After spending a good many years searching for his main line, Lou Reed tapped into a fresh vein of creativity with 1989's New York and Songs for Drella, a tribute to Andy Warhol made with his former Velvet Underground partner John Cale. With two friends suffering from cancer--one being songwriter Doc Pomus--Reed went to work on his most soul-searching effort to date. The rollicking opening cut, "What's Good," suggests he found the rock & roll heart in such tragedy, but once the supple rhythm section is supplanted by a slow, time-checking click, the reality of death's ominous shadow casts a doom and gloom on the proceedings. The result is an extremely grim, yet fascinating, song cycle. --Rob O'Connor