Lou Reed talks about his latest walk on the wild side--a musical exploration of the life and works of Edgar Allan Poe

By Larry Flick
From The Advocate, February 18, 2003

As a public figure whose personal life has been the subject of media scrutiny, Lou Reed says he instantly rejected the idea of using The Raven (Warner Bros.), his elaborate two-CD ode to Edgar Allan Poe (also available in one condensed CD), as a vehicle of speculation about the mysterious writer's life. "That's a brand of titillation that I simply refuse to participate in. It's demeaning," asserts the enduring rocker, whose own sexuality has previously been the source of speculation, from his years as a member of the Velvet Underground and through a solo career that includes 1972's gender-bending classic "Transformer" and the sexually charged hit "Walk on the Wild Side." "It's also unfair and disrespectful to anyone who chooses to maintain any degree of privacy."

Reed has written about his parents forcing him to endure extensive therapy--including painful rounds of shock treatment--as a teenager, when they feared that Reed was exhibiting signs of homosexuality. Like Poe's, the artist's sexuality has continued to be a point of discussion and speculation even though he is living a heterosexual life with his companion, famed performance artist Laurie Anderson.

Still, Reed agrees that Poe's privacy about his sexuality--and almost everything else--has perennially triggered heated debate. "There's something about ambiguity that drives people crazy," he says. "They want confirmation of whatever they suspect. They want tidy definitions. They want a black-and-white world, when shades of gray can be far more interesting. The problem is that once something or someone is so clearly defined, there are occasionally limitations and boundaries placed around a person and his or her work. In terms of me and this project, I found Poe's work far more interesting and worthwhile of exploration. I'll leave the speculation to others."

Actually, in crafting The Raven, Reed took what might be a potentially greater risk. Instead of delving into the writer's well-shrouded personal existence, Reed dared to occasionally revise and reinterpret Poe's works.

"It was also infinitely fascinating and satisfying," he says. "It required total immersion into his work and into his language, which I've always had a great affection for. To me, his use of words slips right into my idea of what rock and roll can be--rhythm and intensity and pure power."

For The Raven, Reed enlisted a broad-ranging cast of musicians and actors to perform what is best described as a richly crafted theatrical piece for the mind. Among those appearing are Anderson, David Bowie (working with Reed for the first time since "Transformer"), Willem Dafoe, Ornette Coleman, Steve Buscemi, and Amanda Plummer. They are joined by two longtime Reed sidemen--guitarist Mike Rathke and bassist Fernando Saunders. "It was a dream collection of talent," Reed says. "In my wildest dreams, we someday find a way to take this piece and put it onstage."

The Raven offers such classic Poe pieces as "The Valley of Unrest," read by Elizabeth Ashley, and "The Fall of the House of Usher," read by Fisher Stevens. Perhaps most bold is a guitar-laced musical interpretation of "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Reed with the Blind Boys of Alabama.

"The intense detail of the work, whether it be composition or recording or mixing, could be maddening at times," Reed says, noting the nearly four years it took to complete The Raven. "But it's satisfying to feel a sense of completion. I can finally let out an exhaling breath and feel like I've done myself, this project, and Poe proud."

Flick is senior talent editor at Billboard.

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