Street Hassle

Lou Reed | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 22, 1991)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Arista
• ASIN: B000002VL2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,610 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #96 in Music > Latin Music > Tropical > Cumbia

Editorial Reviews

Out of print in the U.S.! UK CD pressing of this 1978 album from the former Velvet Underground member and Rock 'n' Roll icon. Street Hassle has been referred to as 'the angrier, younger sibling to Reed's eloquent, mature New York', which was released over a decade later, and was also cited as his most creative since '73's Berlin. An album teeming with the lyrical hell of drug addicts and desperate misfits, Street Hassle does possess elements of Reed's pitch-black humor. "Gimme Some Good Times" playfully samples "Sweet Jane", and Reed sings the strangely sunny words of "Real Good Time Together" against a morbid wash of distorted guitar effects and vocals. A mix of New York studio recordings and fine live performances recorded in West Germany, Street Hassle is a curious and compelling coda to Reed's tumultuous and ever-changing '70s work. Bruce Springsteen makes an uncredited spoken-word appearance in the last movement of the album's title track. Sony/BMG. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite Lou Reed album...ever!, October 7, 2004

By 

Michael Smith "saintzak" (usa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Street Hassle (Audio CD)

When I saw David Bowie during his 1978 Stage tour he used Lou Reed's just released Street Hassel album as his opening act. I later read an interview where Bowie said he so taken with it he wanted as many people to hear it as possible. He knew it wouldn't recieve any radio airplay. Mind you, David Bowie and Lou Reed weren't even on speaking terms at the time.

Nasty, grimey, slapped together, angry, sarcastic, scarey and sad...it IS Lou Reed. What more can be said about the beautiful title cut. No one else could make bad luck sound so profound. Moving from a gay hook up between a huslter and his trick, to an impromptu drug party between strangers gone terrible wrong to the final part that describes the break up of Reed's own relationship the song goes from bloodless to achingly personal.
The entire album is fascinating and repellent at the same time.

And man! the Street Hassel tour was incredible. I've seen Lou Reed perform many times over the years, but I never saw him that good. In many ways it was Lou's last stand. He was never quite the same afterwards.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ugliest Most Beautiful Album You'll Ever Hear, March 19, 2000

By 

Carlo Matthews "carlo" (Been Moving Around) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Street Hassle (Audio CD)

Both swaggering and glib, Street Hassle finds Reed hitting the peak of his shady career as a poseur and gutter songwriter. Over a rambunctious and inebriating, messy performance, Reed and band recreate an atmosphere of uncertainty tainted by dark humor and acid wit. Every song here is driven by Reed's cruelly sardonic takes on life and a rough jazz/rock blend that sounds positively filthy and catchy, every hook struggling to surface through a mire of bass, droning guitar, and saxes. Street Hassle reeks of the rot of New York and sounds like a massive waste spill that is both freightening and alluring. Whereas previous albums tried to capture Reed's musical persona by means of glitter productions, Street Hassle ironically displays his sophistication in an ugly, swirling fusion that is more spontaneous and improvisational than anything he's done. Your definition of beauty will never be the same after this.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lou's best solo album!, November 28, 2005

By 

Josh Z. Bonder "a sound painter" (Toronto) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Street Hassle (Audio CD)

While Lou Reed has had a pretty patchy run of solo albums throughout his career, this one manages to come shining through. Don't get me wrong, I love the velvet underground, and albums like transformer, berlin, the bells, etc. but this one seems to have the most redeeming qualities: It's hard to put my finger on exactly what those qualities are, which is why on first listen it may not seem as overtly impressive as some of the other albums. But, having listened to so many Lou Reed albums, this is the one that always seems fresh. I don't know how it is generally regarded, but it seems like it's been glossed over (and it may be hard to find, or expensive). However, if I could keep only one post-velvets Lou Reed album, this would have to be the one.