The Raven (Lou Reed album)

The Raven
Studio album by Lou Reed
Released	January 28, 2003
Recorded	2002
Genre	Rock
Length	125:04
Label	Sire Records
Producer	Hal Willner, Lou Reed
Lou Reed chronology
Legendary Lou Reed (2002)Legendary Lou Reed2002 The Raven (2003) Animal Serenade (2004)Animal Serenade2004

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	54/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Rolling Stone
Blender
Pitchfork Media	(2.0/10)

The Raven is the nineteenth solo album by Lou Reed. It is a concept album released in 2003 recounting the short stories and poems of Edgar Allan Poe through word and song. It also features new and very different versions of "The Bed" and "Perfect Day", two of the best-known songs in Reed's catalog, and the noise music song "Fire Music". In addition to Reed, the album 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. It is the final solo rock album by Reed, as his final overall solo album consisted entirely of meditational new age music, and his final rock album was a collaboration with Metallica.

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

Painter and director Julian Schnabel created the cover.

Track listing

All songs written by Lou Reed.

Limited edition double CD set

Disc 1: Act 1: The Play

1. "The Conqueror Worm"
2. "Overture"
3. "Old Poe"
4. "Prologue (Ligeia)"
5. "Edgar Allan Poe"
6. "The Valley of Unrest"
7. "Call on Me"
8. "The City in the Sea / Shadow"
9. "A Thousand Departed Friends"
10. "Change"
11. "The Fall of the House of Usher"
12. "The Bed"
13. "Perfect Day"
14. "The Raven"
15. "Balloon"

Disc 2: Act 2

1. "Broadway Song"
2. "The Tell-Tale Heart (Pt. 1)"
3. "Blind Rage"
4. "The Tell-Tale Heart (Pt. 2)"
5. "Burning Embers"
6. "Imp of the Perverse"
7. "Vanishing Act"
8. "The Cask"
9. "Guilty", spoken
10. "Guilty", sung
11. "A Wild Being from Birth"
12. "I Wanna Know (The Pit and the Pendulum)"
13. "Science of the Mind"
14. "Annabel Lee - The Bells"
15. "Hop Frog"
16. "Every Frog Has His Day"
17. "Tripitena's Speech"
18. "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
19. "Courtly Orangutans"
20. "Fire Music"
21. "Guardian Angel"

1 CD edition

1. "Overture"
2. "Edgar Allan Poe"
3. "Call On Me"
4. "The Valley Of Unrest"
5. "A Thousand Departed Friends"
6. "Change"
7. "The Bed"
8. "Perfect Day"
9. "The Raven"
10. "Balloon"
11. "Broadway Song"
12. "Blind Rage"
13. "Burning Embers"
14. "Vanishing Act"
15. "Guilty"
16. "I Wanna Know (The Pit And The Pendulum)"
17. "Science Of The Mind"
18. "Hop Frog"
19. "Tripitena's Speech"
20. "Who Am I? (Tripitena's Song)"
21. "Guardian Angel"

Personnel

• Lou Reed - vocals, guitar
• Mike Rathke - guitar
• Fernando Saunders - bass, guitar, backing vocals
• 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 - oboe, hurdy-gurdy on "Overture" and "The Fall of the House of Usher"
• 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 Hegarty - 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 Dafoe - voice on "The Conqueror Worm", "The Raven", "The Cask" and "Prologue (Ligeia)"
• 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"
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