The Raven (Lou Reed album)

Infobox Album
Name = The Raven
Type = Album
Artist = Lou Reed


Background = Orange
Released = January 28, 2003
Recorded = 2002
Genre = Rock
Length =
Label = RCA
Producer = Hal Willner, Lou Reed
Reviews = * Allmusic Rating|3.5|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:y7de4j676way link]
*Blender Rating|2|5 [http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=232 link]
*"Rolling Stone" Rating|3|5 [http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/loureed/albums/album/270041/review/6067734/the_raven link]
*"Pitchfork Media" Rating-10|2.0 [http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/21299-the-raven link]
Last album = "Legendary Lou Reed"
(2002)
This album = "The Raven"
(2003)
Next album = "Animal Serenade"
(2004) |

:"For the album by The Stranglers, see The Raven (The Stranglers album)."

"The Raven" is a concept album by Lou Reed released in 2003. Its goal is to recount the short stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe through word and song. Both "The Bed" and "Perfect Day" are new and very different versions of well-known Reed songs from previous albums, and the song "Fire Music" is noise music. In addition to Reed it features a number of guest vocalists including Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Antony Hegarty, Steve Buscemi and Willem Dafoe. The producer, Hal Willner, had previously overseen the Poe tribute album "Closed on Account of Rabies".

The recording was simultaneously released as a two-disc set of recordings and in an edited single-disc version.

Album art and photography from New York painter Julian Schnabel.

Track listing

Limited edition double CD set

Disc 1: Act 1

#"The Conqueror Worm"
#"Overture"
#"Old Poe"
#"Prologue ("Ligiea")"
#"Edgar Allan Poe"
#"The Valley of Unrest"
#"Call on Me"
#"The Valley of Unrest- Shadow"
#"A Thousand Departed Friends"
#"Change"
#"The Fall of the House of Usher"
#"The Bed"
#"Perfect Day"
#"The Raven"
#"Balloon"

Disc 2: Act 2

# "Broadway Song"
# "The Tell-Tale Heart (Pt. 1)"
# "Blind Rage"
# "The Tell-Tale Heart (Pt. 2)"
# "Burning Embers"
# "Imp of the Perverse"
# "Vanishing Act"
# "The Cask"
# "Guilty", spoken
# "Guilty", sung
# "A Wild Being from Birth"
# "I Wanna Know (The Pit and the Pendulum)"
# "Science of the Mind"
# "Annabel Lee - The Bells"
# "Hop Frog"
# "Every Frog Has His Day"
# "Tripitena's Speech"
# "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
# "Courtly Orangutans"
# "Fire Music"
# "Guardian Angel"

1 CD edition

# "Overture"
# "Edgar Allan Poe"
# "Call On Me"
# "The Valley Of Unrest"
# "A Thousand Departed Friends"
# "Change"
# "The Bed"
# "Perfect Day"
# "The Raven"
# "Balloon"
# "Broadway Song"
# "Blind Rage"
# "Burning Embers"
# "Vanishing Act"
# "Guilty"
# "I Wanna Know (The Pit And The Pendulum)"
# "Science Of The Mind"
# "Hop Frog"
# "Tripitena's Speech"
# "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
# "Guardian Angel"

Personnel

*Lou Reed - vocals, guitar
*Mike Rathke - guitar
*Fernando Saunders - bass, guitar
*Tony "Thunder" Smith - drums
*Friedrich Paravicini - piano, keyboards
*Jane Scarpantoni - cello, string arrangement
*Doug Wieselman - baritone & tenor saxophone
*Paul Shapiro - tenor saxophone
*Steve Bernstein - trumpet, horn arrangement
*Art Baron - trombone on "Broadway Song"
*Ornette Coleman - alto saxophone on "Guilty"
*Frank Wulff - hurdy gurdy, oboe
*Kate & Anna McGarrigle - backing vocals
*Antoine Silverman - violin
*Marti Sweet - violin
*Patrick Carroll - bass & drum programming on "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
*Shelly Woodworth - English horn on "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
*Russ DeSalvo - guitar & keyboards on "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
*Rob Mathes - string arrangement on "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
*Ric Wake - production on "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
*Laurie Anderson - vocals on "Call On Me"
*Antony - vocals on "Perfect Day", backing vocals
*David Bowie - vocals on "Hop Frog"
*The Blind Boys of Alabama - backing vocals on "I Wanna Know (The Pit And The Pendulum)"
*Willem Defoe - voice on "The Raven" and "The Cask"
*Steve Buscemi - voice on "Broadway Song", "Old Poe" & "The Cask"
*Elizabeth Ashley - voice on "The Valley Of Unrest"
*Amanda Plummer - voice on "Tripitena's Speech"

* [http://www.loureed.org/new/features/dario/mainpage.html]