I have had friends that worship Lou Reed like people worship Dylan (sometimes the same people), but I've never been one of those guys. Nonetheless, Lou Reed at his best has an undeniable power. The Blue Mask is one of those powerful moments, perhaps the last great work of his solo career.
"My House" is more meditation than rock, a low flame that builds into a raging fire by the end of Side A. Starting with his new found domesticity, Reed wanders through meditations on women (a particularly facile one at that), alcoholism (not much more interesting), and guns (a little better, but not as good as the similar "Kicks" from Coney Island Baby). By the time he gets to "The Blue Mask", he's full of masochistic aggression worthy of the best Velvet Underground.
He manages to hold momentum through the start of Side B, with "Average Guy" being one of the more interesting reflections on middle age: though not specifically about middle age, "Average Guy" manages to connect in ways that the misfires on Side A do not. After a brief sidetrack with "The Heroine" (the song sounds like it wants to be symbolic to the point of allegory, but I just can't see it . . . and what is it with seafaring rock songs? Does this song want to share compilation space with "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)"?), Lou is quickly back on the rails with "Waves of Fear" - which is an interesting companion to John Cale's "Fear". After another sidetrack with with "The Day John Kennedy Died" (the sort of optimistic Americana embodied in Kennedy worship just doesn't sound legitimate coming from Reed), he ends the album with the magnificent "Heavenly Arms", which belongs up with his best from the last two Velvet Underground albums.
The Blue Mask has four of Reed's best songs: "Average Guy", "Waves of Fear", "Heavenly Arms", and, above all, "The Blue Mask". The stripped down rock sound, with Robert Quine on guitar and Fernando Saunders on bass, is as good a band sound as Reed ever gets. There are the indulgences familiar to any fan of Reed's . . . but, though this may not be the best Lou Reed album, it certainly lives with the best.
4 comments:
Sweet. Huge Velvet fan, no so much with his solo stuff but will def check this out. Welcome!
I've got to be in the mood for solo Lou, but when I am the big fun question is always WHICH ONE? The guy's put out a body of work, you always got to give him that. I'll try this one the next time the mood strikes.
Hey Bill! good to see you here.
Somehow, this is the only solo Lou album I have ended up with. I had several at one point, but they seem to have wandered away sometime over the last 25 years. He is definitely one of those guys who profit from compilations of his stuff.
Thanks for the welcome, guys. I'll try to post about a couple new albums sometime this week.
Wait, that's not true . . . I have a copy of METAL MACHINE MUSIC!!! I'll definitely have to post on that one sometime.
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