1001 Albums Summary

This album feels aggressively steeped in sepia. Lou Reed talk-sings his way through a collection of strange little vignettes over mostly simple, fairly uninteresting songs. The lyrics can be bizarre (which is interesting if nothing else), but I kept waiting for the music to give me something more. Most songs get better right before they end. Something would show up (saxophone, tuba, reverb, or a more interesting guitar/drum section), and then 30 seconds later the song was over. I understand the historical context, but none of that makes me particularly interested in hearing it again. If this was playing quietly at a restaurant or dentist’s office, I wouldn’t mind it at all. I also can’t imagine voluntarily putting it on again. 2/5

Very uneven album. The first half (the concept between the “bookends”) felt exceedingly average. It’s pretty much exactly what I think of when I hear Simon and Garfunkel: moderately pleasant and safe, but not very interesting. Not much from this side I’d queue up again. The B-side is much better. “Mrs. Robinson” is the centerpiece and an all-timer, but I thought “A Hazy Shade of Winter” was very enjoyable too. Together, I’m left with half an album I didn’t enjoy and half I’d come back to... The highs are high enough to pull it above average, but as a complete album it never really came together. 3/5