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 2CD collection of music and poetry, featuring spoken word passages performed by such renowned actors 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.