The Bells (album)

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The Bells
The Bells cover
Studio album by Lou Reed
Released April 1979
Recorded 1979, Delta Studios, Wilster, West Germany
Genre Rock
Length 40:37
Label Arista Records
Producer Lou Reed
Professional reviews
Lou Reed chronology
Live: Take No Prisoners
(1978)
The Bells
(1979)
Growing Up in Public
(1980)

The Bells is the ninth album by New York City-based rock and roll icon Lou Reed, released in 1979. It is meant to be an experimental album, recorded in binaural sound. "City Lights" is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin. "Disco Mystic" is indeed played in a disco style, and the lyrics consist of those two words repeated. "Families" is an explicitly personal entreaty to his own parents and sister, with the closing line "Families that live out in the suburbs often make each other cry". "I Want to Boogie With You" has a doo-wop flavor (even if underneath the horns are the synthesizers which permeate this album), a I-to-IV Plagal cadence repeated throughout. The title track is said to be a favorite of Reed's, and he claims the lyrics were made up extemporaneously.

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed; except where indicated

  1. "Stupid Man" - 2:33 (Reed, Nils Lofgren)
  2. "Disco Mystic" - 4:30 (Reed, Ellard Boles, Marty Fogel, Michael Fonfara, Michael Suchorsky)
  3. "I Want to Boogie With You" - 3:55 (Reed, Michael Fonfara)
  4. "With You" - 2:21 (Reed, Nils Lofgren)
  5. "Looking for Love" - 3:29
  6. "City Lights" - 3:22 (Reed, Nils Lofgren)
  7. "All Through the Night" - 5:00 (Reed, Don Cherry)
  8. "Families" - 6:09 (Reed, Ellard Boles)
  9. "The Bells" - 9:17 (Reed, Marty Fogel)

[edit] Personnel:

  • Lou Reed - vocals, electric guitar, synthesizer, bass
  • Ellard "Moose" Boles - 12-string electric guitar, synthesizer, bass, background vocals
  • Don Cherry - African hunting guitar, trumpet
  • Marty Fogel - ocarina, soprano & tenor saxophones, Fender Rhodes piano, guitar on "The Bells"
  • Michael Fonfara - electric & Fender Rhodes pianos, keyboards, Orberheim synthesizer, background vocals, Executive Producer
  • Michael Suchorsky - percussion