Customer Reviews

Lou Reed

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Lou's first solo album resembles the Velvet Underground more than any of his other solo releases. Of course the fact that a good chunk of the songs were written while he was still in the band explains why. It's two guitar, bass and drum sound is subdued, but it definitely fits the mood of the songs. The songs themselves are all great, although you can't help wondering if this would've been a five star album if recorded by the Velvets. This album usually gets the short shrift by critics, but I'd rank it as one of his best, along with Berlin and Transformer. 'I Can't Stand It' and 'Lisa Says' (both of which the VU also recorded) are tops.

I've been listening to Lou Reed for over a decade. In that time, I've come across dozens of scathing reviews of his debut solo release. However, I LOVE THIS RECORD. In fact, I'm trading in my old copy for a brand new remastered edition and I can't wait for its arrival. The album is largely made up of Velvets leftovers. Some detractors insist that the versions here are inferior to subsequently available VU versions, but to me they're highly listenable. This man's career is one of the most fascinating of the entire rock genre, and this album serves as an appropriate and rewarding introduction.

A criminally forgotten collection by lou, yes these are leftovers from the VU days, but also a taste of the future for Lou...I wish Lou would have written more surreal rhymes like "Wild Child" it would have made this album classic. The sound on this album is thanks to the tight New York band Lou had. Sure the versions of Ocean and Lisa Says are not the essential ones, but this is still an essential album to have (check out the background soul singers in "I Can't Stand it")

Most critics completely reject this album as crap, but I implore you to decide for yourself. When Lou quit the Velvet Underground he was trying to move towards a more commercial, popular sound. This LP is his awkward, yet somewhat rewarding attempt at mainstream recognition.

Using session-musicians that played overly technical (as opposed to the simplicity of the VU), Lou gave a decent stab at some of the songs he wrote for the VU. Gone are the grimy, picturesque songs of the New York night, and "IN" are poppy, sunshine-y love songs. Songs like "Ocean" come off sounding synthetic and fake when compared to the VU versions, but I really think that you should give this LP a try. It is FAR from his worst LP. Actually, I'd say it is easily on par with much of his 70's output, and FAR better than most of his 80's stuff.

Lou Reed's first solo album was released in early 1972. Reed had temporarily retired from recording for a year's time after his departure from the Velvet Underground in 1970. Several of the songs on his first album are songs that were originally recorded by the Velvets; in fact most of the strongest material on this album is old Velvet material.

Unfortunately more of the "new" songs are not quite up to the high standards of his Velvet Underground material. "Going Down" , "I Love You" and "Love Makes You Feel" are a pleasant exceptions, and along with "Lisa Says" and "Ocean" these are the highlights of the album.

The two latter tracks can also be found on the great Velvet Underground Box-set "Peel Slowly and See" - actually these early versions are superior to Lou Reed's solo efforts.

Not Reed's best album, but certainly not his worst, either!

this import is allegedly remastered. in fact, the liner notes state that the original record was released with dolby when it shouldn't have been and that was corrected. three tracks were released in 1992 without the dolby on the box "between thought and expression" and sound wonderful. this 2000 released renders the tracks as if they were recorded in a cardboard box - no dynamics whatsoever. perhaps they didn't fix the dolby after all. i'm disappointed.

As we look back on Lou Reed's first solo album, it's viewed more as a historical curiosity than as a powerhouse of artistic expression. In fact, it's difficult to listen to it without casting your mind on the past and what would become the future; there are hints of both. Yet to listen to it outside of the context it exists within, it passes as an interesting -- if not mind-blowing -- collection of music. It's not Reed's best album, but it does contain some of my favorite individual tracks from his career.

Lou Reed had quit the legendary The Velvet Underground, gone into exile, and then risen from self-imposed ashes in order to create his first solo album (the liner notes contain a much more informative timeline). Despite his time away from the Velvets, a lot of the songs on here are leftovers from his former band (many demos of these tracks can be heard on the "Fully Loaded" double-CD release of The Velvet Underground's final album, LOADED). This may account for the slightly incoherent feeling to the record. The Velvets had a very distinct sound, and many of the songs written during that time period sound odd when performed by people who were not a part of that group (one might say, artists who were more musically proficient, but less enthusiastic). You sort of need, for example, Mo Tucker's unique drum beatings in the background for some of these songs to sound right.

This isn't to say that there isn't some fine material on here. "Lisa Says", "I Love You" and "Wild Child" have turned up on a number of Lou Reed's multiple Best Hits collections in the years since their initial release, and with very good reason. "Berlin" is not only a good song, but would inspire Reed to create an entire (fantastic) album based upon the themes he only briefly touches.

Lou Reed fans will want to pick up this one. People new to Reed may wish to start elsewhere, although I cannot deny that this the style of this album is unmistakably Lou Reed -- part poet, part wry humorist, and all rock'n'roll. The musical sound of this album is very much in keeping in where he had left of with the Velvets: straight up rock with none of the lush, deliberate over-the-top excesses that would come later his career. It's good stuff.

LOU REED has the feeling of being recorded with one eye on the past and one on the future. The liner notes posit that perhaps Reed's sense of loyalty to the old Velvet Underground songs moved him to perform them here rather than have them lost to time. Lou Reed's solo career would drastically improve after this album. Only a matter of months later he would team up with the ascending David Bowie and produce the glam-rock classic TRANSFORMER. And yet, LOU REED isn't something to be entirely thrown away. I quite like much of it, even aware as I am of its flaws.

The very first album by Lou Reed seems to be completely ignored most of the time in order to give attention to albums such as Transformer and Berlin instead. However, this honestly isn't THAT bad of a debut album. Some weak moments for sure, but not entirely forgettable.

I believe the reason this album is ignored so often is because it features Lou Reed attempting some rather strange writing that neither fits the Velvet Underground nor his future solo career, so people don't know what to think about it. It's an attempt to be experimental to see what sticks. David Bowie did the same thing in the late 60's.

"Lisa Says" is a catchy pop song with a friendly and upbeat quality about it. The lyrics are nice, and the chorus is good enough. It's not a classic, but it's definitely memorable.

"Berlin" has a really good vocal melody that grows on you with repeated listens. You probably won't realize how much you enjoy this song until you hear it about 4 or 5 times. At least give it a chance. The "You know I'm going to miss you now that you're gone" line is really good too.

"Ocean" might be considered a bombastic mini epic. It definitely *feels* like one. Not the most memorable verse melody in the man ever wrote, but it's decent enough.

Overall, give it a shot. It's honestly not as bad as the reviews make it out to be.

With a bit of anticipation, Lou Reed released his first solo album in 1972, two years after leaving the drama that gripped the Velvet Underground and with two new songs - Going Down, Berlin - to go with eight unreleased tracks from VU (most recorded for the album, Loaded).

The album staggered to #189 on the Billboard album chart, which typifies the mixed-bag in the nearly 39 minutes, with standout musicians like Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman. I Can't Stand It and Lisa Says are the solid VU tracks, though there appears to be a trek throughout to find a musical style that can sustain an entire album.

But by throwing open the vault, Reed is seemingly waging an artistic battle for the soul of VU, though a new chapter in his musical career had already begun.

Lou's solo career begins with more of a whimper than a bang. The "tight New York band" that one reviewer claims is featured on this album actually included Steve Howe (Yes), Caleb Quaye (Elton John), and Rick Wakeman (by special permission from King Arthur himself). This accounts for the inappropriate backing on many of the tracks. One wonders what genius convinced Lou not to play guitar on his own albums...