Solo Lou Reed is underrated

[Charlie O.]

I much prefer Take No Prisoners to Rock and Roll Animal, for example.

Me, too. For that matter, I much prefer Lou Reed Live to Animal, even though it's putatively the "outtakes" album.

Oh, and for good measure, I think Magic and Loss, in an otherwise terrible decade for him, is a contender for his best solo record ever.

Great lyrics, meh music (see also: Growing Up In Public, except in that case the music is worse than meh).


And count me in for Sally Can't Dance, too.

[Jimbly]

I love Growing Up in Public .

[toomanyhatz]

Whether or not his solo work is underrated is of no consequence or concern to me, but I do know that the much maligned Sally Can't Dance is in reality perhaps his best solo release.

The first side is top-notch (as I must have said a hundred times here before).

The title track, however, is horrible.

Wow, I find the first side really dull. "Kill Your Sons" is great, though.

[toomanyhatz]

Ooh, apparently I said this in the RIP Lou thread:

I'm re-listening just to make sure I don't misremember. It's the tuneless, uninteresting, overproduced cousin to Transformer. Lou himself hated it, and the overproduction of it and RCA's demand for a quick follow-up inspired Metal Machine Music, so it does at least have that going for it. Though MMM has more sense of melody.

And actually, side two is the better side.

There's a few fun arguments with Matt Wilson in there for good measure. Who says we're not consistent?

http://www.bcb-board.co.uk/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=120727

[Count Machuki]

Well that's enough of that.

[Dayodead]

Lou sometimes gets undervalued, because his better known highs are really high (VU, Transformer,Berlin, New York) obscuring some of his lesser heard but solid work...Overall though, Lou was less consistent than Bowie (I have no opinion on Young) Bowie's only major hiccup is 84-93 (Tonight (1984), Never Let Me Down (1987), Black Tie White Noise (1993), The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) ) and even with these, there are decent tracks within...


All of these albums fall into the "Good to Great category: (Not including live albums)
Transformer (1972)
Berlin (1973)
Coney Island Baby (1975)
Street Hassle (1978)
The Blue Mask (1982)
New York (1989)
Legendary Hearts (1983)
New Sensations (1984)
Magic and Loss (1992)
Set the Twilight Reeling (1996)
Ecstasy (2000)

These all have issues, but contain good to decent tracks...Some might have been better as eps:
Lou Reed (1972)
Sally Can't Dance (1974)
Rock and Roll Heart (1976)
The Bells (1979)
Growing Up in Public (1980)
Mistrial (1986)


MMM is MMM and the less said about The Raven, Lulu and Hudson River Meditations, the better...

[toomanyhatz]

Personally, I would move "...Twilight..." and "Ecstasy" to the "less said about..." category, but maybe that's just me.

Mistrial I've always thought of as a nadir, though there might be a decent track or two. I haven't had a strong enough stomach to try lately.

Just me for the Bells, then? The title track is brilliant.

[toomanyhatz]

By the way, I think it was Coan who said Berlin is marred by too much muso playing. Pretty sure I agree.

[Dayodead]

Personally, I would move "...Twilight..." and "Ecstasy" to the "less said about..." category, but maybe that's just me.

Mistrial I've always thought of as a nadir, though there might be a decent track or two. I haven't had a strong enough stomach to try lately.

Just me for the Bells, then? The title track is brilliant.

You should give Twilight and Ecstasy another shot...I'm a big fan of both albums...The only issue with them is they might be overly long...If he deletes "Like a Possum", "Rouge", and "Big Sky" from Ecstasy, it shaves off 25 minutes and flows much better...

Mistrial suffers from production issues...

[Jimbly]

Lulu has its moments. Junior Dad is excellent

[Matt Wilson]

Live: Take No Prisoners is fun every now and then, but Rock 'n Roll Animal and even Lou Reed Live (not to mention Live in Italy) shit on it from Olympian heights. The Sally Can't Dance nonsense is tiresome, but I will admit to liking "Ride Sally Ride,"Kill Your Sons," and even the title track - which is better in its single version.

[Matt Wilson]

Mistrial is the worst of the classic era, though I must admit to not owning any of his CDs from the 21st century. I'll also give a shout out to Magic and Loss, but I rarely play it.

[toomanyhatz]

You should give Twilight and Ecstasy another shot...I'm a big fan of both albums...The only issue with them is they might be overly long...If he deletes "Like a Possum", "Rouge", and "Big Sky" from Ecstasy, it shaves off 25 minutes and flows much better...

Mistrial suffers from production issues...

Well, I tried.

You think Mistrial suffers from production issues? I normally like how Lou and Fernando Saunders sound together, but on Ecstasy they really sound like they're in different rooms. There's no groove whatsoever. The music's really stiff. Twilight sounds good (particularly the guitars on "Riptide"), but there's not a single song on there I can really connect with. Ecstasy has some decent songs - "Tatters" is lovely, if overlong, and "Rock Minuet" is oddly affecting - but they both sound like they needed a firmer production hand. Combine the best of each and you might have something going.

[Charlie O.]

As long as we're discussing live albums, Animal Serenade [2003] is pretty great - maybe the best of the lot.

[northernsky]

Personally, I would move "...Twilight..." and "Ecstasy" to the "less said about..." category, but maybe that's just me.
Just me for the Bells, then? The title track is brilliant.

I love "All Through The Night". It's odd though - this, and many of the songs of his I have most affection for, I'd hesitate to recommend to people; or at least I get why they can't get what the deal is. Something evanescent, isn't it? Hmmm. *strokes chin*

I want to like Growing Up In Public but last time I tried I found it entirely enervating. I enjoy most of Ecstasy. Magic and Loss is the only album I'll stick with for the duration, apart from the Big Two. Otherwise it's cherry picking, about two songs/album on average. Overall (solo) hit rate more like Iggy than Bowie or 20th century Young.

[fange]

I really like egg cream.

[naughty boy]

Personally, I would move "...Twilight..." and "Ecstasy" to the "less said about..." category, but maybe that's just me.
Just me for the Bells, then? The title track is brilliant.

I love "All Through The Night".

I like that one too. It came on a comp - Rock and Roll Poet or some bollocks - two cassettes I had in the 80s.

[Spock!]

Not strictly solo, but a chance to big it up - Songs for Drella is ace.