Track Listing

1. Paranoia Key of E
2. Mystic Child
3. Mad
4. Ecstasy
5. Modern Dance
6. Tatters
7. Future Farmers of America
8. Turning Time Around
9. White Prism
10. Rock Minuet
11. Baton Rouge
12. Like a Possum
13. Rouge
14. Big Sky

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124456 in Music
• Published on: 2000-01-01
• Released on: 2000-04-04
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Amazon.com
Ecstasy is a surprisingly brutal and angry record, even for Lou Reed, who virtually introduced those words into the rock & roll lexicon more than 30 years ago. Like the brilliant New York and Magic and Loss, Ecstasy is a sprawling song cycle dealing with one particular subject, in this case marriage and the ensuing death of love. Ecstasy is the sound of relationships unraveling and love going sour. The songs are about infidelity, mistrust, and dishonesty; more importantly, they're about that moment in time when the flush of romance turns rancid. As Reed puts it in "Modern Dance," "It's all downhill after the first kiss." Through a series of varied sketches, Reed poses a question for which he has no answer: At what point does your lover become your tormentor? On the record's best track, "Baton Rouge," Reed asks, "I wonder where love ends and hate starts to blush?" Looking back on the relationship in "Baton Rouge," Reed dreams about what might have been: the two-and-a-half strapping sons, the fat grandsons, the barbecues, and the family dog--all at the expense of self-identity. The taut, muscular guitar work of Reed and Mike Rathke, complemented by the fluid bass playing of longtime collaborator Fernando Saunders, fuel the anger and helplessness of such songs as "Paranoia in the Key of E" and "Prism," in which Reed likens marriage to indentured servitude. On quieter songs, such as "Tatters" and "Turning Time Around," the band completely shifts gears, using strings and sparser arrangements to create beautiful songs about love's bitter aftermath. The centerpiece of Ecstasy, "Possum Day," is a bleak morass of dissolution and despair played out among the crack whores and sex junkies who have long populated Reed's songs. As Reed and Rathke's guitars churn out an incessant wail, the song's wretched protagonist declares in defiance and disbelief, "Don't know why, baby, I'm still here / I'm the only one left standing / Calm as an angel." Perhaps Reed is also referring to his own staying power and relevance in a world of two-minute pop stars and drug casualties. --Paul Ducey

Customer Reviews

Best work since New York......and probably Berlin
Now, allow me first to note that I am the sort of Lou Reed fan that dismisses "Transformer" as mildly fun but little more than ear candy and considers "Berlin" to be his greatest work ever. Having said that, I also would like to note that Reed's latest release, "Ecstasy," which was released today (4/4/00) is without a doubt his best since the highly underrated "New York," and very possibly since "Berlin." Some critics are likening it to "Magic and Loss," which I can understand, but this is a much more mature and well structured record than "Magic and Loss" - it stays with you longer, it speaks more clearly and much louder in it's message(s), it's the sort of record that revives an existing Lou Reed fan's love for the man or begins a brand new love affair between Reed and the listener who has yet to know the glory that is Lou Reed. I'm listening to the title track for the seventeenth time today as I type this, and for good reason - this record is fabulous.

A great bookend to "Berlin"
Wow. What an incredibly bleak album, even by Lou's standards. Though themetically similar to "Berlin" (with it's boy-meets-girl, boy-loses-girl, girl kills herself plotline), it lacks the orchestration of that early '70s masterpiece. Instead, it sounds more akin to "New York" or "Set the Twilight Reeling" -- a rocking, feedback-laden sound. If you don't mind the fact that the lyrics wouldn't be out of place in a suicide note, I highly recommend it.

Lou Reed's Best Work in Years
Lou Reed's "Ecstasy" is the finest work that he has produced in several years, even when viewed in the context of his masterpieces "New York" and "Magic and Loss." He largely avoids the fault to which he occasionally succumbs on other albums, namely making his references too specific and topical. (He does have one reference to Clinton, unfortunately.) The writing on "Ecstasy" is hard-hitting but universal--they are the kind of lyrics that will resonate with poignancy years from now. "Modern Dance" is a beautiful clash between realism and romanticism; "Tatters" is soft and contemplative; the lines in "Mystic Child" are edgy and terse. With this album, Reed shows yet again that there are very few songwriters in his league.

The music is rough ala the Velvet Underground, and this is quite surprising and very welcome. "Paranoia Key of E" sets the tone with its fuzzy bass and wide-open guitars. Reed is in fine form musically--the guitars have a really nice edge to them, and the music is often passionate and frenzied. "Like A Possum" is another sonic feast that even bears similarities to Metal Machine Music. Frankly, it is nice to see Reed utilizing the aesthetic lessons of his early years by employing them in the context of challenging, contemporary songs that are relevant for the present and the future.

Although the lyrics are sublime and the music is intense, you should buy "Ecstasy" just because Lou Reed, better than any writer in the history of Rock, can take his listeners into the bowels of their consciousness and expose to them the filth that they desperately wish to deny. The urban themes in his music provide the perfect operating metaphor for the contemporary American's mind. It is a place that is a wee bit seedy, perhaps like a psychological equivalent of a freak show. It is a place where salvation is hustled on the street, lies are convenient substitutions for the truth, and where we all cheer when someone gets the upper hand on "The Man."