New Sensations
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
New Sensations is the thirteenth studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in April 1984 by RCA Records. John Jansen and Reed produced the album. Guitarist Robert Quine, who had played on Reed's previous two albums, The Blue Mask and Legendary Hearts, had had a falling-out with Reed, so Reed opted to play most of guitar parts on the album himself, with the exceptions being "My Red Joystick" and "My Friend George", which feature Fernando Saunders providing rhythm guitar. Quine later joined Reed for the tour in support of the album.
New Sensations peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard 200 and at No. 92 on the UK Albums Chart. This marked the first time that Reed charted within the US Top 100 since 1978's Street Hassle, and the first time that Reed had charted in the UK altogether since 1975's Coney Island Baby. Three singles were released from the album: "High in the City", "My Red Joystick" and "I Love You, Suzanne", with the latter being the only single to chart, peaking at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart. "I Love You, Suzanne" did, however, receive heavy rotation on MTV.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Chicago Tribune | [2] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music |  [3] |
| Pitchfork | 5.8/10[4] |
| Rolling Stone | [5] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [6] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 8/10[7] |
| The Village Voice | A[8] |
Upon release, New Sensations received favourable reviews from music critics. Writing for The Village Voice, music journalist Robert Christgau gave the album an A, and stated that "Instead of straining fruitlessly to top himself, Reed has settled into a pattern as satisfying as what he had going with the Velvets, though by definition it isn't as epochal. The music is simple and inevitable, and even the sarcastic songs are good sarcastic songs"[8] In Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder called it "a long-overdue delight that's all the more exciting for being completely unexpected."[5]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Mark Deming wrote of the album, "New Sensations showed that Reed had a lot more warmth and humanity than he was given credit for, and made clear that he could "write happy" when he felt like, with all the impact of his "serious" material."[1]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Lou Reed
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Love You, Suzanne" | 3:19 |
| 2. | "Endlessly Jealous" | 3:57 |
| 3. | "My Red Joystick" | 3:36 |
| 4. | "Turn to Me" | 4:22 |
| 5. | "New Sensations" | 5:42 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Doin' the Things that We Want To" | 3:55 |
| 7. | "What Becomes a Legend Most" | 3:37 |
| 8. | "Fly into the Sun" | 3:04 |
| 9. | "My Friend George" | 3:51 |
| 10. | "High in the City" | 3:27 |
| 11. | "Down at the Arcade" | 3:40 |
| Total length: | 42:24 | |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the New Sensations liner notes.[9]
- Lou Reed – vocals; lead and rhythm guitar
- Fernando Saunders – electric and string bass; backing vocals; rhythm guitar on "My Red Joystick" and "My Friend George"
- Fred Maher – drums
- Peter Wood – piano; synthesizers; accordion
- Lakshminarayana Shankar – electric violin
- Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone
- Randy Brecker – trumpet
- Jon Faddis – trumpet
- Tom Malone – trombone; horn arrangement
- Jocelyn Brown – backing vocals
- Rory Dodd – backing vocals
- Connie Harvey – backing vocals
- Eric Troyer – backing vocals
Production
- John Jansen – producer
- Lou Reed – producer
- Dan Nash – assistant engineer
- Roger Moutenot – assistant engineer
- Greg Calbi – mastering
- Waring Abbott – photography; art direction
Chart performance
Weekly charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200[10] | 56 |
| UK Albums Chart[11] | 92 |
See also
References
- ^ a b Deming, Mark. "New Sensations – Lou Reed". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
- ^ Harvell, Jess (January 15, 2010). "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts / New Sensations". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ a b Loder, Kurt (June 7, 1984). "Lou Reed: New Sensations". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on March 1, 2009. Retrieved August 23, 2016.
- ^ Hull, Tom (2004). "Lou Reed". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 684–85. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ a b Christgau, Robert (July 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ New Sensations liner notes. RCA Records. 1984.
- ^ "Lou Reed > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
- ^ "Lou Reed". www.chartstats.com. Archived from the original on 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
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External links
- New Sensations at Discogs (list of releases)