New York

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
After the best part of a decade spent adrift of past glories, Lou Reed looked to his immediate environment for inspiration and produced with his most acclaimed work since The Velvet Underground disbanded. The narrator of songs such as "Sunset Boulevard" and "Good Evening Mr Waldheim" though, couldn't be more different to the drug-addled nihilist who wrote "Waiting For The Man". In iNew York/i, drugs are still part of everyday life, but Reed's spleen is targeted at the forces responsible for such social malaise--none of which would matter, of course, were it not for the stripped down garage sound which substantially loosens the mood. Doubters may suggest we be spared from another reformed rebel turned concerned parent, but if there's anything objectionable about iNew York/i, it's the regrettable mullet hairstyle sported by its author--a far greater crime than any that recur in his lyrics. i--Peter Paphides/i

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-04-21 rating:
Neo-classic album
How this album receives less than 5 stars from some reviewers is beyond me. But then again, when reading through the 'less-than-5-star'-reviews it becomes obvious that some disagree with the political issues and some even with rock music dealing with current political issues. Well, then... go check out some Offspring then and leave Lou to a more discerning audience ;-) br / br /This album heralded Lou's return to form in 1989 which has so far lasted to this day some 18 years down the line. It's Lou finally hitting the formula again after The Blue Mask in 1982 with a stripped down 4 piece band playing nothing but rock and with lyrics so on the mark that they may leave the victims on the receiving end with a scratch or two... and the rest of us equally belly-laughing and fist-banging in righteous approval. br / br /How this album can receive anything less than 5 stars is indeed a Dime Store Mystery.

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review by: date: 2006-08-08 rating:
Lou shows his his social and environmental side
New York represents the moment Lou Reed successfully honed his songwriting craft to deliver arguably his most consistent album. br /It had been nearly three years since his previous album Mistrial and his albums in the proceeding years had been receiving an increasingly lukewarm response (despite some good songs). Those albums in retrospect seem like a preliminary draft for New York as the themes and style are occasionally similar but without the focus. br /Lou's writing style had developed a more socially aware/journalistic flavour in more recent years and with New York Lou put it to very good effect. Almost all the songs are of note as they are nearly all equally strong. Lou tends to paint quite a dark picture of the goings on in his favourite city (naturally) including homelessness, the aids crisis and environmental issues. br /New York is a mature rock album which is quite accessible to a larger audience - you really don't have to be a Lou Reed fan to appreciate it. br /However it doesn't cut nearly so deeply as some of Lou's earlier highly regarded albums and there are times when i feel Lou's vocals seem a little too dry and inflexible. br /It's a fine album all the same. br /

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review by: date: 2006-06-15 rating:
'I'll Take Manhattan In A Garbage Bag'
Seventeen years on from his most acclaimed work 'Transformer'and Lou Reed turns his attention to the sleazier side of his hometown to find inspiration for this,his fifteenth solo studio album.He writes in his liner notes that 'New York' should be taken in one sitting as if it were a film or play and after listening it's not difficult to see why.From beginning to end you are taken on a musical tour through the dirty,drug fuelled,hooker laden,crime ridden,destitute streets of the Big Apples' less attractive suburbs.The album kicks off with Reed's '1-2-3-4' counting in the opening bars of 'Romeo Had Juliet' with it's dark,twisted lyrics 'Caught between the twisted stars,the plotted lines,the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York' he sings(?).The musical pace slows down with 'Halloween Parade (AIDS)' which leads onto the first single release of the album,the mesmeric 'Dirty Blvd'.The song tells the story of Pedro,a young kid with nine siblings living in a squalid squat and beaten by his father,Dion Dimucci appears on backing vocals here.The reality of child abuse continues on 'Endless Cycle' despite the georgeous musicianship.'There Is No Time' rocks along vibrantly while the subdued 'Last Great American Whale' is poignant in it's subject,the destruction of our natural environment and fellow creatures.Lou Reed also vents his spleen and attacks TV evangelists('Good Evening Mr Waldheim'),politicians('Strawman')and the treatment of Vietnam veterans 'Sam stares at the Vietnam wall,it's been a while now that he's home,his wife and kid have left,he's unemployed,he's a reminder of the war that wasn't won'('Xmas In February')Genius a much overused word but it comes close to describing the lyrics on this album.The music is also exceptional here and Reed surrounds himself with some abled musicians with guitarist Mike Rathke and the rythym section of Rob Wasserman and Fred Maher are tight and raw which gives the album a garage feel.Ex Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker also plays on the final track the Andy Warhol tribute-'Dime Store Mystery'. br /'New York' is widely regarded as Lou Reed's masterpiece.On it's release he said 'this is as good as I get'.Artists regularly say this even if the product is poor to the rest of our ears and hindsight offers repeated reflection but almost two decades after it's release many of us would find it difficult to disagree with Lou's statement.

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review by: Olly Buxton date: 2003-01-03 rating:
Game of Two Halves
If it were not possible to turn a record off after you'd started listening to it, this record would be worth two stars. Had only the first eight songs been included, it would be worth five. brNew York starts out so effervescently, it's impossible to credit how badly it loses its way. Lou Reed's overall approach is fantastic - get a bunch of guys in a room, flip the "record" switch, and play - don't even turn the tape off between songs (yes, it's true: New York carries on the honourable tradition of intra-track amplifier buzz). pAnd for half an hour, this works just fine, because the material is up to it: Romeo Had Juliette - well, the title says it all -is raw, brutal and vital. Dirty Blvd is the same. The socio-political undertone, while undeniably there, is still an undertone: understated enough not to get in the way of the rock 'n' roll. This suits Reed's socio-political ends, too, because while you Get The Point, the music Still Sounds Tough. pFor a while. The first sign that everything might be about to go off the rails is There Is No Time. Suddenly Reed's patented, nonchalant chic delivery - you know, the half-spoken drawl - is gone and he literally bellows out the lyrics, which comprise some of the most knuckle-headed sloganeering you're ever likely to hear (Hey, Lou: bonus points for getting the word "circumlocution" into a rock song. Not.) Is Lou being ironic, you wonder? Sure hope so.pBut no. After a brief reprieve, the original musical focus is jettisoned completely in favour of dud invective of the sort only "serious" rock musicians of the eighties could issue with a straight face. And there the album remains, dignity gone, to the point where you wish someone would take it out and shoot it, for its own good.


review by: Toypom date: 2002-12-17 rating:
Reed's most "literary" album
This collection of 14 sketches represents one of the most powerful song cycles of Reed's career. On New York he deals with the wider world rather than personal concerns for a change, and in the enchanting core of New York City, he found enough to comment upon, like crime on "Romeo Had Juliette," the terrible impact of AIDS in "Halloween Parade," the tragedy and psychology of child abuse in the poignant "Endless Cycle," the plight of the homeless on "Xmas in February" and wrong priorities on the powerful rocker "Strawman, " where he actually sings with open throttle unlike most of the other tracks where he employs his talking-style delivery. Older themes are revisited too: "Dime Store Mystery" is a moving elegy to his former patron Andy Warhol. Not all the tracks are memorable though - "American Whale" and "Mr Waldheim" for example, are not up to the greatness of the rest of the album. In addition, due to the lack of any other but the basic rock instruments, the sound is not as varied as on some of his other classic albums. Neither is this Reed's most melodic work. However, the lyrics make up for that - in beautiful lines like "Caught between the twisted stars the plotted lines the faulty map that brought Columbus to New York", the poetry is full of sharp and lean images, driven by Rathke's guitar, Wasserman's bass and Maher's drums. This album is a beacon of literate, intelligent rock and amongst the top 5 of Reed's career.

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