Angel Corpus Christi LOUIE LOUIE (Gulcher 601) "There are many kinds of love letters: "I think you're cute" passed by a friend between classes; flowery prose delivered through the mail; stalker-like obsessions; and the backhanded "I love you despite your flaws" approach. One couldn't ask for a more thorough love letter than San Franciscan pop accordionist Angel Corpus Christi's dedication to Lou Reed. In 48 minutes, she rewrites and reinterprets ten Reed songs from across his career, ranging from the Velvet Underground ("Femme Fatale," "She's My Best Friend," I'm Set Free") to the best of the cut-out bin ("The Day John Kennedy Died," "Banging On My Drum"), and tosses in "Louie Louie" and an original titled "Lou Reed's Hair" for good measure. Christi, it would seem, loves her Lou despite his weaknesses. She understands. And to prove her heart, she embraces some of the spottiest moments in the man's career. And the man's career has been an odd one. Wavering between intellectual and anti-that, he has been looking for a home in the rock canon for four decades now. Few people have at once been so influential and so easily dismissible. But Christi isn't here to do "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Sweet Jane." She's made a name for herself by creating a new pop songbook for the accordion, having previously recorded tracks by Richard Hell, Patti Smith, Motley Crue, The Rolling Stones, Donovan and others (see especially her excellent unaccompanied record Accordion Pop Vol. 1). Her approach is novel, but it's more than a novelty. Most tellingly, she adds lyrics to Reed's most¬ly instrumental "Disco Mystic" to remind him of the time she was working at Tower Records and he came in barely able to walk and the time she opened for him at The Knitting Factory and he sent her to get him a beer. Her arrangements of his songs are so thoughtful that one can almost imagine her writing "Angel Corpus Reed" over and over on her school notebook. Her husband, Rich Stim (MX-80) plays guitar, so it might all be innocent enough, but Laurie might still be wise to change the locks on the Tribeca loft." by Kurt Gottschalk from Signal to Noise Magazine (Issue #40) 12 songs by for and about Lou Reed 1. Louie Louie 2. Caroline Says II 3. Tell It To Your Heart 4. She's My Best Friend 5. Disco Mystic 6. Banging On My Drum 7. I Want To Boogie With You/Je T'aime 8. Lou Reed's Hair 9. Femme Fatale 10. Rock And Roll Heart 11. The Day John Kennedy Died 12. I'm Set Free Performed by angel corpus christi and Rich Stim, with Dean Wareham, Britta Phillips, Sonic Boom, George Earth, Matt Price, Don Ciccone and Luther Blue. Produced by Dave Nelson, A&R and Sonic Boom.