Conceived as an introduction
to Antony & the Johnsons new full-length ‘I Am A
Bird Now’, ‘The Lake’ consists of three songs,
including the lead-off single to ‘I Am A Bird
Now’. The song is “Fistful of Love” and is Antony
& the Johnsons finest work to date. Featuring a
scorching horn section and the legendary Lou Reed
on vocals and lead guitar, the song¹s clear star
is Antony. His lead vocal performance is
bone-chilling. Reminiscent to that of the late
Otis Redding, he sings: I accept and I collect
upon my body, the memories of your devotion. I
feel your fist. And I know it¹s out of love. He
shifts from a tremble to a wail a tempest of
emotion. Antony and Reed are no strangers to one
another. As a member of Reed¹s band, Antony
accompanied him on his 2003 world tour as a
vocalist. There Antony was featured as the lead
vocalist on the Velvet Underground classic "Candy
Says" as well as Reed¹s solo classic “Perfect
Day”. These performances are documented on Reed¹s
latest double-live album Animal Serenade. Antony
also contributed vocals for Reed’s most recent
album, ‘The Raven’.
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