The two hundred and seventy-ninth album: #279 Lou Reed - Berlin
Berlin succeeds reasonably well as a rock album. As a solo act, rather than a rock band project, the focus is heavily on Lou Reed's vocals and guitar playing, which stands out especially for his slightly slurred, dark style of singing. It feels dark and aggressive, with some very maudlin songs. As a 'rock opera', the story doesn't reach through, but the tone of the album works really well.
It didn't really hit me until The Kids, though, where the shouting children really tugged at me and reached me. There's a build up to it, but as a long of the tracks blur a bit they tend to feel like an on going work - there are differences between tracks, but just as much a recurring theme. I don't know whether the darkness here always connected with me, the combination sometimes feeling a bit off, but this is an album that connects with a specific mood and I can see it being great to listen to when you do feel that way.