New York (album)
| New York | ||||
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| Studio album by Lou Reed | ||||
| Released | January 10, 1989 | |||
| Recorded | May–October 1988 | |||
| Studio | Media Sound, Studio B, New York City | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 56:40 | |||
| Label | Sire | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Lou Reed chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Q | |
| Rolling Stone |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Spin | |
| The Village Voice | A− |
New York is the fifteenth solo studio album by Lou Reed. It was originally released in January 1989, on the label Sire. A universal critical success, it is widely considered one of his best solo albums. While the defunct Velvet Underground were at the peak of their popularity at the time, Reed's solo career had hit several lows during the 1980s, at least since his album The Blue Mask. However, the widespread popularity of New York reignited his career to the extent that he could revive the Velvet Underground for an aborted world tour.
The album is highly regarded for the strength and force of its lyrical content, but at the time drew criticism for its perceived pedestrian, "truck driver," musicianship. Reed countered that he required simple music so that it would not distract from his frank lyrics. The single "Dirty Blvd." was a number-one hit on the newly created Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for four weeks. Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker played percussion on two tracks.
New York contains CD Graphics that can be viewed on compatible CD players, such as karaoke machines or the Sega Saturn.
Reed's straightforward rock and roll sound on this album was unusual for the time and along with other releases such as Graham Parker's The Mona Lisa's Sister presaged a back-to-basics turn in mainstream rock music. On the other hand, the lyrics through the 14 songs are profuse and carefully woven, making New York Reed's most overtly conceptual album since the early 1970s. His polemical liner notes direct the listener to hear the 57-minute album in one sitting, "as though it were a book or a movie." The lyrics vent anger at many public figures in the news at the time. Reed mentions by name the Virgin Mary, the NRA, Rudy Giuliani, "the President", the "Statue of Bigotry", Buddha, Mike Tyson, Bernard Goetz, Donald Trump, Mr. Waldheim, "the Pontiff", Jesse Jackson, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Swaggart, Louis Farrakhan, Oliver North, Richard Secord (misidentified as 'William Secord') and Morton Downey.
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