One of his best
5
By JWP BASS
Get this and 'New York' and you pretty much got all the best of L.R.
Not Much Here To Recommend
1
By Drastic Plastic
Critics loved it … but it is not Lou’s best by a long shot. Only decent song is Underneath The Bottle…..rest is posing for dancers and critics.
Awesome Music!
5
By Astroboy6791
Just bought the record this afternoon. Wow! I had been missing out on this. Really glad I bought it. The whole album is recommendable.
A Superb Record
5
By Lokidoki
I bought this when it first came out and it was sublime. It hasn't aged at all. The playing is terrific, the production gorgeous, and the songs area tight cluster of gems. It unfolds like a concept album or a movie: it begins in a moment of quiet contentment and winds its way through the ups and downs, the drama and contemplation of a life, and ends with a note of redemption and joy. Give me The Blue Mask and Berlin - Lou Reed at the best.
Lou at his best
5
By good2rock
I own the album that preceeded this one, Growing up in public, and I was shocked to see such massive improvement over a couple of years. This record is not one of, but Lou's best album period, and possibly one of the greater rock records ever recorded. Lou's autobiographical lyrics combined with Robert Quinns top notch guitar work come together to create a whirlwind of sweet grity ear candy.
Back To Basics
5
By Paul Wagner
I'm as much in to creativity as the next guy, but, truthfully, from the noise of Metal Machine Music, and the R&B influences of Sally Can't Dance, I didn't think Lou would ever find a real "sound". Don't get me wrong, Sally Can't Dance WAS catchy and fun to listen to, but it just didn't seem like Lou. After ten years of wasted talent, Lou finally gets a great band, and some great material. The Blue Mask is all about simplicity. In The Blue Mask, Lou finally gets back to that Lo-Fi, catchy, garage rock style that he was so famous for back in the day. This isn't a follow-up to Transformer, this isn't "just another" VU album, no, this is one of Lou Reed's finest work, and with its amazing lyrics, and beautiful composition, this truly is, a masterpiece.
Lou Reed's Finest Moment
5
By drew--cifer
This is, in my opinion, Lou Reed's greatest solo album. There is a complexity to the lyrics and music here that is unparalleled in any record I have ever heard. And I'm not talking about production, because this album was recorded live with the band and is starkly simple. The duel of Robert Quine and Lou Reed's guitars is beautiful and Fernando Saunders bass is unlike any you'll ever hear. To try and communicate the sound of this album I'd say it's postmodern dissonance...clashing sounds that somehow create melody. The title track is easily the best, with its guitar-scream intro to Lou's epic solo at the end. Although the simple beauty of "the Heroine" is nearly as arresting. This is the album people expected Lou to make in 1972.
YES
5
By benboydson
Here, Reed finds a nearly perfect band to frame his songs, which seems to push him. Other guitarists tend to overwhelm Reed -- overwriting his guitar and taking over. To my mind, Robert Quine is the perfect second guitar -- forming guitar parts around Reed, not over him. Fernando Saunders is just sublime. A great recording.
The Blue Mask is a gem
5
By zz8n5c
Two of most beautiful songs Lou ever wrote My House and The Day John Kennedy Died. This was a great album that i am sure most people overlooked.
i wouldn't say mellow
5
By clarkknowles
There might be a couple of slower songs here, but even the less driving tunes can't really be called mellow, at least lyrically. And some of the songs are his most furious ever--Underneath the Bottle, The Blue Mask, Waves of Fear, The Gun--all of them blistering. I must have listened to this album a thousand times in the late eighties. It captures perfectly what it is like to feel as if you are on the bottom of the world.
