Search - Lou Reed, John Cale :: Songs for Drella

Moving sentiment, lukewarm music

Pieter | Johannesburg | 07/23/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"John Cale & Lou Reed being amongst my favourite artists of all time, it grieves me to report that I do not consider Drella to be amongst their best. I think it's to do with the instrumentation, but even after many years of trying hard, I still do not enjoy this album except for A Dream and Hello, It's Me.



The first, spoken by John Cale, sounds like an excerpt from Warhol's diaries (although I'm not sure it really is) whilst the second is a very poignant and tender epilogue with a beautiful melody. The biographical lyrics of all the songs are quite moving, but somehow, something's missing. I am very pleased, though, that many other fans regard it highly."

Great Biographical Music

Benjamin J. Divin | Missouri | 10/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Songs for Drella closely mirrors the life of Pop Artist Andy Warhol through the music of John Cale and Lou Reed. Based on reality and myth surrounding Warhol the songs create a very intimate look at what life was like for the artist, and the people around him.



The songs themselves are fantastic. They are very simple, and that simplicity creates a great background for the dynamic story that takes center stage, the life af the factory people. The songs speak of almost everything in warhol's life, from growing up in the outscurts of Philli, to being shot, all the major points in Warhol's life are transcribed into narrative, backed by the magnetic sounds of former Velvet Underground members Lou Reed and John Cale.



The work of Andy itself is hardly spoke of. No mention of Marilyns or soup cans, which I personnaly found to be a smart move. Those are the things we are most familiar with, so by spending more energy focused on the life of the artist, we can look later at the art with a more understanding eye.



"The most important thing is work"

Benjamin Divin 2009"