I asked my wife to buy me a copy of this album and ‘Street Hassle’ - both on vinyl - for Christmas after watching your Lou Reed ‘ranking the albums’ video. I was intrigued by what you said regarding both records, so I took the plunge. Needless to say I now love both of them, so thank you for stating such a strong case for two superb albums in Mr Reed’s discography 👍🏻
Great, Christian! Glad you love Lou's music too. I will need to revisit that ranking video after I'm done with these reviews, because several albums (like this one) will need to be raised considerably higher on the rankings.....well, maybe....there are so many GREAT albums in his discography! Thanks for your comment. Jeff
Great review of my favourite lou reed album.. For me this album gave his fans what they wanted in a solo album.. Great maturity/authority when delivering these tracks.. Thanks and best wishes from London England.. Peter
Thanks, Peter. This is definitely a great Lou album, and believe it or not, even given its reputation as a good album, I think it is still under-appreciated! Preparing for this video has resulted in this album rising up considerably in my ranking of Lou's albums. Cheers. Jeff
Thanks for reviewing this masterpiece. You're right, the band is terrific, and Lou at last found his solo voice by allowing his writing to become more personal, and more angry. The title track, that finds Reed perorating like some manic street preacher, is a mix of Greek tragedy and Full Metal Jacket, and leaves the listener feeling as if he or she has just been mugged by an electric guitar. I'm with you regarding the lyrics, They tied his arms behind his back to teach him how to swim is a personal favorite. The closing track Heavenly Arms would also make my top ten Lou Reed songs. I always appreciate it when artists renowned for their cynicism write gorgeously sincere love songs, another example being The Crooked Line by Elvis Costello, and this is one of the best...unfortunately the euphoria was rather ephemeral, since his next album bitterly describes the breakup. It's hard to say this without sounding ridiculous, considering his work with the Velvet Underground and his intermittently great output from the 1970s, but with The Blue Mask Lou Reed truly arrived. It's a loud and resounding statement of relevance from an artist who would remain so for the next several years. Not my favorite Lou album, that one is still to come, but I wouldn't argue with anyone who said it's his very best.
I hear ya, Chris. Some fans do not like '80s Lou, but I find it to be some of, if not THE, best music he's ever made....well, at least since VU anyway. He seems to be very comfortable with his art at this time, enough so to (like you well put it) let it rip with personal, loud, resounding, angry, humorous, you-name-it, confidence and power. Great stuff!! Thanks. Jeff
" I love women!" Great album, I had this one on rotation on my ipod when my second son was born. I'd push him round the streets with 'The Blue Mask' on top volume. As you say, the guitars had a real crunch but also with this incredibly pure tone. My favourite track was always 'The Heroine', such an enigmatic lyric and a deceptively simple song as ever. I got hold of a Delmore Schwarz collection after hearing this album, great writer. 'This Is Not Dr Seuss' would be a great title for some future Lou compilation album. Fantastic review Jeff.
Thanks, James. Haha, I did the same kind of thing when I was a stay-at-home dad with my daughter....stroll her around the neighborhood and parks while listening to blisteringly intense music like The Blue Mask on headphones. Later when she was older I force-fed her so much of my music that she is probably the only kid her age that knows who the likes of Terje Rypdal and Captain Beefheart and Lou Reed and Bob Dylan are....she even knows some of the song titles, haha. (She impressed one of her college profs when she recognized a Dylan lyric he used in a lecture). Yeah, "The Heroine" is very thought-provoking indeed. That's Lou for ya. Thanks again. Jeff
I remember when “The Blue Mask” came out, it got a great review in ROLLING STONE magazine, but I myself, had a mixed reaction. I liked the prettier sounding songs, at the beginning, and the end, “My House”, “Women”, “The Day John Kennedy Died”, and “Heavenly Arms”, but the mid-section of the album was rough listening for many years-I didn’t care for the title track at all... but, over time, as I got older-“The Blue Mask” has become one of my favorite Lou Reed albums, it’s the one that I tend to reach for the most actually, these days...Great job on the review Jeff, as usual..
I wasn't as "taken" with the album on first listens either, Thomas, but I learned long ago to give Lou plenty of chances because it almost always pays off. And this is one of those cases, as you said. (but that blistering title track hit me from the get-go. that stuff is right down my alley.....which is odd coming from a guy who loves listening to the likes of Andy Williams too, haha!) Thanks, Thomas. Always appreciate your comments. Jeff
Another insightful and fun review of possibly Lou's most energetic and fun period of his career this is a fantastic album and the start of a great string of albums he created in the 80s
It's my favourite of the 80's, mainly because of the work of Robert Quine. Unfortunately Lou killed Quine guitar in Legendary Hearts and the relationship beteween them kinda ended - Quine made other contributions live, mostly just for money.
I asked my wife to buy me a copy of this album and ‘Street Hassle’ - both on vinyl - for Christmas after watching your Lou Reed ‘ranking the albums’ video. I was intrigued by what you said regarding both records, so I took the plunge. Needless to say I now love both of them, so thank you for stating such a strong case for two superb albums in Mr Reed’s discography 👍🏻
Great, Christian! Glad you love Lou's music too. I will need to revisit that ranking video after I'm done with these reviews, because several albums (like this one) will need to be raised considerably higher on the rankings.....well, maybe....there are so many GREAT albums in his discography! Thanks for your comment. Jeff
To me Lou has a beautiful voice, no matter if he's singing or speaking. His voice was so emotional and deep.
Great review of my favourite lou reed album.. For me this album gave his fans what they wanted in a solo album.. Great maturity/authority when delivering these tracks.. Thanks and best wishes from London England.. Peter
Thanks, Peter. This is definitely a great Lou album, and believe it or not, even given its reputation as a good album, I think it is still under-appreciated! Preparing for this video has resulted in this album rising up considerably in my ranking of Lou's albums. Cheers. Jeff
Thanks for reviewing this masterpiece. You're right, the band is terrific, and Lou at last found his solo voice by allowing his writing to become more personal, and more angry. The title track, that finds Reed perorating like some manic street preacher, is a mix of Greek tragedy and Full Metal Jacket, and leaves the listener feeling as if he or she has just been mugged by an electric guitar. I'm with you regarding the lyrics, They tied his arms behind his back to teach him how to swim is a personal favorite. The closing track Heavenly Arms would also make my top ten Lou Reed songs. I always appreciate it when artists renowned for their cynicism write gorgeously sincere love songs, another example being The Crooked Line by Elvis Costello, and this is one of the best...unfortunately the euphoria was rather ephemeral, since his next album bitterly describes the breakup. It's hard to say this without sounding ridiculous, considering his work with the Velvet Underground and his intermittently great output from the 1970s, but with The Blue Mask Lou Reed truly arrived. It's a loud and resounding statement of relevance from an artist who would remain so for the next several years. Not my favorite Lou album, that one is still to come, but I wouldn't argue with anyone who said it's his very best.
I hear ya, Chris. Some fans do not like '80s Lou, but I find it to be some of, if not THE, best music he's ever made....well, at least since VU anyway. He seems to be very comfortable with his art at this time, enough so to (like you well put it) let it rip with personal, loud, resounding, angry, humorous, you-name-it, confidence and power. Great stuff!! Thanks. Jeff
" I love women!" Great album, I had this one on rotation on my ipod when my second son was born. I'd push him round the streets with 'The Blue Mask' on top volume. As you say, the guitars had a real crunch but also with this incredibly pure tone. My favourite track was always 'The Heroine', such an enigmatic lyric and a deceptively simple song as ever. I got hold of a Delmore Schwarz collection after hearing this album, great writer. 'This Is Not Dr Seuss' would be a great title for some future Lou compilation album. Fantastic review Jeff.
Thanks, James. Haha, I did the same kind of thing when I was a stay-at-home dad with my daughter....stroll her around the neighborhood and parks while listening to blisteringly intense music like The Blue Mask on headphones. Later when she was older I force-fed her so much of my music that she is probably the only kid her age that knows who the likes of Terje Rypdal and Captain Beefheart and Lou Reed and Bob Dylan are....she even knows some of the song titles, haha. (She impressed one of her college profs when she recognized a Dylan lyric he used in a lecture). Yeah, "The Heroine" is very thought-provoking indeed. That's Lou for ya. Thanks again. Jeff
I remember when “The Blue Mask” came out, it got a great review in ROLLING STONE magazine, but I myself, had a mixed reaction. I liked the prettier sounding songs, at the beginning, and the end, “My House”, “Women”, “The Day John Kennedy Died”, and “Heavenly Arms”, but the mid-section of the album was rough listening for many years-I didn’t care for the title track at all... but, over time, as I got older-“The Blue Mask” has become one of my favorite Lou Reed albums, it’s the one that I tend to reach for the most actually, these days...Great job on the review Jeff, as usual..
I wasn't as "taken" with the album on first listens either, Thomas, but I learned long ago to give Lou plenty of chances because it almost always pays off. And this is one of those cases, as you said. (but that blistering title track hit me from the get-go. that stuff is right down my alley.....which is odd coming from a guy who loves listening to the likes of Andy Williams too, haha!) Thanks, Thomas. Always appreciate your comments. Jeff
Another insightful and fun review of possibly Lou's most energetic and fun period of his career this is a fantastic album and the start of a great string of albums he created in the 80s
I agree wholeheartedly, George! Thanks. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver your welcome you are doing his work justice with these reviews also thanks for giving Todd Rundgren the same respect and love to
@@georgemathie8123 Thanks so much, George!
Love your reviews of the Lou
Thanks, Alex! I love talking about Lou and how great and unique he was. Cheers! Jeff
a voice made for identity...peace...rocky
"Blue Mask"is my favorite album by Lou Reed,also my favorite album from 1982. Also check out Legendary Hearts from the following year,nearly as good!
Hello Paul. Thanks for your comment. Yes I plan to review Legendary Hearts next. Looking forward to it. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver great ! Looking forward to it!
It's my favourite of the 80's, mainly because of the work of Robert Quine.
Unfortunately Lou killed Quine guitar in Legendary Hearts and the relationship beteween them kinda ended - Quine made other contributions live, mostly just for money.
Hello Varlam. I agree that Quine is great here and deserves a lot of praise, but Lou's guitar playing here is so under-appreciated, IMO. Cheers. Jeff
@@CalicoSilver Oh, for sure. I'm a drummer, Reed always made a lot of sense to me. He is not rated enough.