Real Time (Richard Lloyd album)

Real Time
Live album by
Released1987
RecordedApril 1987
VenueCBGB, New York City
GenreRock
LabelCelluloid
ProducerSteve Katz
Richard Lloyd chronology
Field of Fire
(1985)
Real Time
(1987)
The Cover Doesn't Matter
(2001)

Real Time is a live album by the American musician Richard Lloyd, released in 1987.[1][2] He supported it with a North American tour that included shows with the Go-Betweens.[3]

Production

Lloyd's manager had urged him to record a live EP, in part because his debut solo album had fallen out of print despite consumer demand for it.[4] Real Time was produced by Steve Katz; he was chosen because Lloyd admired his work on Lou Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal and with the Blues Project and Blood, Sweat & Tears.[4] It was recorded at CBGB, in New York City, after Lloyd had emerged from a period of heroin addiction and tentative career steps.[5][6] The club had recently installed the mixing console that Herbie Hancock had used to record "Rockit".[4] The album includes songs from Lloyd's first two solo albums as well as new material.[7] "Fire Engine" is a cover of the 13th Floor Elevators song.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Alternative Rock6/10[9]
Chicago Tribune[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
The Great Indie Discography5/10[12]
Los Angeles Times[13]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[14]

The New York Times said that "the guitars sizzle and lunge and soar, the rhythms are driving and urgent, and the performers give the moment everything they've got."[15] The Los Angeles Times stated that Real Time "captures an increasingly confident and clear-eyed Lou Reed disciple ... whose rock romanticism and rapturous solos compensate for the inconsistency of the songwriting."[13] The Chicago Tribune said that Lloyd "runs through several tricky, inventive solos with a finesse and thoughtfulness that pretty much forestall any thoughts about 'star turns'."[10] The Washington Post opined that Lloyd is "a weak lyricist, and even the best songs included on this disc ... seem only partially realized."[7] The Evening Sun praised "the edgy psychedelia of 'Soldier Blue'".[16] The Boston Globe noted that Lloyd's "blistering but tuneful leads often go in unexpected directions."[17]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Fire Engine" 
2."Misty Eyes" 
3."Alchemy" 
4."Spider Talk" 
5."Lost Child" 
6."# 9" 
7."The Only Feeling" 
8."Soldier Blue" 
9."Field of Fire" 
10."Pleading" 
11."Watch Yourself" 
12."Lousin Anna" 
13."Black to White" 

References

  1. ^ "Richard Lloyd: Real Time". Chicago Sun-Times. October 8, 1987. p. 2.67.
  2. ^ Day, Jeffrey (August 28, 1987). "Record Reviews". Macon Telegraph and News. p. 6D.
  3. ^ DeBarros, Anthony (September 25, 1987). "Clubs 'n' concerts". Poughkeepsie Journal. p. 15D.
  4. ^ a b c Righi, Len (January 23, 1988). "For Rocker Richard Lloyd, Real Time Is the Present". The Morning Call. p. A53.
  5. ^ Takiff, Jonathan (January 22, 1988). "Guitar Heroes". Features Friday. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 53.
  6. ^ Browne, David (August 31, 1987). "Verlaine and Lloyd Hit Solo Heights". Daily News. New York. p. 31.
  7. ^ a b c Jenkins, Mark (October 28, 1987). "Richard Lloyd: 'Real Time'". The Washington Post. p. D7.
  8. ^ "Real Time Review by Bruce Eder". AllMusic. Retrieved October 12, 2025.
  9. ^ Thompson, Dave (2000). Alternative Rock. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 684.
  10. ^ a b Popson, Tom (September 11, 2001). "From America to Yugoslavia: New Indie LP's". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. H.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (1998). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. IV. MUZE. p. 3286.
  12. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2003). The Great Indie Discography (2nd ed.). Canongate. p. 162.
  13. ^ a b Cromelin, Richard (December 8, 1987). "'Real Time' Richard Lloyd". Los Angeles Times. p. VI.3.
  14. ^ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1129.
  15. ^ Palmer, Robert (August 27, 1987). "Happiness Is a Beat, 3 Chords and Gibberish". The New York Times. p. C26.
  16. ^ Considine, J. D. (September 11, 1987). "Records". Maryland Live. The Evening Sun. p. 10.
  17. ^ Cromonic, Richard (December 3, 1987). "Records". Calendar. The Boston Globe. p. 8.