Customer Reviews

Coney Island Baby

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's interesting to think that this is the album that Lou Reed made directly following "Metal Machine Music". He must've really gotten something out of his system, because "Coney Island Baby" still stands as one of his most beautiful achievements. Reed has rarely seemed so genuinely interested in having his voice and spirit heard as clearly as he does on this outstanding statement of renewal.

The songs are all first-rate, from the sublime title cut to the harrowing imagery of "Kicks". Reed's signature lyrical touches abound, even on the sunnier songs, like "Charley's Girl" ("I said 'If I ever see Sharon again/I'm gonna punch her face in'") and "Crazy Feeling" ("And you, you really are a queen/And I know 'cause I've made the same scene"). "She's My Best Friend" - a leftover from the Velvet Underground days - is totally at home on this disc, which Lester Bangs once jokingly referred to as "Lou, the Moonlight and You".

That wouldn't have been such a bad title, actually. The tender side of one of rock's greatest voices is the focus, with Reed delivering possibly his best vocal performance ever. With its spare, understated arrangements that give his musings the necessary room to breathe, "Coney Island Baby" is a real jewel in Reed's catalogue.

what a brilliant piece of work. This album is like a fine wine, it just keeps on getting better with age. Every song is a perfect gem...one of those rare albums with not a single bad note on it. I'm just amazed by how few people actually know this album. It's a perfect travelling album. Play it on a walkman the next time you're heading out of town on a train or bus, or especially driving through europe. From the opening cut to the closing title track, this is a true work of art.

"Coney Island Baby" is an amazing creation. It is the most unexpected piece of work. The song begins with Lou Reed rapping about football, and ends with him shouting out about the glory of love---and this doesn't seem strange or cheesy. Any song, poem, writing, whatever, that can accomplish that is something to cherish. The song enlivens old cliches, like the glory of love and the doo wop harmonies. (It's also just a kick to hear Lou Reed say he wanted to play football for the coach). In its use of the metaphor of football and the doo wop form, "Coney Island Baby" reaches for some kind of purity and meaning to life. "Different people have peculiar tastes" is such a marvelous lyric. Anyway, in case you haven't gotten it--I think this song is really, really good, and you should listen to it because it is really, really good.

This one was hailed as a comeback by many critics..in truth,Lou never left. The fact that he never is considered some milestone artist like those that made a Sgt.Pepper,Let It Bleed, Pet Sounds or Blonde On Blonde, as a defining statement does not detract from his historical greatness nor does it distract from so many great songs that are usually found on all his albums...The closest to the above mentioned masterpiece albums is his Berlin,Transformer,and maybe New York... Berlin a lush feel of beauty throughout was a stark contrast to the brightness and shimmer of the Bowieesqe Transformer..New York has it's great moments as well..and so does Rock n Roll Animal.. I mean that Intro/Sweet Jane is a rare thing...Coney Island Baby on the other hand is crisp,commercial and fresh. I have the original RCA USA CD release and it chimes..not deep, but just a bunch of solid songs played by Lou's usual great musicians..fun and uncomplicated despite the autobiography of Coney Island Baby and the rush of Kicks...looking back, I remember how New York's WNEW FM pumped OOOHHH BABY out...and a smile comes to all when listening to the song A Gift ...

Coney Island Baby is an incredible album. It even can be compared to some of the Velvet's albums. In my opinion, it beats out Transformer as his most accesible album. Personally, I don't care if Lou's albums are commercially accesible or not. This album, however, is just a great album. Crazy Feeling starts off the album great. It lets you know that this going to be one of his happier albums. Charley's Girl is another great song. The version of She's My Best Friend is just as good as the original version that the Velvets did. Kicks is possibly the best song on the album. It is an edgy, fast paced song in the tradition of Heroin. A Gift, Ooohhh Baby and Nobody's Business are all great songs. Coney Island Babey is an incredible song. It is one of Reed's best ballads since Pale Blue Eyes. This album is really great. It is a great starting place for those who want to give Lou a try, which I highly reccomend doing.

Where several Lou Reed albums are uneven and leave something to be desired (I happen to love 'em all, though), Coney Island Baby is magnificient from beginning to end. Emotional compositions, superb delivery and strong, nimble, twangy guitar-work throughout, Lou delivers classic after classic. Trying to pick out a single standout track is impossible. Why this title hasn't been officially released in America (as of 05/2005) is something I'll never understand.

This is possibly his most CONSISTENTLY IMPRESSIVE album of the 70's.

It's interesting to note that Coney Island Baby came out in the fall of 1975, just months after Metal Machine Music.... Coney Island Baby is perhaps Lou's finest solo album along with the fantastic Street Hassle. All the tracks on this album are fantastic, no weak cuts anywhere. Crazy Feeling starts it off with a bang, just a story about a guy lookin for love, be it a beautiful girl or be it a transvestite, in good old NYC.... This particular cut of She's My Best Friend is outstanding; it definately beats the old VU version. Kicks is one of those Reed ballads in the tradition of Heroin and Street Hassle. Kicks has a great beat, and even better lyrics. I enjoy listening about a hitman who murders as a means of getting his kicks, especially when its in a swanky restaurant. This is definately one of the best Reed songs of all time. A Gift is one of those funny songs where Lou pretends to be something he isn't. Oooohhh Baby was a nice doo-wop. Great storyline, about "the kind of girl that everyone's been worried about", a stripper in Times Square. Nobody's Business is a soft song, placed well in between a fast paced song and a love poem. Coney Island Baby is the gem of the album. Pale Blue Eyes was once the Masterpiece; it has since been overthrown by this ballad. The opening was interesting. I liked the way Lou used football as the imagery to describe the meaness one encounters growing up on the mean streets of Brooklyn. "Cause you know somethin' man, you gotta stand up straight or else you're gonna fall. Then you're gonna die." The best part about this track is Lou's "tell it like is" style. This shows up when Lou talks about so-called friends ("and they're talking behind your back saying, 'Man, you ain't never gonna be no human being'")and when he does some soul searching (when you're lonely, thinking about things you've done, which were bad and you hate them.) It also displays itself toward the end, when Lou tells everyone the city is a funny place, filled with people and their peculiar tastes, a bit of NYC flavor in there (and in the rest of the album). The most interesting thing about this song is that Lou Reed, the Rock N Roll Animal, proclaims that love is attainable. Who knows, the glory of love just might come shining through. In this case, it was his travestite partner Rachel, who was the centerpiece, the Coney Island Baby. Overall, the lyrics were outstanding and the guitarist, I don't know if it was Lou or someone else, was terrific. It's too bad this CD is unavailable in the US because it is classic Lou Reed.

Coney Island Baby is definitely a terrific album that should be getting more recognition than it has thus far. What a shame radio stations insist on believing "Walk on the Wild Side" is the only song of his that matters (though lately, thanks mainly to TV commercials, other Lou Reed favorites such as "Perfect Day" and "Satellites of Love" are getting some attention- FINALLY!)

Of course Lou Reed comes back once again with another interesting and thought-provoking display of lyrics, but the REAL meat and potatoes of Coney Island Baby is in the guitar playing. I simply love the melodic way the guitar solos are scattered across the majority of these tunes. "Kicks" probably has some of the best guitar work Lou Reed OR the Velent Underground ever laid down on tape. It's THAT good!

The title song is pretty cool as well, mostly for the gentle way in which the vocal melody is sung combined with *more* of that fantastic guitar playing. It deserves to be around 6 minutes long.

"She's My Best Friend" has a vocal melody that any Lou Reed fan will greatly appreciate. If you like the mans style, you will surely dig this track.

Coney Island Baby is just a severely underrated album these days. I don't know if there was ever a period in the 70's when this album was popular or what, but it sure *deserves* to be more well-known.

This is probably Reed's most atypical solo album and at first sounds lightweight and subdued, laking the great moments, drama and exciting highlights of his best work. Hard to appreciate immediately, repeated listens reveal Coney Island Baby's lyrical depth and melodic beauty. My favorites include the love song She's My Best Friend, the streetwise Charley's Girl and the sensitive narrative of the title track. Not his greatest album, but valuable as a showcase of Reed's human side in its warmth and simplicity.

Although the 2006 Legacy release with its great bonus cuts is essential, this also meets a need in terms of sound. The Legacy CD in general pushes the lead vocal forward in the mix to take advantage of the greater dynamic range of CD compared to vinyl. This is sometimes a big advantage compared to this version where the lead vocal often sounds too trebly and recessed (eg Charlie's Girl). But .....

while the Legacy edition has a punchier overall sound it ironically has less dynamic nuance with crescendos that build less subtly and therefore less dramatically.

"Kicks" is a good example of the sonic differences with this cd having a far superior version - as well as less subtle dynamics the Legacy version also lacks enormous amounts of sonic information in the upper frequencies and bass. There is deep ominous sounding bass guitar running all through "Kicks" but in the Legacy edition it's pretty much absent.

In general on this CD the bass guitar sounds natural and nuanced whereas on most of the Legacy release it lacks in upper frequenies so sounds extremely lo fi.

So overall this CD retains much of the subtleties of the original vinyl release and bass guitar sounds remain intact. (Plus it looks like a mini vinyl LP, the really cool part being that the playing surface is black too!)