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Artist: Lou Reed
Album: New York (1989)
Favorite song: Last Great American Whale

Rating: (4.0 / 5)

Thoughts:  Necessary disclosure – I’m not a really huge Lou Reed fan.  He falls into that category of artists who I recognize as having immense talent, and who I respect for their immense influence on music, but who don’t often make it into my playlist.  I’d have certainly gotten around to doing a write-up on this album eventually, but felt the need to bump it up.  Lou Reed died today.

I own two of his solo albums:  New York and The Blue Mask.  Of the two, I’m much more fond of New York.  The Blue Mask marks the end of an era for Lou Reed, as he closed the door on the indulgent style of his Velvet Underground period, and the decade that followed their breakup.  You can feel the similarity between the tracks on The Blue Mask and earlier VU material, but they all failed to reach that bar for me.  Even the cover is basically copied from his earlier album Transformer.

New York, on the other hand, is much more polished…more composed.  It retains the lyrical poetry that had become Reed’s signature, but feels more produced than simply recorded.  Thematically, New York still packs the kind of socio-political commentary that you’d expect from a Lou Reed album, but it’s a more mature Lou, one mellowed by almost a decade of marriage.  And he’s still thumbing his nose at established norms, including a false start on the very first track, “Romeo Had Juliette.”  “Halloween Parade” recalls Lou’s previous solo hit – “Take a Walk on the Wild Side.”  “Endless Cycle” has a strong country feel, while the following “There is No Time” sounds like pure 80’s pop-rock.  My personal favorite though is “Last Great American Whale,” which I can’t help but compare to Syd Barret’s “Effervescing Elephant.”

It’s simply the best of Lou’s solo albums.

Bottom line:  if you aren’t familiar with Lou Reed’s solo work, this is probably the place to start.

But while I’ve admitted that I’m not a huge fan of his solo work, I will always cherish Lou Reed for The Velvet Underground & Nico.  It’s impossible to overstate the impact of that record on rock music.  That album gets more playtime than the two solo records combined, times 10.  It’s haunting.  I can’t count the hours that were spent in my late teens listening to that with my friends (unfortunately on CD rather than vinyl).   For that, if for nothing else, thank you Lou – and God speed.

Album Art:  The cover of this album is a simple black & whit photo of Lou Reed standing in front of a brick wall.  Lou is shown in several poses, composited together to give the appearance that he is in a small crowd, made up entirely of copies of himself.  It’s nothing like the stark pop-art album covers from his VU and earlier solo works, again reinforcing that this is not the Lou Reed you’ve been listening to for the past 20 years.  The reverse side shows the track listing over the same brick wall, the graffiti now clearly visible.

————–Side 1————–

1. “Romeo Had Juliette”
   
2. “Halloween Parade”
3. “Dirty Blvd.”
4. “Endless Cycle”
5. “There Is No Time”
6. “Last Great American Whale”
7. “Beginning of a Great Adventure” (Reed, Mike Rathke)

————–Side 2————–

1. “Busload of Faith”
2. “Sick of You”
3. “Hold On”
4. “Good Evening Mr. Waldheim”
5. “Xmas in February”
6. “Strawman”
7. “Dime Store Mystery”

**All songs written by Lou Reed, unless otherwise noted**

Artist: Steve Earle
Album: Guitar Town (1986)
Favorite song: Guitar Town

Rating: (4 / 5)

Thoughts:  I bought a LOT of music in the early 1990’s.  I was in college, and living in the dorm across the street from Cut Corner Records in Lexington, KY.  They sold a lot of used stuff there, and had a large selection of used vinyl in their “Record Cellar,” – much of it for $1 or less.  I had grown up on a steady diet of classic country music (around my house, it was mostly Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn), only discovering other genres as a young teen.  I was guided in this discovery mostly by the emerging college radio scene, and Rolling Stone magazine.  Armed with copies of their Top 100 albums list (two lists:  the 1980’s and all time), my friends and I would pick through these used records, trying to gather as many as we could afford.  This is how I came to own a copy of Guitar Town by Steve Earle, which was #79 on the 1980’s list.

Of course, being from a country home, I was familiar with the title track on Earle’s debut album.  “Guitar Town” had been a top 10 hit for the breakout performer in 1986.  Earle manages to craft an album that can legitimately be considered “country-rock,” as opposed to the many, many acts who are country in name only, churning out thinly-veiled pop.  The rest of the album is just as gritty.  Earle’s songs are grounded, honest narratives, full of the blues and twangy country.  This is roots music.  And it’s pretty damn good.

I mean, just listen to this.

Lyrically, this song is simply amazing.  He invokes the spirit of Hank Williams with his reference to the “lost highway.”  The bridge is so catchy, I still find it popping into my head after all these years:

Hey pretty baby don’t you know it ain’t my fault
I love to hear the steel belts hummin’ on the asphalt

And again in the final verse, the strong visual takes you right up on that honkeytonk stage with Steve:

But when my boots hit the boards I’m a brand new man
With my back to the riser I make my stand

But Guitar Town is much more than its title track.  “Hillbilly Highway” pairs great with that hit tune, continuing the theme of traveling on a long journey to the big city, trying to hit it big.  Earle was really writing about what he knew.  Another favorite of mine is the last song on side 1 – “My Old Friend the Blues.”  This is classic cryin’ in your beer country, and I absolutely love it.  This is simply one amazing country debut album.  In fact, it would probably have been the best first country record that year – if not for Lyle Lovett’s eponymous album.

In more recent years, Earle has garnered a lot of negative attention for his songs and political statements regarding everything from the war on terror to the death penalty.  Yes, he’s a flaming liberal, and an outspoken one at that.  I don’t really give a damn – he makes good music…or at least he did back in 1986.

Album Art: The artwork is fairly straight-forward – a grainy photo of Earle standing outside the window of a guitar shop, his six-string slung over his shoulder.  It’s clearly meant to show the struggling young singer just off the bus, trying to get started in a town that chews up new talent.  The message is clear:  Steve Earle has arrived in Nashville.  My copy has a clear plastic inner sleeve.  I’m not sure if this is original, or if it was a replacement for a lost sleeve.

————–Side 1————–

1. “Guitar Town”
2. “Goodbye’s All We’ve Got Left”
3. “Hillbilly Highway” (Earle, Jimbeau Hinson)
4. “Good Ol’ Boy (Gettin’ Tough)” (Earle, Richard Bennett)
5. “My Old Friend the Blues”

————–Side 2————–

1. “Someday”
2. “Think It Over” (Bennett, Earle)
3. “Fearless Heart”
4. “Little Rock ‘n’ Roller”
5. “Down the Road” (Tony Brown, Earle, Hinson)

**All songs written by Steve Earle, unless otherwise noted**