Charles Douglas' deadpan vocals and back-to-basics rock & roll sound owe an unmistakable debt to the music of
Lou Reed -- a debt which this debut solo album fully embraces by recruiting
Velvet Underground alumna
Moe Tucker as drummer and producer. Granted,
The Lives of Charles Douglas might be little more than a knock-off in the grand scheme of things, but it's a damn sight better than anything
Reed himself has done since
New York a decade earlier -- not only is
Tucker's inimitable drumming a treat in any context, but
Douglas is a sharp, witty writer with a flair for affably self-deprecating lyrics and crisp melodies. It's no
Berlin, of course, but it's no
Set the Twilight Reeling either, and that's got to count for something. ~ Jason Ankeny