Advantages: a couple of decent songs Disadvantages: too much avearge material and average production
Arguably the least regarded LouReed album, Mistrial just seems to receive indifference from most people. It doesn't upset anyone, like Metal Machine Music did, nor does it excite audiences in the way that Transformer did.
Mistrial consists of ten average songs, played competently, sung ok, and produced ok. And that's about it. There's nothing that really stands out, the resolutely 1986 production utilises very basic drum machines for the first and last time in Lou's history, and everything sounds rather boomy and upfront, but hollow and lacking in substance.
The ttle track at least features a cracking melody, but Mama's Got A Lover, whilst not a bad song, sounds like a bad Lloyd Cole copy. A rather bizarre achievment sounds like a bad copy of someone who sounds like a bad copy of LouReed.
"Video Violence" has a sparky sound but ...
Advantages: superb sound, superb performances Disadvantages: a couple of songs drag a bit
LouReed himself originally wanted to call this album LouReed Talk And Talk And Talks.
It's certainly an odd album, pitched midway between a straight live album and stand up comedy. There's over 100 minutes of music but only ten tracks which gives you an idea straight away that these are not simple live renditions of Lou's songs.
By 1978 Lou had pretty much come out of his mid 1970s drug period. He was still not entirely clean, but was in better shape than he had been for at least five years. He had a superb band behind him, led by keyboard player Michael Fonfara, and most of them had been touring with Lou for a few years. The musicians were capable of playing the most tender ballad before suddenly and shockingly roaring off like a locomotive at full speed. Lou had a habit of extending or shortening songs on a whim, but the band ...
Advantages: Some good songs and performances Disadvantages: Overlength, inconsistent and some bad performances
So often formerly interesting and cutting edge musicians lack grace when entering their twighlight years. Prime examples would include Paul MCartney, Mick Jagger and Rod Stewart (yes, I think some of Rod's early work was both interesting and cutting edge). There seems to be a need to either keep up with kids or lose originality altogether. This has thankfully never been the case for LouReed who has remained constantly interesting, whether you like him or not, and this release from 2003 is no difference.
This record is essentially Reed's tribute to Edgar Alan Poe. Rife with guest appearances from the likes of William Dafoe, David Bowie, Ornette Coleman and Antony Heggarty, this is an intriguing if sometimes patchy album. Some songs are wonderful, others meander and he gets too involved in contrived spoken word in places. When it ...
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