So it's a few months on from the death of Lou Reed and find myself returning to his music more than I'd usually do. Everyone has their favourites and here's some of mine.
I was hugely irritated by many of the reports of Lou's passing. Whilst I was actually quite surprised at how widely his death was reported, I was equally not that surprised by the huge inaccuracies in many of the reports. Just a day after Lou had slipped away the Daily Mail ran a feature that basically said Lou Reed ("a heroin addict for most of his life") was directly responsible for a great many people's drug habits, the evil old git. Never mind that he'd been sober, teetotal and drug free since 1982, which surely constitutes 'most of his life' , but, my god, the man was barely cold. Nice one Daily Mail.
And all the obituaries and stories of Lou Reed's life went on about "Satellite Of Love", or "Perfect Day", or "Walk on the Wild Side" as if these were the only songs he'd ever recorded. Well, yes these are terrific songs, rightly called classics, but they were recorded more than 40 years ago and he's done hundreds of other songs before and since, many of which were, surprisingly, as good or sometimes better than songs on the Transformer album. In fact, Lou Reed made many other albums after Transformer, but you wouldn't know it from the news reports…
So here's a brief list of absolutely brilliant Lou Reed songs that no-one else would bother to mention, but which I think sum up the great man rather better than endless mentions of "Satellite Of Love".
"I'm Set Free" from the third Velvets album. Gorgeous ballad, and the most emotional guitar solo I've ever heard. It actually sounds like the guitar is crying.
"I'm Sticking With You" - Mo Tucker's innocent vocals and Lou and Doug's tender harmonies at the end all add up to what is surely the sweetest and most delightful song he ever wrote. Shame it never got a proper release.
"Caroline Says II" from Berlin - frankly ALL of Berlin should be on this list, but this second "Caroline Says" is equal parts heartbreak and faint hope. The numbed out pain that Caroline is going through, in an abusive relationship that she's trying to freeze out, is astonishingly starkly realised. But she turns a small corner with the realisation that "you can hit me all you want, but I don't love you any more". As the second side of Berlin progresses the terrible fate of Caroline is laid bare in all it's stark horror. But it's still an amazing album.
"Ennui" from Sally Can't Dance, no-one's favourite Reed album. This weary track sounds almost like a Berlin leftover, and contains one of my absolute favourite lines ever - the marvellously bitter "one day you'll have a wife... and then alimony...."
"A Gift" - surely one of Lou's funniest songs ever. Coney Island Baby was a concerted effort to make a marketable album, full of songs that could be played on US radio. (OK, maybe not the frankly disturbing "Kicks", but most of them...) Here Lou pokes sly fun at his image, with his tongue so far into his cheek that I don't how he could sing at all! "I'm just a gift to the women of this world... after you've had me then you know you've had the best"
"You Wear It So Well" from Rock And Roll Heart. Moody, piano led ballad, which contains a faint air of desperation and a cracking vocal from Lou which rests uneasily between control and disintegration. The wobbly backing vocals are terrific too.
"Coney Island Baby" - the live version on Take No Prisoners. Probably my favourite Lou Reed track ever. The power of the 1978 band takes your breath away, and there's a weird beauty in this track. The way he really belts out the end of the song - "the glory of love" - is so very emotional. He sings himself hoarse, but it's so very heartfelt.
"Stupid Man" - no idea why I like this track much. No-one much likes The Bells, but it contains some of Lou's most unusual and quirky songs. This is catchy, almost commercial, and Lou even sings it, rather than his usual speaking drawl of a voice. I also love the bizarre soundscapes, out of tune trumpets and the incomprehensible lyrics of the title track.
"How Do You Speak To An Angel?" I have a soft spot for 1980's Growing Up In Public. Anyone else? Thought not... Lots of amusing story songs, that are mostly, but not exclusively about his life. This one is wonderful, the portrait of a tongue-tied young man unable to speak to girl of his dreams is very deftly drawn. And the jazzy backing makes a nice change.
"NYC Man" from Set The Twilight Reeling. Much of Lou's output since Songs For 'Drella hasn't really spoken to me in the same way that albums like Street Hassle, or Berlin did. But 1996's Set The Twilight Reeling has a number of high points, and this one stands head and shoulders above the others. Pretty much a manifesto for his life, there's some neat horns, and a lovely melancholy mood on this shuffling celebration of his home town. The next year Bowie introduced Lou on stage as the King Of New York, and that's as good a description of Lou Reed as you'll ever hear.
Bye Lou. And thanks for all the music.
And all the obituaries and stories of Lou Reed's life went on about "Satellite Of Love", or "Perfect Day", or "Walk on the Wild Side" as if these were the only songs he'd ever recorded. Well, yes these are terrific songs, rightly called classics, but they were recorded more than 40 years ago and he's done hundreds of other songs before and since, many of which were, surprisingly, as good or sometimes better than songs on the Transformer album. In fact, Lou Reed made many other albums after Transformer, but you wouldn't know it from the news reports…
So here's a brief list of absolutely brilliant Lou Reed songs that no-one else would bother to mention, but which I think sum up the great man rather better than endless mentions of "Satellite Of Love".
"I'm Set Free" from the third Velvets album. Gorgeous ballad, and the most emotional guitar solo I've ever heard. It actually sounds like the guitar is crying.
"I'm Sticking With You" - Mo Tucker's innocent vocals and Lou and Doug's tender harmonies at the end all add up to what is surely the sweetest and most delightful song he ever wrote. Shame it never got a proper release.
"Caroline Says II" from Berlin - frankly ALL of Berlin should be on this list, but this second "Caroline Says" is equal parts heartbreak and faint hope. The numbed out pain that Caroline is going through, in an abusive relationship that she's trying to freeze out, is astonishingly starkly realised. But she turns a small corner with the realisation that "you can hit me all you want, but I don't love you any more". As the second side of Berlin progresses the terrible fate of Caroline is laid bare in all it's stark horror. But it's still an amazing album.
"Ennui" from Sally Can't Dance, no-one's favourite Reed album. This weary track sounds almost like a Berlin leftover, and contains one of my absolute favourite lines ever - the marvellously bitter "one day you'll have a wife... and then alimony...."
"A Gift" - surely one of Lou's funniest songs ever. Coney Island Baby was a concerted effort to make a marketable album, full of songs that could be played on US radio. (OK, maybe not the frankly disturbing "Kicks", but most of them...) Here Lou pokes sly fun at his image, with his tongue so far into his cheek that I don't how he could sing at all! "I'm just a gift to the women of this world... after you've had me then you know you've had the best"
"You Wear It So Well" from Rock And Roll Heart. Moody, piano led ballad, which contains a faint air of desperation and a cracking vocal from Lou which rests uneasily between control and disintegration. The wobbly backing vocals are terrific too.
"Coney Island Baby" - the live version on Take No Prisoners. Probably my favourite Lou Reed track ever. The power of the 1978 band takes your breath away, and there's a weird beauty in this track. The way he really belts out the end of the song - "the glory of love" - is so very emotional. He sings himself hoarse, but it's so very heartfelt.
"Stupid Man" - no idea why I like this track much. No-one much likes The Bells, but it contains some of Lou's most unusual and quirky songs. This is catchy, almost commercial, and Lou even sings it, rather than his usual speaking drawl of a voice. I also love the bizarre soundscapes, out of tune trumpets and the incomprehensible lyrics of the title track.
"How Do You Speak To An Angel?" I have a soft spot for 1980's Growing Up In Public. Anyone else? Thought not... Lots of amusing story songs, that are mostly, but not exclusively about his life. This one is wonderful, the portrait of a tongue-tied young man unable to speak to girl of his dreams is very deftly drawn. And the jazzy backing makes a nice change.
"NYC Man" from Set The Twilight Reeling. Much of Lou's output since Songs For 'Drella hasn't really spoken to me in the same way that albums like Street Hassle, or Berlin did. But 1996's Set The Twilight Reeling has a number of high points, and this one stands head and shoulders above the others. Pretty much a manifesto for his life, there's some neat horns, and a lovely melancholy mood on this shuffling celebration of his home town. The next year Bowie introduced Lou on stage as the King Of New York, and that's as good a description of Lou Reed as you'll ever hear.
Bye Lou. And thanks for all the music.
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