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(TV) lou number 2: sounds promising to me



"But if we have to part, I'll have a new scar right over my heart / I'll call it ecstasy," sings Lou Reed at the end of the title track of his powerful new album. It's one of two references in the song to scars, the other in the line, "A scar on my arm that says domain / I put it over the tattoo that contained your name."  Ecstasy, Reed's first album of new material since 1996's Set the Twilight Reeling, has a lot of scars: some of them visible and some buried deep beneath the skin.  In the doo-wop-styled "Tatters," a song that builds to an emotional crescendo accentuated by an archetypal rock guitar solo, Reed sings, "I know you hope that everything works out, neither one of us is the type who shouts * You sleep in the bedroom while I pace up and down the hall." Much like Jackson Browne's gorgeous and sad "Late for the Sky," "Tatters" is startling in its ability to capture slice-of-life moments in relationships.                     Unlike Browne though, Reed chooses not to overly focus on the lyrics by crafting almost all ballads. From the opening track, "Paranoia Key of E," Reed and his band, particularly guitarist Mike Rathke, deliver the same edgy, hook-filled guitar lines Reed's songs have been known for since "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll." Reed also revisits his feedback-heavy past with the 18-minute-plus "Like a Possum," a swirling dervish of guitars, noise, and distortion. The music here is vintage Reed, such as on the New York-era sounding "Future Farmers of America" and the combination of a heavy beat and occasional horns on the memorable "Mad."   Ecstasy has everything that makes Lou Reed great. And it's not hard to define. He
calls 'em as he sees 'em. Nobody wants to admit what Reed says in "Modern Dance" -- "Explain to me * why it always comes to this / it's all downhill after the first kiss" -- but everybody's wondered it at one point or another.
                    Steve Baltin
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
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