a spoken-word performance of Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" during which Reed "came to understand it in a way I never had before." Accordingly, The Raven may strike Reed's longtime fans in a way the artist never has before. Although dark, the music is stylistically all over the place--from Velvet Underground-like rock instrumentals to actor Steve Buscemi's creepy lounge-lizard take on the anti-showbiz "Broadway Song," to moments that recall such diverse past Reed ventures as Metal Machine Music and the Bells . He even reprises two classics--"Perfect Day" and "The Bed" from Transformer and Berlin , respectively -- in almost unrecognizable forms. Ornette Coleman and David Bowie drop in, and actors read text in which Reed mixes Poe's poems and stori...  (less)

Woodmansey's urgent drumming; "Watch that Man," a piano-driven, rollicking number perfect for the Bowie strut; the lascivious and sweaty "Cracked Actor"; the punky "Jean Genie"; and a perfectly raucous cover of "Let's Spend the Night Together." "Time" hearkens back to the theatrics of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust , while "Drive in Saturday," "The Prettiest Star," and "Lady Grinning Soul" serve as precursors to Bowie's "plastic soul" sounds that came later in the '70s. Aladdin Sane is even more impressive when considering that the same year this album was made, Bowie was also producing touchstone recordings for the Stooges ( Raw Power ) and Lou Reed ( Transformer ). The 30th anniversary edition of Aladdin Sane includes a second d...  (less)

movie-within-a-movie. Part David Lynch, part Pirandello, it throws viewers into the deep end of this "looking glass world" and "mad hatter's tea party." This much we know: Hopkins (who wrote, directed, and even composed the musical score) stars as a screenwriter, Felix Bonhoeffer. Most everything else is up for grabs. Slipstream unfolds in fractured fits and starts. Christian Slater and Jeffrey Tambor portray two actors in a wildly troubled movie ("the whole thing is going to hell in a hand basket" someone proclaims). John Turturro appears as a manic producer in a performance that makes his turn in Transformers look like a model of understatement. There is a Dolly Parton look-alike who introduces herself as "Doll...  (less)