Joseph Arthur‘s new album, “Lou” (Vanguard), is a moving tribute to the composer with Arthur singing 12 Reed songs with only his piano, acoustic guitar and a few, poignant vocal overdubs for company. “I made a rule,” Arthur writes in his liner notes, “no drums or electricity.” He stuck to it in a canny selection of hits and hidden genius.
The first track is “Walk on the Wild Side,” tenderly sung at a wounded crawl. But Lou really starts with the sharply drawn peril of “Sword of Damocles” from 1992’s Magic and Loss Album, framed in martial strumming and haunted piano. Arthur adds a high, distant vocal to “Stephanie Says,” as if Stephanie is in the room, singing back to him; “Heroin,” stripped of its original amplifier heat and John Cale‘s scalding viola, is a blues again; and “Wild Child,” a Velvets-era orphan revived by Reed for his self-titled 1972 debut, gets a gingerly hypnotizing third life.
Arthur, a friend of Reed‘s, says making this album was like “getting to hang out with Lou again. This was the only way to get close.” There is plenty of room for the rest of us too.
Joseph Arthur is a singer songwriter from Akron Ohio, Best known for his solo material, Combining Poetic Lyrics, building his catalouge through constant touring and acclaimed releases his live performances feature his skill using distortion and looping pedals with his shows being recorded live from the soundboard then made available to punters directly after the show. Discovered and signed by Peter Gabriel to his Real world Label. Arthur is also an acclaimed painter actually while performing Live singing his songs he will paint a canvas with a distinctive style also for sale at his gigs.
The Fat Angel Sings 