After the harrowing triumph of Street Hassle, Lou Reed's The Bells sounded like a bit of a step back; it returned Reed to the more listener-friendly, keyboard-dominated sound of Rock and Roll Heart, the lyrics lacked the caustic self-loathing of songs like "Dirt" or "I Wanna Be Black," and it even featured a four-and-a-half-minute funk workout called "Disco Mystic" (hey, this was 1979).
But lyrically, The Bells found Reed moving away from the boho decadence of most of his 1970s work and toward a more compassionate perspective on his characters; "Families" and "All Through the Night" display an empathy and emotional depth Reed didn't often allow himself as a solo artist, and "Stupid Man" and "Looking for Love" rocked hard while making the loneliness of their protagonists felt.
And the title cut, with Reed experimenting with a guitar synthesizer and free jazz hero Don Cherry inviting the spirit on trumpet, is both a brave exploration of musical space and a lyrically touching sketch of loss and salvation.
An album that's worn well over time, The Bells gains depth with each playing and now sounds like one of Reed's finest solo efforts of the 1970s.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stupid ManNils Lofgren, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:32 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Disco MysticEllard Boles, Marty Fogel, Michael Fonfara, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 04:29 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | I Want to Boogie With YouMichael Fonfara, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | With YouNils Lofgren, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:24 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Looking for LoveLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 03:27 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | City LightsNils Lofgren, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 03:22 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | All Through the NightLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 04:59 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | FamiliesLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 05:57 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | The BellsMarty Fogel, Lou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 09:18 | 21 MB | 0 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlessa Barnes | Project Coordinator |
| 2 | Ellard Boles | Bass, Composer, Vocals |
| 3 | Ellard Bowles | Bass, Guitar, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 4 | Don Cherry | Guest Artist, Trumpet |
| 5 | Donn Davenport | Art Direction, Design |
| 6 | Glenn Delgado | Project Coordinator |
| 7 | Robin Diamond | Project Coordinator |
| 8 | Elliott Federman | Mastering |
| 9 | Joanne Feltman | Archivist |
| 10 | Marty Fogel | Composer, Fender Rhodes, Horn Arrangements, Ocarina, Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor), Saxophone |
| 11 | Michael Fonfara | Composer, Executive Producer, Fender Rhodes, Keyboards, Piano (Electric), Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 12 | Howard Fritzson | Art Direction, Design |
| 13 | Felicia Gearhart | Project Coordinator |
| 14 | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Liner Notes |
| 15 | Laura Gregory | Project Coordinator |
| 16 | Gary Gross | Photography |
| 17 | Mike Hartry | Digital Transfers |
| 18 | Jeremy Holiday | Production Coordination |
| 19 | David Alan Kogut | Art Direction |
| 20 | Glenn Korman | Archivist |
| 21 | Nils Lofgren | Composer |
| 22 | Robin Manning | Project Coordinator |
| 23 | Fred Marcellino | Hand Tinting |
| 24 | Brooke Nochomson | Project Coordinator |
| 25 | Ed Osborne | Project Coordinator |
| 26 | Bruce Pollock | Project Coordinator |
| 27 | Lou Reed | Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Synthesizer), Horn Arrangements, Keyboards, Mixing, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 28 | Dana Renert | Project Coordinator |
| 29 | Rob Santos | Producer |
| 30 | Manfred Schunke | Mixing |
| 31 | Bill Stafford | Project Coordinator |
| 32 | Steve Strauss | Production Assistant |
| 33 | Michael Suchorsky | Drums, Percussion |
| 34 | Tom Tierney | Production Assistant |
| 35 | Rene Tinner | Engineer, Mixing |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |