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Magic and Loss
1992 studio album by Lou Reed

Magic and Loss is the sixteenth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on January 14, 1992, by Sire Records. A concept album, it was Reed's highest-charting album on the UK Albums Chart, peaking at No. 6.

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Background

Magic and Loss was originally intended to be primarily about themes of magic after hearing stories about magicians in Mexico. However, when tragedy struck during the writing process, Reed expanded the album's focus to themes of loss and death as well.2 Inspired in part by the illnesses and eventual deaths of two close friends, Magic and Loss was written for songwriter Doc Pomus, who had given Reed his start in the music business some 25 years earlier,3 and a woman Reed has identified as "Rita", popularly assumed to be Rotten Rita, who along with Reed was a familiar figure at Andy Warhol's studio, the Factory, in the mid-to-late '60s.4 Photographs of Pomus and a woman's face can be seen at the center of the lyric booklet included with the CD release.5

Jazz singer Little Jimmy Scott performs backing vocals on track 3, "Power and Glory". Reed's live performance of the album filmed on March 18, 1992, at Pinewood Studios in London, England, was released on VHS and LaserDisc.6

The single "What's Good"/"The Thesis", released in March, was Reed's second number-one hit (after "Dirty Blvd.") on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart,7 occupying the top spot for 3 weeks. The 12" version of the release contained Reed's reading of "Harry's Circumcision" and "A Dream". A longer version of "What's Good" was previously released on the 1991 soundtrack album to the Wim Wenders film Until the End of the World.8

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic9
Chicago Tribune10
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music11
Entertainment WeeklyB−12
NME10/1013
Orlando Sentinel14
Q15
Rolling Stone16
The Rolling Stone Album Guide17
Select5/518

Magic and Loss was voted the 16th best album of the year in The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll for 1992. Robert Christgau, the poll's creator, disapproved of the voters' support of an album he felt was a "failed concept" marred by Reed's uninteresting views on death.19 In a positive review, Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune said that the album shows "a great rocker at the peak of his powers: Striking tunes, gripping lyrics, honest emotion stripped of melodrama."20

Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed, except where noted.

Side one

  1. "Dorita - The Spirit" – 1:07
  2. "What's Good - The Thesis" – 3:22
  3. "Power and Glory - The Situation" (Lou Reed, Mike Rathke) – 4:23
  4. "Magician - Internally" – 6:23
  5. "Sword of Damocles - Externally" – 3:42
  6. "Goodby Mass - In a Chapel Bodily Termination" – 4:25
  7. "Cremation - Ashes to Ashes" – 2:54
  8. "Dreamin' - Escape" (Reed, Rathke) – 5:07

Side two

  1. "No Chance - Regret" – 3:15
  2. "Warrior King - Revenge" – 4:27
  3. "Harry's Circumcision - Reverie Gone Astray" – 5:28
  4. "Gassed and Stoked - Loss" (Reed, Rathke) – 4:18
  5. "Power and Glory, Part II - Magic - Transformation" (Reed, Rathke) – 2:57
  6. "Magic and Loss - The Summation" (Reed, Rathke) – 6:39

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the Magic and Loss liner notes.21

Musicians

  • Lou Reed – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar
  • Mike Rathke – guitar
  • Rob Wasserman – bass guitar
  • Michael Blair – drums, percussion, backing vocals
  • Roger Moutenot – backing vocals
  • Little Jimmy Scott – backing vocals on "Power and Glory – The Situation"

Artwork

  • Spencer Drate, Judith Salavetz, Sylvia Reed – album design
  • Louis Jammes – photography

Charts

Chart performance for Magic and Loss
Chart (1992)Peakposition
Australian Albums (ARIA)2256
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)239
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)2411
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)2517
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)2620
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)2710
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)289
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)2910
UK Albums (OCC)306
US Billboard 2003180

References

  1. "The Official Charts Company - Lou Reed - Magic and loss". The Official Charts Company. DistantStar. Retrieved March 3, 2014. https://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/Magic+and+loss ↩

  2. Reed, Lou (December 9, 2008). Pass Thru Fire: The Collected Lyrics. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. XXIII. ISBN 978-0-306-81630-7. 978-0-306-81630-7 ↩

  3. "World Cafe Remembers Lou Reed". NPR. October 29, 2013. Retrieved March 3, 2014. https://www.npr.org/blogs/world-cafe/2013/10/28/241432792/world-cafe-remembers-lou-reed ↩

  4. Greenman, Ben (October 28, 2013). "A Clipper Ship of Lou Reed Songs". The New Yorker. Condé Nast. Retrieved March 3, 2014. https://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/10/a-clipper-ship-of-lou-reed-songs.html ↩

  5. Magic and Loss (CD Booklet). Los Angeles: Sire Records. 1992. /wiki/Los_Angeles ↩

  6. "Lou Reed – La Edad de Oro (Pignon-095)". Collectors Music Reviews. October 18, 2011. Retrieved March 2, 2014. http://www.collectorsmusicreviews.com/reed-lou/lou-reed-la-edad-de-oro-pignon-095/ ↩

  7. Molanphy, Chris (November 1, 2013). "Embrace and Repel: Lou Reed's Chart History". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 2, 2014. https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/123-lou-reeds-chart-history/ ↩

  8. DiGravina, Tim. "Until the End of the World - Original Soundtrack". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved March 2, 2014. https://www.allmusic.com/album/until-the-end-of-the-world-mw0000265386 ↩

  9. Deming, Mark. "Magic and Loss – Lou Reed". AllMusic. Retrieved July 29, 2013. https://www.allmusic.com/album/magic-and-loss-mw0000264753 ↩

  10. Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013. /wiki/Greg_Kot ↩

  11. Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8. 978-0-85712-595-8 ↩

  12. Zacharek, Stephanie (January 17, 1992). "Magic and Loss". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013. https://www.ew.com/article/1992/01/17/magic-and-loss ↩

  13. Barker, Emily. "21 1990s Albums NME Has Given 10/10". NME. London. Retrieved July 29, 2013. https://www.nme.com/photos/21-1990s-albums-nme-has-given-10-10/333719#/photo/13 ↩

  14. Gettelman, Parry (January 24, 1992). "Lou Reed". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved April 7, 2017. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1992/01/24/lou-reed-6/ ↩

  15. "Lou Reed: Magic and Loss". Q (65). London: 87. February 1992. /wiki/Q_(magazine) ↩

  16. Fricke, David (January 23, 1992). "Lou Reed: Magic And Loss". Rolling Stone. New York. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved September 3, 2011. /wiki/David_Fricke ↩

  17. Hull, Tom (2004). "Lou Reed". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 684–85. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. 0-7432-0169-8 ↩

  18. Cavanagh, David (February 1992). "Lou Reed: Magic and Loss". Select. No. 20. London. p. 66. /wiki/Select_(magazine) ↩

  19. Christgau, Robert (March 2, 1993). "Pazz & Jop 1992: Between a Rock and a Hard Place". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013. /wiki/Robert_Christgau ↩

  20. Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013. /wiki/Greg_Kot ↩

  21. Magic and Loss (CD booklet). Lou Reed. Sire Records. 1992.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) /wiki/Lou_Reed ↩

  22. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 232. ↩

  23. "Austriancharts.at – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  24. "Dutchcharts.nl – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  25. "Offiziellecharts.de – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://www.offiziellecharts.de/album-details-1369 ↩

  26. "Charts.nz – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  27. "Norwegiancharts.com – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  28. "Swedishcharts.com – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  29. "Swisscharts.com – Lou Reed – Magic and Loss". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022. http://swisscharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Lou+Reed&titel=Magic+and+Loss&cat=a ↩

  30. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/albums-chart/19920119/7502/ ↩

  31. "Lou Reed Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2022. https://www.billboard.com/artist/Lou-Reed/chart-history/TLP ↩