New York City figured so prominently in
Lou Reed's music for so long that it's surprising it took him until 1989 to make an album simply called
New York, a set of 14 scenes and sketches that represents the strongest, best-realized set of songs of
Reed's solo career. While
Reed's 1982 comeback,
The Blue Mask, sometimes found him reaching for effects,
New York's accumulated details and deft caricatures hit bull's-eye after bull's-eye for 57 minutes, and do so with an easy stride and striking lyrical facility.
New York also found
Reed writing about the larger world rather than personal concerns for a change, and in the beautiful, decaying heart of New York City, he found plenty to talk about -- the devastating impact of AIDS in "Halloween Parade," the vicious circle of child abuse "Endless Cycle," the plight of the homeless in "Xmas in February" -- and even on the songs where he pointedly mounts a soapbox,
Reed does so with an intelligence and smart-assed wit that makes him sound opinionated rather than preachy -- like a New Yorker. And when
Reed does look into his own life, it's with humor and perception; "Beginning of a Great Adventure" is a hilarious meditation on the possibilities of parenthood, and "Dime Store Mystery" is a moving elegy to his former patron
Andy Warhol.
Reed also unveiled a new band on this set, and while guitarist
Mike Rathke didn't challenge
Reed the way
Robert Quine did,
Reed wasn't needing much prodding to play at the peak of his form, and
Ron Wasserman proved
Reed's superb taste in bass players had not failed him. Produced with subtle intelligence and a minimum of flash,
New York is a masterpiece of literate, adult rock & roll, and the finest album of
Reed's solo career. ~ Mark Deming