New Sensations

This article is about Lou Reed's album. For the film studio, see New Sensations (studio).
New Sensations
Studio album by
Lou Reed
ReleasedApril 1984
StudioSkyline Studios (New York City)
Genre
Length42:24
LabelRCA Victor
Producer
Lou Reed chronology
Live in Italy
(1984) 		New Sensations
(1984) 		City Lights
(1985)
Lou Reed studio album chronology
Legendary Hearts
(1983) 		New Sensations
(1984) 		Mistrial
(1986)
Singles from New Sensations
  1. "My Red Joystick"
    Released: April 1984[1]
  2. "I Love You, Suzanne"
    Released: May 1984
  3. "High in the City"
    Released: August 1984 (NL)

New Sensations is the thirteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in April 1984 by RCA Records. John Jansen and Reed produced the album. New Sensations peaked at No. 56 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and at No. 92 on the UK Albums Chart. This marked the first time that Reed charted within the US Top 100 since his eighth solo studio album Street Hassle (1978), and the first time that Reed had charted in the UK since his sixth solo studio album Coney Island Baby (1976). Three singles were released from the album: "I Love You, Suzanne", "My Red Joystick" and "High in the City", with "I Love You, Suzanne" being the only single to chart, peaking at No. 78 on the UK Singles Chart. The music video for "I Love You, Suzanne" did, however, receive light rotation on MTV.

"Open Invitation", an unreleased song from the album's recording sessions in late 1983, was released online in March 2023.

Robert Quine's involvement

Guitarist Robert Quine, who had played on Reed's previous two studio albums, The Blue Mask (1982) and Legendary Hearts (1983), had had a falling-out with Reed during the recording sessions, so Reed opted to play most of the guitar parts on the album himself, with the exceptions being "My Red Joystick" and "My Friend George", which feature Fernando Saunders providing rhythm guitar. Years after the album's release, Saunders claimed that one of the issues during recording was that Quine had personally composed the "guitar riff" for "I Love You, Suzanne" in the studio while the band was rehearsing. Upon hearing Quine's riff, Reed had written the lyrics to the song, but he had failed to give Quine a co-writing credit for the song in the album credits, thus cutting Quine out of royalties which added further strain to their relationship.[2] Despite their falling out, Quine later joined Reed for the world tour in support of the album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
The Boston Phoenix[4]
Chicago Tribune[5]
Pitchfork5.8/10[6]
Record Collector[7]
Record Mirror[8]
Rolling Stone[9]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[11]
The Village VoiceA[12]

Upon release, New Sensations received favorable reviews from music critics. Writing for The Village Voice, music journalist Robert Christgau stated that "instead of straining fruitlessly to top himself, Reed has settled into a pattern as satisfying as what he had going with the Velvets, though by definition it isn't as epochal. The music is simple and inevitable, and even the sarcastic songs are good sarcastic songs".[12] In Rolling Stone, Kurt Loder called it "a long-overdue delight that's all the more exciting for being completely unexpected."[9]

Robert Palmer of The New York Times praised New Sensations, along with Reed's preceding studio albums The Blue Mask and Legendary Hearts, as "uniformly splendid, ranking with the very best of [Reed's] earlier solo work."[13]

Ira Robbins of Trouser Press addressed Reed's decision to play all the guitar parts himself, describing the result as "anything but self-indulgent. Forsaking the two-guitar sound just throws Saunders' distinctive fretless bass playing and Reed's spare arrangements into higher relief, and they merit the attention – as do the songs, which prove that a middle-aged rock songwriter can have plenty to offer."[14]

New Sensations would later place ninth in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics' poll.[15]

In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Mark Deming wrote of the album, "New Sensations showed that Reed had a lot more warmth and humanity than he was given credit for, and made clear that he could 'write happy' when he felt like, with all the impact of his 'serious' material."[3]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Lou Reed

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."I Love You, Suzanne"3:19
2."Endlessly Jealous"3:57
3."My Red Joystick"3:36
4."Turn to Me"4:22
5."New Sensations"5:42
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Doin' the Things That We Want To"3:55
7."What Becomes a Legend Most"3:37
8."Fly into the Sun"3:04
9."My Friend George"3:51
10."High in the City"3:27
11."Down at the Arcade"3:40
Total length:42:24

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the New Sensations liner notes.[16]

Musicians

Production and artwork

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[17] 56
Dutch Album Chart 43
UK Albums Chart[18] 92
US Billboard 200[19] 56

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Great Rock Discography". p. 681.
  2. ^ Sounes, Howard (2015-10-22). Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed. ISBN 9781473508958.
  3. ^ a b Deming, Mark. "New Sensations – Lou Reed". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  4. ^ Moses, Mark (July 17, 1984). "Off the record". The Boston Phoenix. Vol. 13, no. 29. sec. 3, p. 29. Retrieved February 25, 2022.
  5. ^ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  6. ^ Harvell, Jess (January 15, 2010). "Lou Reed: Legendary Hearts / New Sensations". Pitchfork. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  7. ^ "Lou Reed: New Sensations". Record Collector. London. p. 91. Playful... It boasts a closing 'Down in the Arcade' that sounds like Lou's having the most fun he ever allowed himself...
  8. ^ Gray, Steven (July 7, 1984). "Lou Reed: New Sensations". Record Mirror. London. p. 18.
  9. ^ a b Loder, Kurt (June 7, 1984). "New Sensations". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on August 1, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Hull, Tom (2004). "Lou Reed". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 684–685. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  11. ^ Strauss, Neil (1995). "Lou Reed". In Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig (eds.). Spin Alternative Record Guide. Vintage Books. pp. 325–327. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
  12. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (July 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  13. ^ Palmer, Robert (October 17, 1984). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  14. ^ Fleischmann, Mark; Robbins, Ira. "Lou Reed". Trouser Press. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  15. ^ "The 1984 Pazz & Jop Critics Poll". The Village Voice. New York. February 18, 1985. Retrieved February 14, 2021.
  16. ^ New Sensations (CD booklet). Lou Reed. RCA Records. 1984.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  17. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 249. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  18. ^ "Lou Reed". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2010-09-02.
  19. ^ "Lou Reed > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2010-09-02.