Legendary Hearts

Last updated
Legendary Hearts
Leghea.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedMarch 1983
Recorded1982
StudioRCA Studios (New York City)
Genre Rock
Length38:10
Label RCA Victor
Producer Lou Reed
Lou Reed chronology
The Blue Mask
(1982)
Legendary Hearts
(1983)
Live in Italy
(1984)
Lou Reed studio album chronology
The Blue Mask
(1982)
Legendary Hearts
(1983)
New Sensations
(1984)

Legendary Hearts is the twelfth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in March 1983 by RCA Records. Reed produced the album, and dedicated it to his then-wife, Sylvia, who was credited with the cover concept. Due to tensions with Reed, most of Robert Quine's guitar parts were mixed down or removed entirely. [1]

Contents

Legendary Hearts peaked at No. 159 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

Recording

Robert Quine later said of his work with Reed, "The atmosphere was really uptight – it's impossible to be friends with him. When I got the final mix, I was really freaked out. He pretty much mixed me off the record. I was in Ohio and took it out in the driveway and smashed the tape into pieces... I have cassettes of the rough mix of the record and it was a really good record but he made it all muddy and murky." [1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Boston Phoenix Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [3]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [4]
Pitchfork 6.9/10 [5]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
Smash Hits 8/10 [9]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [10]
The Village Voice A [11]

Upon release, Legendary Hearts received favorable reviews from music critics. Writing for The Village Voice , music journalist Robert Christgau said that "if The Blue Mask was a tonic, the follow-up's a long drink of water, trading impact and intensity for the stated goal of this (final?) phase of Reed's music: continuity, making do, the long haul." [11] NME critic Cynthia Rose wrote that Legendary Hearts was "possibly the purest, most fluid and spiritual musical unity you'll hear in rock and roll for some time to come – with Reed's cleansed, declamatory vocals well up front". [12]

Robert Palmer of The New York Times praised Legendary Hearts as "a song cycle without any outstanding weak links... All the songs are personal, from the domestic still-life portrait 'Rooftop Garden' to 'Bottoming Out' and 'The Last Shot,' powerful confrontations between Lou Reed the loving husband and Lou Reed the self-destructive monster. The only villain on Legendary Hearts is Lou Reed, but because he has confronted his own defects as bravely as he once confronted the decadence around him, he is also the album's hero. The two Lou Reeds have finally become one." Palmer also praised the musicianship, writing that "the band's playing and arrangements make these fine songs even better... The album's more reflective moments are made deeper and richer by ensemble playing that manages to be gentle without ever losing its tensile strength." [13]

Ira Robbins of Trouser Press wrote that the album "ranks with any Reed record all the way back to the Velvets in substance and stands out as his strongest work in style, using the group as a powerful lens that magnifies his themes and obsessions down to the finest detail." [14]

Legendary Hearts placed seventh in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll. [15]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Mark Deming wrote of the album, "On Legendary Hearts, Reed was writing great songs, playing them with enthusiasm and imagination, and singing them with all his heart and soul, and if it wasn't his best album, it was more than good enough to confirm that the brilliance of The Blue Mask was no fluke, and that Reed had reestablished himself as one of the most important artists in American rock." [2]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lou Reed

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Legendary Hearts"3:23
2."Don't Talk to Me About Work"2:07
3."Make Up Mind"2:48
4."Martial Law"3:53
5."The Last Shot"3:22
6."Turn Out the Light"2:45
Side two
No.TitleLength
7."Pow Wow"2:30
8."Betrayed"3:10
9."Bottoming Out"3:40
10."Home of the Brave"6:49
11."Rooftop Garden"3:04
Total length:38:10

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Legendary Hearts liner notes. [16]

Musicians

Production and artwork

Chart performance

ChartPeak
position
French Albums (SNEP) [17] 67
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) [18] 36
US Billboard 200 [19] 159

See also

Related Research Articles

Robert Wolfe Quine was an American guitarist. A native of Akron, Ohio, Quine worked with a wide range of musicians, though he himself remained relatively unknown. Critic Mark Deming wrote that "Quine's eclectic style embraced influences from jazz, rock, and blues players of all stripes, and his thoughtful technique and uncompromising approach led to rewarding collaborations with a number of visionary musicians."

<i>Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury</i> 1992 studio album by the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury is the debut album by alternative hip hop crew the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy, released in 1992. Hypocrisy Is the Greatest Luxury was met with critical acclaim.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Christgau</span> American music journalist (born 1942)

Robert Thomas Christgau is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became an early proponent of musical movements such as hip hop, riot grrrl, and the import of African popular music in the West. He was the chief music critic and senior editor for The Village Voice for 37 years, during which time he created and oversaw the annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. He has also covered popular music for Esquire, Creem, Newsday, Playboy, Rolling Stone, Billboard, NPR, Blender, and MSN Music; he was a visiting arts teacher at New York University. CNN senior writer Jamie Allen has called Christgau "the E. F. Hutton of the music world–when he talks, people listen."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pazz & Jop</span> Annual poll of top musical releases

Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper The Village Voice and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year absence from the Voice, each year from 1974 onward. The polls are tabulated from the submitted year-end top 10 lists of hundreds of music critics. It was named in acknowledgement of the defunct magazine Jazz & Pop, and adopted the ratings system used in that publication's annual critics poll.

<i>Dub Housing</i> 1978 studio album by Pere Ubu

Dub Housing is the second album by American rock band Pere Ubu. Released in 1978 by Chrysalis Records, the album is now regarded as one of their best, described by Trouser Press as "simply one of the most important post-punk recordings."

<i>Wild Gift</i> 1981 studio album by X

Wild Gift is the second studio album by American rock band X, released on May 6, 1981, by Slash Records. It was very well received critically, and was voted the year's second best album in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll. Wild Gift was later ranked at number 334 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

<i>Hootenanny</i> (The Replacements album) 1983 album by the Replacements

Hootenanny is the second studio album by the American rock band The Replacements, released on April 29, 1983, by Twin/Tone Records. The album received positive reviews from critics.

<i>New Sensations</i> 1984 studio album by Lou Reed

New Sensations is the thirteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1984 by RCA Records. John Jansen and Reed produced the album. New Sensations peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. 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 his eighth solo studio album Street Hassle (1978), and the first time that Reed had charted in the UK since his sixth solo studio album Coney Island Baby (1976). Three singles were released from the album: "I Love You, Suzanne", "My Red Joystick" and "High in the City", with "I Love You, Suzanne" being the only single to chart, peaking at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "I Love You, Suzanne" did, however, receive light rotation on MTV.

<i>The Blue Mask</i> 1982 studio album by Lou Reed

The Blue Mask is the eleventh solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in February 1982, by RCA Records. Reed had returned to the label after having left Arista Records. The album was released around Reed's 40th birthday, and covers topics of marriage and settling down, alongside themes of violence, paranoia, and alcoholism.

<i>Magic and Loss</i> 1992 studio album by Lou Reed

Magic and Loss is the sixteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on January 14, 1992, by Sire Records. A concept album, it was Reed's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 6.

<i>Mistrial</i> (album) 1986 studio album by Lou Reed

Mistrial is the fourteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1986 by RCA Records two years after his previous studio album, New Sensations (1984). Fernando Saunders and Reed produced the album.

<i>Ecstasy</i> (Lou Reed album) 2000 studio album by Lou Reed

Ecstasy is the eighteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on April 4, 2000, by Reprise Records. A concept album about Reed's personal experiences with marriage and relationships, it is his final rock album that is not a collaboration.

<i>Live in Italy</i> (Lou Reed album) 1984 live album by Lou Reed

Live In Italy is an album by Lou Reed recorded live over two nights in September 1983 using the Rolling Stones Mobile Unit. It was issued on vinyl only in Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. At the time, Reed and his band were on a world tour to promote the album Legendary Hearts. A live video, A Night with Lou Reed, filmed at a New York concert, was also released to coincide with the album. The video omitted the songs "Betrayed", "Sally Can't Dance", "Average Guy" and "Some Kinda Love"/"Sister Ray" from the 10th show, while adding "Don't Talk to Me About Work", "Women", "Turn Out the Light" and "New Age" from the 7th.

<i>Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics</i> 1980 studio album by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno

Fourth World, Vol. 1: Possible Musics is an album by Jon Hassell and Brian Eno. It was recorded at Celestial Sounds in New York City and released in 1980 by Editions EG, an imprint label of E.G. Records. "Fourth world music" is a musical aesthetic described by Hassell as "a unified primitive/futuristic sound combining features of world ethnic styles with advanced electronic techniques." The album received praise from many critics.

The Individuals were an American, Hoboken, New Jersey-based power pop band, led by Glenn Morrow and featuring Janet Wygal, Janet's brother Doug Wygal, and Jon Light Klages. They were an outgrowth of several jam sessions that also included, at various times, Bernie Kugel, and Dee Pop. The band played regularly at Maxwell's and were a central part of the early 1980s Hoboken music scene. Village Voice critic Robert Christgau called them "easily the best of En Why's Pop Three on stage [the other two being the Bongos and the dB's], scruffy and forceful and lithe".

<i>...And a Time to Dance</i> 1983 EP by Los Lobos

...And a Time to Dance is a 1983 EP by Los Lobos. It was co-produced by T-Bone Burnett and Steve Berlin and was the band's first release on Slash Records. The EP brought the band its first wide acclaim. It was voted best EP of the year in the Village Voice's influential Pazz & Jop critics poll. Critic Robert Christgau gave the record an "A−" in his Consumer Guide, calling it "good old rock and roll East L.A. style." Trouser Press raved about "a spicy romp back and forth across musical borders few can traverse with such ease," while Rolling Stone called it "an infectious dance record that deserves to be heard by rock fans."

<i>Spinning Around the Sun</i> 1993 studio album by Jimmie Dale Gilmore

Spinning Around the Sun is an album by country music singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore. It was released in 1993 on Elektra Records, and was his second record for the label.

<i>On Fyre</i> 1984 studio album by Lyres

On Fyre is the first full-length studio album by American garage rock band Lyres. It was released in 1984 by the label Ace of Hearts and reissued in 1998 by Matador Records. It features "Help You Ann," arguably the band's signature song and the best-known song of the 1980s garage revival, which a commentator at KQED radio in San Francisco called "one of the greatest singles ever made."

<i>The Curse of the Mekons</i> 1991 album by the Mekons

The Curse of the Mekons is the ninth studio album by English rock band the Mekons, released in 1991. Due to a disagreement with A&M Records, the album was not released in the U.S. until a decade later, being available only as an import from their British label Blast First. It has been hailed by critics as one of the best of the Mekons' career.

<i>After Awhile</i> 1991 studio album by Jimmie Dale Gilmore

"After Awhile" is an album by country music singer-songwriter Jimmie Dale Gilmore. It was released in 1991 as his debut album for Elektra Nonesuch Records.

References

  1. 1 2 Gross, Jason (November 1997). "Robert Quine". Perfect Sound Forever . Archived from the original on May 31, 2021. Retrieved July 25, 2017.
  2. 1 2 Deming, Mark. "Legendary Hearts – Lou Reed". AllMusic . Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  3. Moses, Mark (April 19, 1983). "Off the record". The Boston Phoenix . Vol. 12, no. 16. sec. 3, p. 31. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  4. Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  5. Harvell, Jess (January 15, 2010). "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts / New Sensations". Pitchfork . Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  6. "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts". Record Collector . London. p. 91. [A] tauter, more expected Reed, bringing tales from life's underbelly with the likes of 'Bottoming Out.'
  7. Fricke, David (April 28, 1983). "Legendary Hearts". Rolling Stone . New York. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  8. Hull, Tom (2004). "Lou Reed". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp.  684–685. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  9. Steels, Mark (March 31 – April 13, 1983). "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts". Smash Hits . Vol. 5, no. 7. London. p. 24.
  10. Strauss, Neil (1995). "Lou Reed". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 325–327. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  11. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (March 29, 1983). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  12. Rose, Cynthia (March 19, 1983). "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts (RCA)" . NME . London. Retrieved December 23, 2019 via Rock's Backpages.
  13. Palmer, Robert (March 13, 1983). "Lou Reed: Hero of His New Disk". The New York Times . Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  14. Fleischmann, Mark; Robbins, Ira. "Lou Reed". Trouser Press . Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  15. "The 1983 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. February 28, 1984. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  16. Legendary Hearts (CD booklet). Lou Reed. RCA Records. 1983.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. "Tous les Albums classés par Artiste". www.infodisc.fr. Archived from the original on 2016-01-26. Retrieved 2011-01-07.
  18. "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-12-16.
  19. "Lou Reed > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic . All Media Network . Retrieved 2010-09-02.