Perfect Partner
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Track Listings
| 1. Overture | |||
| 2. Edgar Allen Poe | |||
| 3. Call On Me - Reed, Lou & Laurie Anderson | |||
| 4. Valley Of Unrest | |||
| 5. Thousand Departed Friends | |||
| 6. Change | |||
| 7. Bed | |||
| 8. Perfect Day | |||
| 9. Raven - Reed, Lou & Willem Dafoe | |||
| 10. Balloon | |||
| 11. Broadway Song - Reed, Lou & Steve Buscemi | |||
| 12. Blind Rage | |||
| 13. Burning Embers | |||
| 14. Vanishing Act | |||
| 15. Guilty - Reed, Lou & Ornette Coleman | |||
| 16. I Wanna Know (The Pit And The Pendulum) - Reed, Lou & The Blind Boys Of Alabama | |||
| 17. Science Of The Mind | |||
| 18. Hop Frog - Reed, Lou & David Bowie | |||
| 19. Tripitena's Speech | |||
| 20. Who I Am (Tripitena's Song) | |||
See all 21 tracks on this disc
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Lou Reed has never been one to shirk from an ambitious project, and The Raven is no exception. It consists of readings from the dark poems of Edgar Allen Poe, interspersed with songs of traditional structure (and similar subject matter) and sometimes revisits Reed's previous work ("Perfect Day" for instance)--often with the help of a range of collaborators from the world of music (David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ornette Coleman) and film (Steve Buscemi, Willem Defoe). Opening with a dramatic monologue delivered over a backdrop of seething guitars, it's reminiscent of the unlistenable tosh of his Metal Machine Music. The atmospherics work though, and it serves as a fitting intro--or perhaps an ominous portent--of things to come.
Any reservations are quickly washed away by the glorious New York brass of "Overture" and the autumnally maudlin "Prologue". In fact, The Raven is among Reed's most affecting work to date--strings, saxophones and horns all combine with Reed's restrained guitar to produce a strikingly effective and aurally pleasing atmosphere. Elsewhere, this contrasts with more typically Reed songs, such as the rattle of "Edgar Allen Poe". With Poe's words embodying much which is close to Reed's heart (obsession, paranoia, self destruction), it's easy to see what attracted him to the project. As a concept album, it doesn't work as well as 1991's New York--partly because more people have experienced the dark and dirty underworld of NYC than the dark and dirty underworld of Edgar Allen Poe, but mostly because the songs on offer aren't as good. That said, this is a beautiful record and, for a change, a worthwhile diversion from rock's norm. --Ben Johncock
Description
Lou Reed's epic homage to the work of gothic horror writer Edgar Allen Poe is a sprawling collection of music and poetry, featuring spoken word passages performed by such renownedactors as Willem Dafoe, Steve Buscemi and Amanda Plummer, and contributions from the likes of David Bowie, Laurie Anderson and Ornette Coleman. Dark and sinister, Reed has attempted to replicate the mood of Poe's work in the music.