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Re: Magic and Loss is about Rachel, isn't it?
Posted: 12 Apr 2020 21:38
by cubguy23
Until the definitive biography is written (if it ever is) I don't think anybody will kno for sure
Re: Magic and Loss is about Rachel, isn't it?
Posted: 13 Apr 2020 18:33
by pineappleaftermath
I forgot about these lines in the song Dreamin':
If I close my eyes I can smell your perfume
You look and say, "Hi baby"
If I close my eyes pictures from china
Still hang from the wall
I hear the dog bark I turn and say
"What were you saying? "
Lou & Rachel had a couple dogs in the 70s, they are seen in plenty of photos from the time. Smelling perfume and calling someone "baby" seem rather intimate, so to me it makes sense this is about a partner, not a neighbour or old friend from 20+ years ago. I still think the album is partially meant for Rachel, just in a private way. If Lou did not want to speak about her publicly (and the press were not particularly kind to Rachel) then it makes sense not to use her name.
Re: Magic and Loss is about Rachel, isn't it?
Posted: 13 Apr 2020 19:09
by hkmartin
Love and respect to everyone on this forum. The Rachel theory is interesting. But if Lou said that "Rita" wouldn't want to be known, perhaps we should be willing to accept that.
Re: Magic and Loss is about Rachel, isn't it?
Posted: 08 May 2021 23:43
by teelsak
iaredatsun wrote: ↑11 Apr 2020 19:45
Mark wrote: ↑05 Apr 2020 12:51
Anyone got any thoughts?
Aside from the fact that imo, the picture of the woman could be anyone (even a photostock image), I think a large hole in this theory is that the album was explicitly dedicated “to Doc and especially to Rita”. Reed was never secretive about Rachel, so I think he would have openly used her name, if the album was partly about her or dedicated to her. I know that MJG says he never wanted to speak about Rachel again, but I reckon if he had he would have used her name, not Rita.
But personally, I don't quite buy the Rotten Rita idea either. A character from 30 years previously, that no one was seemingly in touch with? Another credible theory is that the Rita in question was a neighbour - Rita Teel. Reed was on good terms with both her and her husband, who died in 1987. And apparently Rita Teel even recalled that Reed had once said that he had written a song about her.
Also, why are we assuming that both people in the dedication had died before the album was written?
Can anyone cite their info on Rita and Her husband?