Lou Reed - The Blue Mask

Lou's 1982 RCA album, his first after returning to the labelfrom Arista. Dedicated to his long-time inspiration, poetDelmore Schwartz, the album features guitarist Robert Quineand 10 tracks, including 'My House', 'Women' and 'The DayJohn Kennedy Died'. Album Description

A classic, if not for 1966 - 1973

I am amazed at the amount of praise this good CD gets. After The VU to Berlin in 1973, a great Lou Reed album now seems to be one where half the songs are strong, a decent album is one with 2 great songs, and a lousy album is consistently bad.
The Blue Mask has 3 stand-out tracks: "My House", with evocative lyrics, a melodic chord progression and quite nimble singing for the usually monotone Lou. "Waves of Fear" is a cousin to "Kill Yr Sons". Same kind of chords & menace, with Lou really belting/bellowing out the words. "Heavenly Arms" finishes the album in style with impassioned singing, a good melody & soulful female backing vocals. Robert Quine adds a lot. A fine guitarist whose reputation is making noise, but here Quine is usually very clear & melodic. (Obviously this CD was a big influence on Matthew Sweet & especially Lloyd Cole who used Quine extensively in the 90's.)
That being said, there are some serious turkeys on this album that would have fit right in on any of Lou's 20 bad records. "The Blue Mask" is just a tuneless rant over droning chords & feedback that goes nowhere. Monotonous & unmelodic. This would have been thrown off of a VU or Sonic Youth album.
"Average Guy" is sung in his Transformer voice, but is otherwise awful. Lou is sometimes a genius, sometimes lame, but he is never average. He sounds like he is trying way too hard on this, and doesn't believe it.
"The Day John Kennedy Died" could have been great, but it concentrates on Lou not JFK, and the corny title hook ruins it.
I'm glad Lou loved "Women" at this point (as opposed to men who dress like women) but if Michael Bolton sang this song, it would be universally hated.
Yes, The Blue Mask is Lou Reed's best work of the '80's, but most artists don't have the legacy of Velvet Underground with Nico, Loaded, Transformer & Berlin to compete with. Early genius is a b*tch!
Suspend your expectations and you will enjoy The Blue Mask. August 10, 2008

Better than Metal Machine Music

This is better than Metal Machine Music







Really. It is! May 2, 2008

One of Lous best

Ive put time in on almost every Lou disc out there(except Metal Machine Music-I dont get it).This is one of my all time faves that consistantly get played.Great playing,great sound and some real pretty music(Our house)-----along with the most brutal music Ive heard from Lou.Crank the vol. up on Waves of Fear and The Blue Mask,and raise some goosebumps.(These 2 songs MUST be played LOUD)GREAT stuff!Ghosts of the VU will rise from the smoke of the ashes of yer speakers.I love this album!No way does "Growing Up In Public"( which I DO like)come close to this disc but the following;Legendary Hearts Is damn good also. January 25, 2008

Great Album

I have most of Lou Reed's albums, but never got this one. I wish I had gotten tis CD sooner, because it is a great album from start to finish. A bit of a departure from some of Lou's other work, more of a textured, airy sounding record. I like every song on this album, which is rare for me. It is funny how certain really good albums seem to fall in between the cracks, this is one of them. December 18, 2007

The majestic Lou....

This was the first Lou Reed solo album I picked up. Never before had I read so many good reviews of one album. Many critics were beside themselves over this, so naturally I was intrigued. So I bought it, and it's one of Lou's greatest albums. I absolutely adore it. It still sounds fresh and invigorating today. Lou's music, both solo and with The Velvet Underground, has not dated at all, unlike a lot of other music from that time period. The opening song, My House, is majestic and moving, and Lou actually sings and holds notes very well. Underneath the Bottle is a great song, the title track is full of feedback and brilliant, vengeful lyrics. Waves of Fear is like this as well. Heavenly Arms is a beautiful closer, dedicated to his then wife, Sylvia, who helped get him cleaned up and focused again. Lou's 70's output wasn't horrible as some have suggested. A lot of his persona was about how he dressed, and the critics ignored or lambasted his music. Some of it sucked (Metal Machine Music anyone), but some of it was very good (Street Hassle, parts of The Bells, Berlin, and Transformer). However, his 80's output was some of the best of his long career. This is a great album that you should pick up as soon as you can.... October 29, 2007

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