singing about drugs, illicit sex, violence and such subjects to tackle a few of the very big ones, the real taboos- death, cancer, grief.
I've always loved the first ten or 11 songs on this record but felt that he copped out a little in the last couple of more upbeat, rockier numbers, especially in the closing track, Magic and Loss, when he seems to come to terms with and pass on a few wise words about how to deal with senseless loss. To be honest, the lyrics sounded a bit hollow to me. Until I finally got it. You can never make sense of such horrible deaths but to move on in your own life, you have to find whatever formula, philosophy or thoughts will make it possible for you to find your own closure, even if some part of you knows that you are flinching and fooling yourself a little.
Aside from that one misgiving the rest of the album pulls no punches and ranges from the exceptionally beautiful to the extremely painful, from the absurd to the passionate, to the utterly profound. Standout tracks are the heart-rending Magician, the brutally honest Sword of Damocles and the old-fashioned tearjerker, Dreaming.
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3.0 out of 5 stars Well crafted but dark, very dark... 11 Nov 2009
Format:Audio CD
I have to say most of the Amazon reviews about this album are just about right. After his masterpiece Songs for Drella, I was really looking forward to this and since the album was about death and bereavement, all the better for inspiring some great music. However there is definitely something missing in this thematically related set of songs. "Dorita" is a very brief guitar effect instrumental which leads us into "What's Good", a competent rocker. "Power and Glory" which follows is fascinating, particularly since it makes use of the characterful contralto voice of Little Jimmy Scott, whose career enjoyed a late blooming thanks to his appearance on this album. This was also the first time since Nico that Reed had so prominently used someone else's voice and he would do so again in later years. "Magician" maintains the dirge like tempo before the very good "Sword of Damocles" wakes things up a bit. "Goodbye Mass" and "Cremation", while technically proficient, just make for a cold and bleak listening experience, although this I suppose is the point. "Dreamin'" however is both beautiful and moving with a very subtle melody and it will strike a chord with anyone who has suffered any sort of bereavement.

"No Change" kicks off the second half but by this time the lyrical references are starting to get a bit obvious and repetitive, but this is quickly followed by the bitter and vitriolic "Warrior King", the best song on the album. We are then treated to "Harry's Circumcision" which is really a short story set to music rather than a song, per se (Much in the fasion of "A Dream" on Songs for Drella"). It is both surreal and humourous and so quintessentially Lou Reed, but I'm not sure you would play it repeatedly. This is then followed by three angry tracks "Gassed and Stoked", a faster reprise of "Power and Glory" and the title track "Magic and Loss". These last three are I think just too personal to make a lot of impact on the listener and melodically are the most difficult to listen to. "Magic and Loss" in particular is just tuneless to me. There is a sense in which Lou Reed doesn't care what we think of this album because it is just something he has to do for himself. It's a bit like watching someone else go through therapy - no doubt worthwhile for them but not exactly a spectator sport. I saw him perform live around the time of release and he simply played every track on this album in the order in which it appears on the album, making no concession to the desires of his fans.

Overall there is much to be admired about this album - particularly "Warrior King", "Dreamin'" and "Sword of Damocles". However, in my view the set is about 3 songs too long and is weighed down by an absence of melody on many tracks and in places lacklustre production. Even the standout tracks could have been more cleverly presented to increase their impact and make the most of some clever riffs and melodies in the background. It seems as if Reed has deliberately left them a little understated, perhaps as a sign of respect.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Sharp
This is one of Lou Reed's best album's. The lyrics and understated melodies are best described as sharp. It manages to maintain an upbeat tone despite the subject matter.
Published on 24 July 2010 by Richard J. Hillier
5.0 out of 5 stars A Magical Rollercoaster
Wow !!! A monumental piece, not only in music terms, but foremost concerning the lyrics. Our old friend, Master Reed, does not shirk from revealing his innermost secrets, and... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by Gunther Schrank
3.0 out of 5 stars Lacks Vitality
Magic And Loss isn't too disimilar to some of Lou's earlier albums in terms of its tone (for example Berlin) but what it really lacks which was evident on Lou's earlier work is a... Read more
Published on 4 Aug 2006 by Jervis
3.0 out of 5 stars More loss than magic
On this album Reed investigates mortality, loss, guilt, rage and resignation. Each song has a subtitle and a mystical symbol, tracking the issue in full circle and attempting to... Read more
Published on 17 Dec 2002 by Pieter Uys
4.0 out of 5 stars Some highlights in overall mediocre album
This album includes some of my personal favourites among Lou Reed's songs, "Sword of Damocles - Externally", "Goodbye Mass - In a Chapel Bodily Termination" and... Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2001 by Einar Agdal Stenseng
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
This is one of Reed's saddest albums. Following a similar pattern to "Berlin", this album covers Reed's loss of close friends to cancer.
Published on 8 Oct 2000
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