Editorial Reviews Music Review:
Music Review
Works for Oboe by Vivaldi, Marcello, Cimarosa and others
Theo Verbey: Traide; Notturno; De Peryton; Sunless (after Mussorgsky); Conciso
Music: It Doesn't Matter Anymore #2 S
Wild Thang [CD-single] [Import]
You're the One for Me [Import]
Wrap It Up [Explicit Lyrics] [Import]
Wilhelm Friedemann Bach: Twelve Polonaises, F. 12 - Steve Barrell
Two for the Road: The Music of Henry Mancini [Enhanced]
Who's Da Killer? [Explicit Lyrics]
Amazon.com essential recording
While John Cale certainly gave the first couple of Velvet Underground albums a signature sound, his departure enabled Lou Reed to do exactly what he does best: write kick-ass, stripped-down rock songs. On Loaded his talent comes to full fruition. Who can imagine a world without "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll," arguably two of the greatest rock tunes ever penned? The brilliance of those songs is so bright, it's easy to overlook a couple of other Reed masterpieces: the tender, epic discourse of "New Age" (which highlights his assured sense of poetic wordplay: "And when you kissed Robert Mitchum / Gee, but I thought you'd never catch him!") and the extended sweet blues romp of "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'." On Loaded the Velvet Underground--who before had hit the sonic ceiling experimenting with shattered chords, feedback, screeching violas, and what Reed once claimed was "the fastest guitar playing ever"--eschew the dark side of noise for clarity. Check out the ringing chime that begins "Who Loves the Sun" and the sterling (no pun intended) guitar riff that drives "Rock & Roll." This is not to say that the old ragged punch of the original Velvets is completely gone. Moe Tucker still beats a mean set of skins; there's no stopping Sterling Morrison's train-wreck rhythm guitar on "Train Round the Bend"; and "Head Held High" achieves near-"Sister Ray" moments of madness. --Tod Nelson