The Bells (Lou Reed album)

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The Bells
File:Lrbells2.jpg
Studio album by
Lou Reed
ReleasedApril 1979
Recorded1979
StudioDelta Studios (Wilster, West Germany)
GenreRock
Length40:37
LabelArista
ProducerLou Reed
Lou Reed chronology
Live: Take No Prisoners
(1978) 		The Bells
(1979) 		Growing Up in Public
(1980)
Singles from The Bells
  1. "Disco Mystic"
    Released: 1979
  2. "City Lights"
    Released: August 1979

The Bells is the ninth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1979 by Arista Records. It is recorded in binaural sound at Delta Studios in Wilster, West Germany. Production was handled by Reed with Michael Fonfara serving as executive producer. Three out of nine songs on the album are the product of a short-lived writing partnership between Reed and Nils Lofgren. More of the team's work appeared on Nils' album Nils, released the same year. Lofgren released his version of "Stupid Man" as "Driftin' Man" on Break Away Angel (2001).[1]

The album features contributions from Michael Fonfara, Ellard "Moose" Boles, Don Cherry, Marty Fogel and Michael Suchorsky. The album peaked at No. 13 in New Zealand, No. 44 in Sweden, No. 58 in Australia, and No. 130 in the United States.

Recording

Reed said: "I mastered the art of recording known as 'capture the spontaneous moment and leave it at that'. The Bells was done like that, those lyrics were just made up on the spot and they're absolutely incredible. I'm very adept at making up whole stories with rhymes, schemes, jokes".[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Chicago Tribune[4]
The Village VoiceB+[5]

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, music critic Lester Bangs wrote, "With The Bells, more than in Street Hassle, perhaps even more than in his work with The Velvet Underground, Lou Reed achieves his oft-stated ambition—to become a great writer, in the literary sense".[6] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said:

"Lou is as sarcastic as ever—the lead cut is called 'Stupid Man,' and in a typically acid rhyme he links 'capricious' and 'death wish.' But due in part to the music's jazzy edge and warmly traditional rock and roll base (special thanks to Marty Fogel on saxophone) he also sounds ... well-rounded, more than on Street Hassle. The jokes seem generous, the bitterness empathetic, the pain out front, the tenderness more than a fleeting mood. And the cuts that don't work—there are at least three or four—seem like thoughtful experiments, or simple failures, rather than throwaways. I haven't found him so likable since The Velvet Underground."[5]

In a less enthusiastic retrospective review, Select magazine wrote that "The Bells saw his music disappearing down the pan ... Even self-parody is barely achieved in these half-assed songs played by a bunch of dullards, with Lou sounding painfully uninspired".[7]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Stupid Man"
2:33
2."Disco Mystic"
4:30
3."I Want to Boogie with You"
  • Reed
  • Fonfara
3:55
4."With You"
  • Reed
  • Lofgren
2:21
5."Looking for Love"Reed3:29
6."City Lights"
  • Reed
  • Lofgren
3:22
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."All Through the Night"
5:00
8."Families"
  • Reed
  • Boles
6:09
9."The Bells"
  • Reed
  • Fogel
9:17
Total length:40:37

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the The Bells liner notes.[8]

Musicians

Production and artwork

Charts

Chart (1979) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 58
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[10] 13
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[11] 44
US Billboard 200[12] 130

References

  1. ^ "Nils Lofgren: Rock's Most Valuable Player". 3 June 2021.
  2. ^ DiMartino, Dave (September 1980). "Lou Reed Tilts The Machine". Creem. Rock's Backpages. Retrieved March 20, 2021 – via Yahoo!. Alt URL
  3. ^ Deming, Mark. "The Bells - Lou Reed | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  4. ^ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  5. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (December 31, 1979). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Bangs, Lester (June 14, 1979). "The Bells". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  7. ^ Select, November 1992
  8. ^ The Bells (CD booklet). Lou Reed. Arista Records. 1979.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 249. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  10. ^ "Charts.nz – Lou Reed – The Bells". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  11. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Lou Reed – The Bells". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  12. ^ "Lou Reed Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 20, 2021.

External links


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