18.07.2008.

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LOU REED - The Raven (2003)

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It's not surprising that Lou Reed finds a kindred spirit in Edgar Allan Poe. The godfather of punk's early ambition was to bring the darker elements of great literature--decay, death, and decadence--to rock & roll. The Raven was born following a spoken-word performance of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" during which Reed "came to understand it in a way I never had before." Accordingly, The Raven may strike Reed's longtime fans in a way the artist never has before. Although dark, the music is stylistically all over the place--from Velvet Underground-like rock instrumentals to actor Steve Buscemi's creepy lounge-lizard take on the anti-showbiz "Broadway Song," to moments that recall such diverse past Reed ventures as Metal Machine Music and the Bells. He even reprises two classics--"Perfect Day" and "The Bed" from Transformer and Berlin, respectively -- in almost unrecognizable forms. Ornette Coleman and David Bowie drop in, and actors read text in which Reed mixes Poe's poems and stories with his own words. The opium references are surely Poe's; the explicit images probably all Reed's. It's hard to tell, though; the blend's that good.

Personnel includes: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, bass, electronics); Laurie Anderson, Antony, David Bowie, Steve Buscemi, The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Kate & Anna McGarrigle (vocals); Elizabeth Ashley, Willem Dafoe, Amanda Plummer, Kate Valk, Fisher Stevens (spoken vocals); Mike Rathke (guitar); Friedrich Paravinci (cello, piano, Hammond B-3 organ, keyboards); Jane Scarpantoni (cello); Paul Shapiro (alto, tenor & baritone saxophones); Ornette Coleman (alto saxophone); Doug Wiselman (tenor & baritone saxophones); Steve Bernstein (trumpet); Fernando Saunders (bass, background vocals); Tony Smith (drums, background vocals).

DISC 1 ACT 1:
01. The Conqueror Worm (featuring Willem Dafoe)
02. Overture
03. Old Poe (featuring Steve Buscemi)
04. Prologue (Ligiea) (featuring Willem Dafoe)
05. Edgar Allan Poe
06. The Valley of Unrest (featuring Elizabeth Ashley)
07. Call on Me (with Laurie Anderson)
08. The City Of The Sea / Shadow (feat. S.Buscemi/W.Dafoe/A.Plummer/E.Ashley)
09. A housand Departed Friends
10. Change
11. The Fall of the House of Usher (featuring W.Dafoe/F.Stevens/E.Ashley)
12. The Bed
13. Perfect Day (featuring Antony)
14. The Raven (featuring Willem Dafoe)
15. Balloon (featuring Kate & Anna McGarrigle)
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DISC 2 ACT 2:
01. Broadway Song (featuring Steve Buscemi)
02. The Tell-Tale Heart (Part 1) (featuring W.Dafoe/K.Valk/F.Stevens/S.Buscemi)
03. Blind Rage
04. the Tell-Tale Heart (Part 2) (featuring W.Dafoe/K.Valk/F.Stevens/S.Buscemi)
05. Burning Embers
06. Imp of the Perverse (featuring Kate Valk/Steve Buscemi)
07. Vanishing Act
08. The Cask (featuring Willem Dafoe/Steve Buscemi)
09. Guilty (Spoken) (featuring Elizabeth Ashley/Kate Valk)
10. Guilty (Song) (with Ornette Coleman)
11. A Wild Being From Birth (featuring Kate Valk/Elizabeth Ashley)
12. I Wanna Know (The Pit and the Pendulum)
13. Science of the Mind
14. Annabel Lee / The Bells (featuring Amanda Plummer)
15. Hop Frog (featuring David Bowie)
16. Every Frog Has His Day (featuring F.Stevens/A.Lummer/W.Dafoe)
17. Tripitena's Speech (featuring Amanda Plummer)
18. Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)
19. Courtly Orangutans (featuring Fisher Stevens/Amanda Plummer/Willem Dafoe)
20. Fire Music
21. Guardian Angel
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