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Description
**Set the Twilight Reeling** arrives not as an apex of Lou Reed's output, but as a curious, late-career experiment-a document of a man still capable of finding a voice when the industry had long since deemed him obsolete. Released in 1996, this album stands as the seventeenth studio effort from the Velvet Underground's iconic frontman, a testament to Reed's refusal to surrender to nostalgia or commercial compromise. The record finds the elder Reed in a heady, self-assured mood, unburdened by expectations or the need to cater to a dwindling audience. Instead, he leans into an amalgam of rock, blues, and art-rock, weaving a tapestry that feels both timeless and refreshingly raw.
Produced once again by Reed himself, the album benefits from a tight, lean band arrangement with Fernando Saunders on bass and Tony "Thunder" Smith on drums, though the sonic palette is occasionally expanded by the horn section and Roy Bittan's piano touch. Notably, track six, "The Roof," was recorded live in July 1995 at The Roof in New York City-an energetic, immediate performance that breathes the soul of late-night indie clubs long before they became hipster fixtures. The cover, designed by Stefan Sagmeister, is a cryptic optical illusion: dark blue until the case is opened, at which point the bright yellow rays emerge-fitting metaphorically for an album that reveals its true character upon closer inspection.
Reed's lyrical focus here is personal yet universal, oscillating between romantic yearning ("Hooky Wooky"), tribute to Sterling Morrison in "Finish Line," and his notorious penchant for edge in "Sex with Your Parents (Motherfucker) Part II." The latter track famously attracted a parental advisory sticker in the UK-a detail Reed found absurd, especially since the sticker omitted the word "motherfucker" despite being printed on the liner. It's a small, telling detail of an artist unapologetically operating on his own terms. Critics responded well: Christgau gave it an A−, and even Spin, often a detractor, awarded it a 6/10. More than a mere coda to a storied career, *Set the Twilight Reeling* is a bold, unpretentious statement from a man who had already won the prize.
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**Sources:**
- [Wikipedia - Set the Twilight Reeling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Set_the_Twilight_Reeling)
- [Rolling Stone - David Fricke review](https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/set-the-twilight-reeling-47541/)
- [AllMusic - Lou Reed discography page](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/lou-reed-mn0000010787)
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