Ecstasy
by Lou Reed
Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. AllMusic
    60
    Reed genuinely seems to be stretching towards new lyrical and musical ground here, but while some of his experiments work, several pointedly do not?
  2. Mojo
    60
    Ecstasy is definitely a Lou Reed record for Lou Reed fans. If you're a happy regular shopper at Lou's Boutique, this one'll fit nicely on the shelf alongside all the others.
  3. The A.V. Club
    50
    As uneven an album as Reed has released, it might be easier to take if there had been more of them in the past seven or eight years. Instead, it feels like the latest in a series of anticlimaxes.
  5. Spin
    40
    Signature oh-so-mellow, mumblin' beat, only this time with just too much remove and far too little energy to make it work.
  6. Dot Music
    50
    So there it is, bizarre, world-weary, beautiful, touching, self-indulgent but never, never dull ? at least not until at least nine minutes into 'Like A Possum'.
  7. Sonicnet
    60
    There are more flashes of the old White Light/White Heat Reed than the old crank has provided even diehard loyalists in years.
  8. Nude As The News
    60
    The best record Lou Reed has made in a long time.

Awards & Rankings

82
#82 Most Discussed Album of 2000

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 11 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. MarkW.
    Aug 17, 2001
    9
    Underrated, classic.
  2. brent
    Feb 28, 2006
    9
    This would've been a 10 but it is bloated (like this review). The brilliance of Lou Reed is he coulda stripped it down to 6 songs and This would've been a 10 but it is bloated (like this review). The brilliance of Lou Reed is he coulda stripped it down to 6 songs and pulled it off. It's a reward to the faithful, and he'll do it again someday. How often does it come, fans? Coney Island Baby? Street Hassle? Blue Mask? Berlin? New York? Who else would follow decades blindly adoring some records, liking a little of some records, not ever playing some (London, Raven) except Lou fans? Ecstasy is the awesome sonic marriage of his writing and words, his reckless musical ear, his passion, and his guitar playing. Baton Rouge is staggering in verse and strum. Rock Minuet is crafted so terrifying in shit guitar and homicidal prose. Possum rules. It's 18 minutes of dirge and filth that owes nothing to anybody. Turning Time Around is the honest, gripping love song we've been waiting for since "Think It Over." Big Sky ends with 5 minutes of crotch-satisfying feedback between he and Mike Rathke that soars and soars and makes Billy Corgan's/Pumpkins experiments like "Drown" seem like amateur hour. What do you do at retirement age? You've out-punked punk (VU, Street Hassle), out-gothed goth (Bells, Berlin), you've out heavy-metaled them all (r'n'r animal, MMM), and now you just want that clean mainline to the heart....hmmm...release a staggering amount of original material on one album that will keep the critics dumbfounded and perplexed and tongue-tied? An aging cult artist whose only love seems to be craft and creativity and guitar music?Hats off to you brother. This is your Citizen Kane. That you never gave the world another rocknroll animal or walk on the wild side or new york makes me admire you more.… Full Review »
  3. JamesL.
    Jun 28, 2002
    6
    As usual, Lou seems inspired on about half the cuts while the rest seems to be filler.
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