The Bells

The Bells is the ninth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in May 1979 by Arista Records. It was recorded in binaural sound at Delta Studios in Wilster, West Germany. Production was handled by Reed with Michael Fonfara serving as executive producer. Three out of nine songs on the album are the product of a short-lived writing partnership between Reed and Nils Lofgren. More of the team's work appeared on Nils' solo studio album Nils, released the same year. Lofgren released his version of "Stupid Man" as "Driftin' Man" on Break Away Angel (2001). Lofgren resurrected five songs he wrote with Reed in the late 70s on Blue with Lou (2019). A jazz-rock and art rock album, The Bells features contributions from Michael Fonfara, Ellard "Moose" Boles, Don Cherry, Marty Fogel and Michael Suchorsky. The album peaked at No. 13 in New Zealand, No. 44 in Sweden, No. 58 in Australia, and No. 130 in the United States, and received mixed reviews from music critics. Recording Following a short European tour, Reed recorded The Bells in binaural sound at Delta Studios, a studio in Wilster, West Germany owned by Manfred Schunke, with trumpeter Don Cherry and the Everyman Band. The pastoral studio was based in a converted farmhouse with housing for the musicians, a communal dining hall and, according to saxophonist Marty Fogel of the Everyman Band, "a place to hang out and drink Johnnie Walker Black. And then there was the recording facility, which was really high-tech, but it was in the middle of farm country." Reed said: "I mastered the art of recording known as 'capture the spontaneous moment and leave it at that'. The Bells was done like that, those lyrics were just made up on the spot and they're absolutely incredible. I'm very adept at making up whole stories with rhymes, schemes, jokes". In a 1996 interview with Ian Penman of The Guardian, Reed noted that the binaural sound experiment was unsuccessful for him, adding that "the process worked but it didn't translate to vinyl AT ALL. Not only didn't I get the effect – which I still think is one of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my life when it's done right – not only didn't it translate but it also didn't record things so they sounded very good either, which was disappointing."