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"Ecstasy" finds 58-year-old rock poet Lou Reed characteristically fixing his gaze on messier thoughts and murkier emotions -- and doing so more artfully than at any time since his 1989 masterpiece, "New York."
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In twelve brutally honest and dark tracks, Reed revisits the best elements of his early work...
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The main criticism of this record is that a few tracks are merely good, as opposed to epochal.
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Understandably, Reed's old fascination with sadomasochistic transcendence puts off those who don't swing that way at least a little. But the music on this record, its gorgeous part, could change that.
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While Ecstasy is essentially a concept album about the fantasies and realities of love and family, it includes as much sex, drugs, and rock n' roll culture as any of Reed's earlier work.
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Reed has lost neither his lyrical bite nor his sonic perfectionism.
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Vintage Reed?
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Checkout.comThough Ecstasy is gruesome, fearsome and rife with realism much in the same way as his heart-stopping shocker, Berlin (1973), Reed has a compelling way with words, and a magic touch with psycho-delic guitar riffs that dare us to follow him down the back alleys to his darkest thoughts.
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This is the kind of beautiful album that Reed knows he can make in his sleep yet seldom does.
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PunctureHardly surprising to find some dross here, I suppose, since the whole thing clocks in at 77 minutes, 26 seconds. For those willing to make their own "best of" tape, through, Ecsatsy has a lot to offer. [#46, p.33]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 11
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Mixed: 4 out of 11
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Negative: 0 out of 11
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MarkW.Aug 17, 2001Underrated, classic.
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brentFeb 28, 2006
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JamesL.Jun 28, 2002As usual, Lou seems inspired on about half the cuts while the rest seems to be filler.