Customer Reviews

Set the Twilight Reeling

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

By 1996, Lou Reed had acclaim and status most other veteran artists could only dream about. At 54, Reed had been on a creative upswing since 1989's remarkable comeback NEW YORK & its deeper, darker 1992 follow-up MAGIC & LOSS. While the last album was recorded in the wake of two tragic deaths in Lou's life, afterwards, he may have found a way to smile again, for that's the mood most prominent on 1996's SET THE TWILIGHT REELING.

Lou had taken up with fellow musician Laurie Anderson & SET THE TWILIGHT REELING was a lot like his musical love letter to her. While some would claim Lou's periodic journeys into unabashed melody are forced & unconvincing (1976's CONEY ISLAND BABY & 1984's NEW SENSATIONS are often the subject of this criticism, although I love them both), for TWILIGHT, Lou seemed to have gotten it right. Even for someone who fell for the darker side of Lou's output first, I have no objection to saying this is one of Lou's best later albums.

Make no mistake, Lou is in love, for songs like "NYC Man", "Trade-In", "Hang On To Your Emotions" & the title track are clearly coming from a man whose heart has been stolen. Some may think the songs are a little too mushy by Lou Reed standards, but I think they're quite sweet, and it's refreshing to see a rather dark, introspective artist like Lou feel happy for once. Even less romantic songs like "Egg Cream" & "Hookywooky" are infectiously catchy, and if popular music hadn't been (and still is) in a state of youth fever, these songs could bring Lou back to the charts (he was never a regular in the first place).

But even on a light affair like TWILIGHT, the old curmudgeonly Lou makes an appearance. "Sex With Your Parents" is a positively vicious & wickedly funny indictment of conservative politics, which for a recently-turned liberal like me now rings truer than before. Shockingly, this song was dared to be released as a single, which I'm sure in the Clinton era would only have received such a luxury. Today, a song like this would never make it onto a DJ's playlist.

Lou's former Velvet Underground bandmate Sterling Morrison passed away at the time of TWILIGHT, and Lou gives him a touching tribute on "Finish Line". The atmosphere of the song is dark enough to have found its way onto MAGIC & LOSS, but it's clear that Lou is celebrating life rather than mourning death, similar to his album-length tribute to mentor Andy Warhol, 1990's SONGS FOR DRELLA.

While SET THE TWILIGHT REELING has been given a cool reception by most reviewers, they're probably so much more accustomed to Lou Reed's bleaker material that they can't conceive of the fact a man like him can be upbeat. Reed's last "nice" album NEW SENSATIONS was mired in 1980s electronics that, while endearing, was still from a time when Lou was shooting more for the charts than listeners' hearts. It's great to see Lou finally find the love of his life, and hopefully he'll return to such a bright sound like TWILIGHT again, even after he went back to the darkness for 2000's ECSTASY & 2003's THE RAVEN. I'm sure it will happen, for even at 61, Lou Reed is one veteran artist not keen to retire to the oldies circuit so soon.

Many Lou Reed fans would confine him to the dour subject matter of "Berlin" or the bad-ass histrionics of "Rock n' Roll Animal." His true fans realize and appreciate that Reed the streetwise poet is the same man who wrote such beautiful Velvet Underground songs as "I'll Be Your Mirror" and "Who Loves The Sun." Yes, as some have resentfully pointed out (living in the past, anyone?), this is a softer, more tender collection of Reed tunes, a portrait of a man who has found some peace with a new love. What is wrong with that? Well, when the songs are this good, absolutely NOTHING! "Egg Cream" rocks out, pure fun in the form of loud guitars. "NYC Man" is a sublime look at romantic hesitancy, with hints of doo-wop and '60s soul. Love those horns! "Finish Line" is a riveting, inspiring tribute to late VU guitarist Sterling Morrison. This song shows Reed's lyrical powers at full strength. Even on this disc, not all is sweetness and light. So much of "Twilight"'s strength lies in its ambiguity. "Hooky Wooky" is a rousing, darkly mischievous number in which Lou confesses his desire to throw girlfriend Laurie Anderson's former lovers "under the wheels of a car on Canal St." "The Proposition," which is one of several love songs here, also contains the striking line, "Somewhere there's a vaccine that needs AIDS." Our favorite sneering New Yorker has not lost his sense of tragedy. He has merely supplemented it with a heart, making "Twilight" a rich, rewarding effort. Reed is still capable of writing "Heroin" and "Caroline Says"; by now, he could probably write such songs in his sleep. Instead, like most valuable artists, he has chosen to grow and expand. Lou Reed is a great American songwriter who has kept his edginess but also added some warmth. Ignore the fans who are stuck in 1973!!! Check out some prime Reed with this exhilarating album!

Here's the deal, my friends. The title track for this album is one of the best Lou's ever written...period. When the time comes to separate his "genius" from the hype, this is a "genius" track. It's poetry on the level of Dylan or Hendrix or Morrison. As he does with every other song he's recorded, he's mangled it in concert and missed the point of the original. How many times are you going to play "Egg Cream" or "Sex With Your Parents?" If you're like me, not many. Will the song "Set The Twilight Reeling" find a place on my Lou Reed ultimate mix CD? Better believe it, Jim. The days of Lou Reed having something to prove are long gone. Anyone expecting an album of ten or twelve perfect and transcendent tracks is an idiot. One killer track per album is still something to celebrate. "Set The Twilight Reeling" is that track.

Yes, that's right: Lou Reed needs to go back to his drug-addled ways! Heroin, speed, Mylanta even. If this is the kind of music that comes of clean living, inspired love and maturity, forget it brother, make mine a speedball! This album is absurdly overwrought in all the wrong ways: sonically tinkered to a fare-thee-well with stream of consciousness "Dear Diary"-esque horseshit lyrics worthy of a love-sick 12-year-old. Sure, great rock'n'roll should be passionate, but if I wanted to hear the whispered sweet nothings (key word: nothing) of an infatuated jackass, I'd drill a hole into my neighbors' apartment, and listen in as they baby talk to each other. Reed should drop the pretentious, sensitive poet routine and go back to being a gritty, sarcastic rocker.

This is a Lou Reed album/CD that I don't really play that much, but decided to break it out again recently. It's light, but it's still Lou Reed, and that means it's still head and shoulders above artists' other work.

The opener is my favorite song on the album. Egg Cream has an awesomely fuzzy, heavy guitar track while Lou waxes about the awesome Egg Creams he's had in NYC. The song Trade In is absolutely lovely and powerful, reminiscent of some of Lou's beguiling Velvet songs (the man is a romantic at heart, at times a disillusioned one, always has been I think). HookyWooky is a lot of fun, and Hang On To Your Emotions is a very powerful song as well. The song Sex with Your Parents is OK, but it's a bit dated. It has some contemporary references (it was recorded in 1995), and it comes across as too political and dated (something Reed rarely does). The wordplay in Adventurer is awesome, and Riptide is a great, slightly epic track with awesome guitar lines.

If you're a Reed fan, this is worth picking up. It's not his best solo work, but it's still pretty good.

Set the Twilight Reeling was an album Lou Reed made after MAgic and Loss and his short lived reunion with the Velvet Underground. A lot has happened to Lou since his last solo record. He found a new love in his life (Laurie Anderson) but lost a dear friend (Sterling Morrison). He expresses his feelings and emotions in this disc.

Sterling Morrison's final goodbye can be heard on the track Finish Line. This song is worth buying the disc just to hear it. Despite all the problems he's had with his former band mates, Lou manages to give him a final send off that only a true friend could, it's a powerful tune that'll hit you after a couple of listens. The other tracks express his new love (trade in) censorship of art and music (Sex with your parents) life in N.Y.C. (New York City Man and Egg Cream)
and life in general (Set the Twilight Reeling). The CD comes with a booklet filled with artwork and lyrics.

Strongly recommended.

This is my favorite Lou Reed album. The sound is tight and the emotion behind the songs is powerful. Strong album.

Great guitar sounds, great songs, great singing, and a nice warmth all over this album - this is Lou's best Late-era album (not counting live albums).

The guitar intro to RIPTIDE is worth the price of this CD alone. Lou really shines on EGG CREAM, ADVENTURER, RIPTIDE, SET THE TWILIGHT REELING and FINISH LINE. The only week song on this collection is HOOKY WOOKY. I bought this CD in 2004 and I can't stop listening to it.....very groovy!!

Set the twilgiht reeling truely has every musical element. Lou Reed showcases his ability to produce beautiful meaningful and passionate songs and at the same time also keep a comedic tone. Riptide alone reaches deep down inside you and touches your heart and Soul. Only New York, Berlin and Transformer Almost match this level of quality. Hooky Wooky, Trade In, Adventurer, Finish line, the title track, and Hang onto your emotions are all fantastic. With Great Lyrics, Well Written songs and Unsermountalbe passion, Set The Twilight Reeling truely is one of the greatest albums ever made.