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{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox album
{{Infobox album
| name = Songs for Drella
| name = Songs for Drella
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| released = {{Start date|1990|4|11}}
| released = {{Start date|1990|4|11}}
| recorded = December 1989 – January 1990
| recorded = December 1989 – January 1990
| studio = Sigma Sound (New York City)
| studio = [[Sigma Sound Studios, New York City|Sigma Sound]], New York City
| genre = [[Art rock]]
| genre = [[Art rock]]
| length = 52:54
| length = 52:54
| label = [[Sire Records|Sire]]
| label = [[Sire Records|Sire]]
| producer =
| producer = * Lou Reed
* John Cale
*Lou Reed
*John Cale
| chronology = [[Lou Reed]]
| chronology = [[Lou Reed]]
| prev_title = [[New York (album)|New York]]
| prev_title = [[New York (album)|New York]]
Line 29: Line 28:
| next_title = [[Wrong Way Up]]
| next_title = [[Wrong Way Up]]
| next_year = 1990
| next_year = 1990
}}
}}}}
'''''Songs for Drella''''' is a 1990 studio album by [[Lou Reed]] and [[John Cale]], both formerly of the American [[Rock music|rock]] band [[the Velvet Underground]]; it is a [[song cycle]] about [[Andy Warhol]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Pareles|first=Jon|author-link=Jon Pareles|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/arts/review-rock-songs-for-drella-a-tribute-to-warhol.html|title=Review/Rock; 'Songs for Drella,' A Tribute to Warhol|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=December 1, 1989|access-date=February 18, 2017}}</ref> their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by [[Warhol superstar]] [[Ondine (actor)|Ondine]], a contraction of [[Dracula]] and [[Cinderella]], used by Warhol's crowd but never liked by Warhol himself. The song cycle focuses on Warhol's interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol's first-person perspective (which makes up the vast majority of the album), third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs, in general, address events in their chronological order.
}}
'''''Songs for Drella''''' is a 1990 [[album]] by [[Lou Reed]] and [[John Cale]], both formerly of [[the Velvet Underground]]; it is a [[song cycle]] about [[Andy Warhol]],<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/01/arts/review-rock-songs-for-drella-a-tribute-to-warhol.html|journal=[[New York Times]]|date=1 Dec 1989|author=Jon Pareles|author-link=Jon Pareles|title=Review/Rock; 'Songs for Drella,' A Tribute to Warhol}}</ref> their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by [[Warhol superstar]] [[Ondine (actor)|Ondine]], a contraction of [[Dracula]] and [[Cinderella]], used by Warhol's crowd but never liked by Warhol himself. The song cycle focuses on Warhol's interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol's first-person perspective (which makes up the vast majority of the album), third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs, in general, address events in their chronological order.


==Recording==
==Recording==
Lou Reed and John Cale spoke to one another for the first time in years at Warhol's memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on April 1, 1987. The painter [[Julian Schnabel]] suggested they write a memorial piece for Warhol. On January 7 and 8, 1989, Cale and Reed performed an almost-completed ''Songs for Drella'' at The Church of St. Anne's in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1989_01_08.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-01-08]</ref> Still, as Cale was wrapping up ''[[Words for the Dying]]'', and Reed had finished and was touring with his ''[[New York (album)|New York]]'' album, the project took another year to complete. The first full version (notably with the inclusion of "A Dream" in one performance) was played on November 29–30, and December 2–3 at the Next Wave Festival at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]].<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1989_11_30.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-11-30]</ref> On December 4–5, 1989, a live performance—without an audience—was filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, directed by [[Edward Lachman|Ed Lachman]], and released on [[VHS]] and [[laserdisc]] formats.<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/movies/songs_for_drella.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale on screen: Songs for Drella video (includes link to full video online)]</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364012/ Songs for Drella video at Internet Movie Database]</ref> Over the following two months, Reed and Cale proceeded to record the material for the album, which was released in 1990 by [[Sire Records]].
Lou Reed and John Cale spoke to one another for the first time in years at Warhol's memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on April 1, 1987. The painter [[Julian Schnabel]] suggested they write a memorial piece for Warhol. On January 7 and 8, 1989, Cale and Reed performed an almost-completed ''Songs for Drella'' at The Church of St. Anne's in [[Brooklyn]].<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1989_01_08.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-01-08]</ref> Still, as Cale was wrapping up ''[[Words for the Dying]]'', and Reed had finished and was touring with his ''[[New York (album)|New York]]'' studio album (both 1989), the project took another year to complete. The first full version (notably with the inclusion of "A Dream" in one performance) was played on November 29–30, and December 2–3 at the Next Wave Festival at the [[Brooklyn Academy of Music]].<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1989_11_30.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-11-30]</ref> On December 4–5, 1989, a live performance—without an audience—was filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, directed by [[Edward Lachman|Ed Lachman]], and released on [[VHS]] and [[LaserDisc]] formats.<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/movies/songs_for_drella.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale on screen: Songs for Drella video (includes link to full video online)]</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364012/ Songs for Drella video at Internet Movie Database]</ref> Over the following two months, Reed and Cale proceeded to record the material for the album, which was released on April 11, 1990 by [[Sire Records]].


The album was the pair's first full collaborative record since 1968's ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'', and by the end of recording Cale vowed never to work with Reed again due to personal differences; plans to support the album with a tour were shelved. Nevertheless, ''Songs for Drella'' would prove to be the prelude to a Velvet Underground reunion: after playing a ''Drella'' selection on June 15, 1990, at a Warhol/Velvet Underground exhibition at the [[Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain|Cartier Foundation]] in [[Jouy-en-Josas]], Reed and Cale were joined onstage by [[Sterling Morrison]] and [[Maureen Tucker]] for a rendition of the Velvet Underground song "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]",<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1990_06_15.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1990: Jouy-En-Josas 1990-06-15]</ref> which eventually led to the first and last Velvet Underground reunion, which took place in 1993 (after which Cale and Reed, again, vowed never to work with one another again).
The album was the pair's first full collaborative record since the Velvet Underground's second studio album ''[[White Light/White Heat]]'' (1968), and by the end of recording Cale vowed never to work with Reed again due to personal differences; plans to support the album with a tour were shelved. Nevertheless, ''Songs for Drella'' would prove to be the prelude to a Velvet Underground reunion: after playing a ''Drella'' selection on June 15, 1990, at a Warhol/Velvet Underground exhibition at the [[Fondation Cartier pour l'Art Contemporain|Cartier Foundation]] in [[Jouy-en-Josas]], Reed and Cale were joined onstage by [[Sterling Morrison]] and [[Maureen Tucker]] for a rendition of the Velvet Underground song "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]",<ref>[http://werksman.home.xs4all.nl/cale/setlists/1990_06_15.html Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1990: Jouy-En-Josas 1990-06-15]</ref> which eventually led to the first and last Velvet Underground reunion, which took place in 1993 (after which Cale and Reed, again, vowed never to work with one another again).


==Critical reception==
==Critical reception==
{{Album ratings
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Deming|first=Mark|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-for-drella-mw0000207184|title=Songs for Drella – John Cale / Lou Reed|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Deming|first=Mark|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-for-drella-mw0000207184|title=Songs for Drella – Lou Reed / John Cale|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev2 = ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]''
| rev2Score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="Kot">{{cite news|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1992-01-12/entertainment/9201040209_1_star-rca-robert-quine|title=Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 12, 1992|access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>
| rev2score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=McLeese|first=Don|url=https://chicagosuntimes.newsbank.com/doc/news/0EB372DFABAC5AF8|title='Songs for 'Drella' weave velvet elegy to Warhol's genius|newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|date=April 23, 1990|access-date=June 27, 2023|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev3 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev3score = B−<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.ew.com/article/1990/05/11/notable-music-week-may-11-1990|title=Notable music for the week of May 11, 1990|journal=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|date=May 11, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev3score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-12-9201040209-story.html|title=Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=January 12, 1992|access-date=July 29, 2013}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Hochman|first=Steve|url=http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-24/entertainment/ca-170_1_andy-warhol|title=Album Review: A Moving Remembrance of Andy Warhol|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 24, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev4score = B−<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Sandow|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Sandow|url=https://ew.com/article/1990/04/27/songs-drella/|title=Songs for 'Drella|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|location=New York|date=April 27, 1990|access-date=December 11, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010182156/https://ew.com/article/1990/04/27/songs-drella/|archive-date=October 10, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev5 = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev5score = 8/10<ref>{{cite journal|last=Martin|first=Gavin|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000020reviews.html|title=Lou Reed/John Cale Songs For Drella|journal=[[NME]]|location=London|access-date=January 25, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000622115024/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000020reviews.html|archive-date=June 22, 2000}}</ref>
| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref>{{cite news|last=Hochman|first=Steve|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-24-ca-170-story.html|title=A Moving Remembrance of Andy Warhol|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=April 24, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6 = ''[[NME]]''
| rev6score = 8/10<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Martin|first=Gavin|author-link=Gavin Martin|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000020reviews.html|title=Drella Killer|magazine=[[NME]]|location=London|date=April 28, 1990|access-date=January 25, 2016|page=37|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000622115024/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000020reviews.html|archive-date=June 22, 2000|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|title=Lou Reed and John Cale: Songs for Drella|journal=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|issue=127|location=London|date=April 1997|page=150}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Evans|first=Paul|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/songs-for-drella-19900517|title=Songs for Drella|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=May 17, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev7score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Cooper|first=Mark|title=Lou Reed and John Cale: Songs for Drella|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|location=London|issue=44|date=May 1990}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="Evans">{{cite magazine|last=Evans|first=Paul|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/songs-for-drella-252827/|title=Songs for Drella|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|location=New York|date=May 17, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev8Score = {{Rating|3.5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Hull|first=Tom|chapter=Lou Reed|title=[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide|The New Rolling Stone Album Guide]]|edition=4th|year=2004|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/684 684–85]}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9 = ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite journal|last=Marchese|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yvyxlaTDXMC&pg=PA67|title=Discography: Lou Reed|journal=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|volume=24|issue=11|location=New York|date=November 2009|access-date=January 13, 2017|page=67}}</ref>
| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Marchese|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yvyxlaTDXMC&pg=PA67|title=Discography: Lou Reed|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|volume=24|issue=11|date=November 2008|access-date=January 13, 2017|page=67}}</ref>
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10 = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10Score = A−<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv990-90.php|title=Consumer Guide|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|date=September 25, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
| rev10score = A−<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv990-90.php|title=Consumer Guide|newspaper=[[The Village Voice]]|location=New York|date=September 25, 1990|access-date=November 14, 2015}}</ref>
}}
}}


''Songs for Drella'' received positive reviews and critical praise upon release. In a four-star review, ''Rolling Stone'' writer Paul Evans stated "Both nearing fifty, Reed and Cale are the survivors Warhol wasn't fated to become. In popular music, only bluesmen and country greats have managed the maturity these two display."<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/songs-for-drella-19900517|title = Songs for Drella|magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]|date = 17 May 1990}}</ref> ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' described ''Songs for Drella'' as "a moving testament to one of the '60s most important icons" and named it one of the Top 20 albums of 1990.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/1990/12/best-albums-1990/|title = The 20 Best Albums of 1990|date = January 1991}}</ref>
''Songs for Drella'' received positive reviews and critical praise upon release. In a four-star review, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' writer Paul Evans stated "Both nearing fifty, Reed and Cale are the survivors Warhol wasn't fated to become. In popular music, only [[blues]]men and [[Country music|country]] greats have managed the maturity these two display."<ref name="Evans"/> ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' described ''Songs for Drella'' as "a moving testament to one of the '60s most important icons" and named it one of the Top 20 albums of 1990.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Greer|first=Jim|author-link=James Greer (writer)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDWxkmx1bj4C&pg=PA54|title=Albums of the Year|magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|location=New York|volume=6|issue=9|date=December 1990|access-date=June 27, 2023|page=54}}</ref>


==Track listing==
==Track listing==
{{Track listing
All songs written by Lou Reed and John Cale.
| all_writing = [[Lou Reed]] and [[John Cale]]

| headline = Side A
{{tracklist
| extra_column = Lead vocals
|headline = Side A
| title1 = Smalltown
|extra_column = Lead vocals
| extra1 = Lou Reed
|title1 = Smalltown
| length1 = 2:04
|extra1 = Lou Reed
| title2 = Open House
|length1 = 2:04
| extra2 = Lou Reed
|title2 = Open House
| length2 = 4:18
|extra2 = Lou Reed
| title3 = Style It Takes
|length2 = 4:18
| extra3 = John Cale
|title3 = Style It Takes
| length3 = 2:54
|extra3 = John Cale
| title4 = Work
|length3 = 2:54
| extra4 = Lou Reed
|title4 = Work
| length4 = 2:38
|extra4 = Lou Reed
| title5 = Trouble with Classicists
|length4 = 2:38
| extra5 = John Cale
|title5 = Trouble with Classicists
| length5 = 3:42
|extra5 = John Cale
| title6 = Starlight
|length5 = 3:42
| extra6 = Lou Reed
|title6 = Starlight
| length6 = 3:28
|extra6 = Lou Reed
| title7 = Faces and Names
|length6 = 3:28
| extra7 = John Cale
|title7 = Faces and Names
| length7 = 4:12
|extra7 = John Cale
|length7 = 4:12
}}
}}
{{Track listing
{{tracklist
|headline = Side B
| headline = Side B
|extra_column = Lead vocals
| extra_column = Lead vocals
| total_length = 52:54
|title8 = Images
| title8 = Images
|extra8 = Lou Reed
| extra8 = Lou Reed
|length8 = 3:31
| length8 = 3:31
|title9 = Slip Away (A Warning)
| title9 = Slip Away (A Warning)
|extra9 = Lou Reed
| extra9 = Lou Reed
|length9 = 3:05
| length9 = 3:05
|title10 = It Wasn't Me
| title10 = It Wasn't Me
|extra10 = Lou Reed
| extra10 = Lou Reed
|length10 = 3:30
| length10 = 3:30
|title11 = I Believe
| title11 = I Believe
|extra11 = Lou Reed
| extra11 = Lou Reed
|length11 = 3:18
| length11 = 3:18
|title12 = Nobody But You
| title12 = Nobody But You
|extra12 = Lou Reed
| extra12 = Lou Reed
|length12 = 3:46
| length12 = 3:46
|title13 = A Dream
| title13 = A Dream
|extra13 = John Cale
| extra13 = John Cale
|length13 = 6:33
| length13 = 6:33
|title14 = Forever Changed
| title14 = Forever Changed
|extra14 = John Cale
| extra14 = John Cale
|length14 = 4:52
| length14 = 4:52
|title15 = Hello It's Me
| title15 = Hello It's Me
|extra15 = Lou Reed
| extra15 = Lou Reed
|length15 = 3:13
| length15 = 3:13
}}
}}


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|}
|}


== References ==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{discogs master|44389}}


{{Lou Reed}}
{{Lou Reed}}
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{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Songs For Drella}}
[[Category:Lou Reed albums]]
[[Category:Lou Reed albums]]
[[Category:John Cale albums]]
[[Category:John Cale albums]]
[[Category:1990 albums]]
[[Category:1990 collaborative albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Lou Reed]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Lou Reed]]
[[Category:Albums produced by John Cale]]
[[Category:Albums produced by John Cale]]
[[Category:Concept albums]]
[[Category:1990s concept albums]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Andy Warhol]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Andy Warhol]]
[[Category:Albums in memory of deceased persons]]
[[Category:Albums in memory of deceased persons]]
[[Category:Sire Records albums]]
[[Category:Sire Records albums]]
[[Category:Tribute albums]]
[[Category:Tribute albums to non-musicians]]
[[Category:Collaborative albums]]

Latest revision as of 15:05, 7 November 2024

Songs for Drella
Studio album by
ReleasedApril 11, 1990 (1990-04-11)
RecordedDecember 1989 – January 1990
StudioSigma Sound, New York City
GenreArt rock
Length52:54
LabelSire
Producer
  • Lou Reed
  • John Cale
Lou Reed chronology
New York
(1989)
Songs for Drella
(1990)
Magic and Loss
(1992)
John Cale chronology
Words for the Dying
(1989)
Songs for Drella
(1990)
Wrong Way Up
(1990)

Songs for Drella is a 1990 studio album by Lou Reed and John Cale, both formerly of the American rock band the Velvet Underground; it is a song cycle about Andy Warhol,[1] their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by Warhol superstar Ondine, a contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol's crowd but never liked by Warhol himself. The song cycle focuses on Warhol's interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol's first-person perspective (which makes up the vast majority of the album), third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs, in general, address events in their chronological order.

Recording

[edit]

Lou Reed and John Cale spoke to one another for the first time in years at Warhol's memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York on April 1, 1987. The painter Julian Schnabel suggested they write a memorial piece for Warhol. On January 7 and 8, 1989, Cale and Reed performed an almost-completed Songs for Drella at The Church of St. Anne's in Brooklyn.[2] Still, as Cale was wrapping up Words for the Dying, and Reed had finished and was touring with his New York studio album (both 1989), the project took another year to complete. The first full version (notably with the inclusion of "A Dream" in one performance) was played on November 29–30, and December 2–3 at the Next Wave Festival at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[3] On December 4–5, 1989, a live performance—without an audience—was filmed at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, directed by Ed Lachman, and released on VHS and LaserDisc formats.[4][5] Over the following two months, Reed and Cale proceeded to record the material for the album, which was released on April 11, 1990 by Sire Records.

The album was the pair's first full collaborative record since the Velvet Underground's second studio album White Light/White Heat (1968), and by the end of recording Cale vowed never to work with Reed again due to personal differences; plans to support the album with a tour were shelved. Nevertheless, Songs for Drella would prove to be the prelude to a Velvet Underground reunion: after playing a Drella selection on June 15, 1990, at a Warhol/Velvet Underground exhibition at the Cartier Foundation in Jouy-en-Josas, Reed and Cale were joined onstage by Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker for a rendition of the Velvet Underground song "Heroin",[6] which eventually led to the first and last Velvet Underground reunion, which took place in 1993 (after which Cale and Reed, again, vowed never to work with one another again).

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Chicago Sun-Times[8]
Chicago Tribune[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[10]
Los Angeles Times[11]
NME8/10[12]
Q[13]
Rolling Stone[14]
Spin[15]
The Village VoiceA−[16]

Songs for Drella received positive reviews and critical praise upon release. In a four-star review, Rolling Stone writer Paul Evans stated "Both nearing fifty, Reed and Cale are the survivors Warhol wasn't fated to become. In popular music, only bluesmen and country greats have managed the maturity these two display."[14] Spin described Songs for Drella as "a moving testament to one of the '60s most important icons" and named it one of the Top 20 albums of 1990.[17]

Track listing

[edit]

All tracks are written by Lou Reed and John Cale

Side A
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
1."Smalltown"Lou Reed2:04
2."Open House"Lou Reed4:18
3."Style It Takes"John Cale2:54
4."Work"Lou Reed2:38
5."Trouble with Classicists"John Cale3:42
6."Starlight"Lou Reed3:28
7."Faces and Names"John Cale4:12
Side B
No.TitleLead vocalsLength
8."Images"Lou Reed3:31
9."Slip Away (A Warning)"Lou Reed3:05
10."It Wasn't Me"Lou Reed3:30
11."I Believe"Lou Reed3:18
12."Nobody But You"Lou Reed3:46
13."A Dream"John Cale6:33
14."Forever Changed"John Cale4:52
15."Hello It's Me"Lou Reed3:13
Total length:52:54

Singles

[edit]
  • "Nobody But You" b/w "Style It Takes" – 7" Germany 1990
  • "Nobody But You"; "Style It Takes" b/w "A Dream" – 12" & CD-single Germany 1990

Personnel

[edit]

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Songs for Drella
Chart (1990) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 100
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[19] 28
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 14
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 28
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[22] 42
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[23] 43
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 18
UK Albums (OCC)[25] 22
US Billboard 200[26] 103

References

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  1. ^ Pareles, Jon (December 1, 1989). "Review/Rock; 'Songs for Drella,' A Tribute to Warhol". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-01-08
  3. ^ Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1989: New York 1989-11-30
  4. ^ Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale on screen: Songs for Drella video (includes link to full video online)
  5. ^ Songs for Drella video at Internet Movie Database
  6. ^ Fear Is A Man's Best Friend fansite - John Cale setlists 1990: Jouy-En-Josas 1990-06-15
  7. ^ Deming, Mark. "Songs for Drella – Lou Reed / John Cale". AllMusic. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  8. ^ McLeese, Don (April 23, 1990). "'Songs for 'Drella' weave velvet elegy to Warhol's genius". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  9. ^ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  10. ^ Sandow, Greg (April 27, 1990). "Songs for 'Drella". Entertainment Weekly. New York. Archived from the original on October 10, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2022.
  11. ^ Hochman, Steve (April 24, 1990). "A Moving Remembrance of Andy Warhol". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  12. ^ Martin, Gavin (April 28, 1990). "Drella Killer". NME. London. p. 37. Archived from the original on June 22, 2000. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  13. ^ Cooper, Mark (May 1990). "Lou Reed and John Cale: Songs for Drella". Q. No. 44. London.
  14. ^ a b Evans, Paul (May 17, 1990). "Songs for Drella". Rolling Stone. New York. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  15. ^ Marchese, David (November 2008). "Discography: Lou Reed". Spin. Vol. 24, no. 11. New York. p. 67. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  16. ^ Christgau, Robert (September 25, 1990). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved November 14, 2015.
  17. ^ Greer, Jim (December 1990). "Albums of the Year". Spin. Vol. 6, no. 9. New York. p. 54. Retrieved June 27, 2023.
  18. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 232.
  19. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  20. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  21. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  22. ^ "Charts.nz – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  23. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  24. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Lou Reed & John Cale – Songs for Drella". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  25. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  26. ^ "Lou Reed Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
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