The Bells (Lou Reed album)

The Bells is the ninth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in April 1979 by Arista Records. It is recorded in binaural sound. Several songs on the album are the product of a short-lived writing partnership between Reed and Nils Lofgren.  Other of the team's work appeared on Nils' eponymous album of the same year.

Recording
Reed said, "I mastered the art of recording known as 'capture the spontaneous moment and leave it at that'. The Bells was done like that, those lyrics were just made up on the spot and they're absolutely incredible. I'm very adept at making up whole stories with rhymes, schemes, jokes."

Critical reception 

In a contemporary review for Rolling Stone, music critic Lester Bangs wrote, "With The Bells, more than in Street Hassle, perhaps even more than in his work with the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed achieves his oft-stated ambition—to become a great writer, in the literary sense." Village Voice critic Robert Christgau said:

In a less enthusiastic retrospective review, Select magazine wrote that "The Bells saw his music disappearing down the pan ... Even self-parody is barely achieved in these half-assed songs played by a bunch of dullards, with Lou sounding painfully uninspired."

Track listing

Personnel

Musicians 
Lou Reed - vocals, electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, bass synthesizer on "Families", backup vocals
Ellard "Moose" Boles - bass guitar, bass synthesizer, 12-string electric guitar on "Families", backup vocals
Don Cherry - African hunting guitar, trumpet
Marty Fogel - ocarina, soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, Fender Rhodes on "The Bells"
Michael Fonfara - piano, Fender Rhodes, synthesizer, backup vocals, Executive Producer
Michael Suchorsky - percussion

Horn arrangements: Marty Fogel and Lou Reed, except for "With You,” horn arrangement by Marty Fogel and Don Cherry.

Technical personnel 
René Tinner - engineer
Manfred Schunke - mixing
Ted Jensen - mastering
Garry Gross - photography
Donn Davenport, Howard Fritzson - design and art direction

References

External links 
 

Category:1979 albums
Category:Lou Reed albums
Category:Albums produced by Lou Reed
Category:Arista Records albums
Category:Binaural recordings