The Blue Mask

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2006-08-06 rating:
The Blue Mask - A Rather Patchy Affair
For all the praise heaped on The Blue Mask at its time of release and in the years that have followed it's actually a very patchy affair. br /In many ways The Blue Mask was the dawn of a new era for Lou. Lou had cleaned up his act with regard to his habits, he was newly married and was prepared to focus on his music by stripping it of its excesses (its larger sound). Lou went back to basics and even much of his lyric writing was being refined to be more socially friendly. He had a hot new band and re-introduced to prominence his own guitar playing. He had also switch record labels. br /The Blue Mask in places represents those changes extremely well. The opening track 'My House' was a great start followed by 'Women' and later 'The Blue Mask' (the title track), 'Waves Of Fear' and 'Heavenly Arms'. All these tracks tend to get their message across with simplicity, cutting right to the core of Lou's talent. br /Unfortunately much of the rest of the album is rather uninspiring. br /'Average Guy', 'Underneath The Bottle' and 'The Day John Kennedy Died' are far below the standard of Lou's best work and at times these songs lyrics sound incredibly banal. br /In The Blue Mask's favour though is the fact it's certainly a lot more accessible to listen to than Lou's two most recent albums The Bells and Growing Up In Public at the time (though not really better). br /Don't believe the hype The Blue Mask is no Lou Reed classic but there's enough good songs to make it a worthwhile listening experience. br /


review by: Toypom date: 2003-05-09 rating:
A shimmering masterpiece
The Blue Mask has stood the test of time very well in Lou Reed's oeuvre and is amongst my top 5 Reed albums. The varied material takes us from domestic bliss in My House ("I've really got a lucky life/My writing, my motorcycle and my wife") to extreme emotion and paranoia ("I cringe at my terror/I hate my own smell/I know where I must be/I must be in hell") which is a near perfect description of a panic attack. In a way, this album returns to many of the themes that had inspired Reed from the start of his career with the Velvets: His mentor, poet Delmore Schwarz is invoked in the opening track, reminding the listener of the Velvets's European Son (to Delmore), while Underneath The Bottle, an account of his struggle with alcohol, brings to mind an earlier song The Power Of Positive Drinking from the album Growing Up In Public, and the beautiful Heavenly Arms with its gorgeous fading choruses is not too far removed from Satellite Of Love on Transformer. But the approach is different: gone is the decadent narrator of the demi-monde, and instead Reed turns into an essayist or reporter writing and singing with great maturity but still passionately about subjects as diverse as women, gun violence and the day John Kennedy died. The guitars of Reed and Quine, the bass and the drums work perfectly together, whether on the slow numbers or on the more intense rockers like Waves of Fear or the title track. Best of all, the melodies are strong and memorable and the arrangements are innovative. The Blue Mask is excellent in every way!

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