Customer Reviews

Street Hassle

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I remember when I first heard this album, many years ago now, thinking that Lou had produced some real stinkers over the years but that this album stank to high heaven! Leaving aside the title track, which I thought was one of the best things Lou had ever accomplished in his erratic solo career, I could not see the appeal of the rest of the album which seemed to consist of a bunch of poorly recorded, poorly played and poorly sung material, musically ramshackle and lyrically braindead. Then it hit me, that this was precisely Lou's intention, this was Lou's response to punk rock and this was Lou showing that he could be ten times more ...shambolic than any punk band! Guess what, now I think this is one of Lou's greatest albums!!

You know you're in for a Laugh Riot from the opening seconds of the very first track when Lou shamelessly retreads the "Sweet Jane" riff for nth time and even starts singing the "Standing on the corner..." lyrics only for another Lou to start commenting bitchily in the most [feminine] Times Square voice imaginable on the lyrics. And even though Lou sings much of the song in that bizarre high-pitched yelp which ruined most of "The Bells", the song is still oddly catchy.

Next up is "Dirt" and incredibly vindictive and childish verbal assault on Lou's old manager Dennis Katz which makes even Dylan's nastiest songs sound like love letters. This is set to a shambling mess of a backing track which falls apart just when you think it might be about to coalesce into something approaching a proper riff. I love it!

Like a shining oasis in a desert of aural sludge stands "Street Hassle" itself. This is without doubt one the major achievements of Lou's entire career, and that includes The Velvets. Lyrically, I don't think he's ever been better, for once Lou actually lives up to his own hype - I cannot think of another rock `n' roll lyricist who could have pulled off this combination of sleaze, sadness, cruelty, beauty, ugliness, passion AND dispassion, and that includes Dylan and Lennon and any other great you may care to mention. Not only that, but musically Lou really hits the nail square on the head with a brilliantly imaginative arrangement of what is basically another one of Lou's numerous two-chord tricks. Scored for guitars, bass (all played by Lou), cellos (a masterstroke), some keyboards and female backing vocals - the arrangement seems to make explicit the connections between Lou, The Velvets and that special form of minimalism produced by the New York avant-garde (Reich, Glass etc). Brilliant.

Then Lou goes from the sublime to the ridiculous with the scurrilous "I Wanna Be Black". Musically this is a desultory attempt at being "jazzy", lyrically it is entirely reprehensible of course but also excruciatingly funny AND true!

Lou disinters the old Velvet's chestnut "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" and then ritually disembowels it - removing all the rockin' rhythm of the original and replacing it with a shimmering haze of tremoled guitars, making me wonder whether Lou hadn't been listening closely to Alan Vega and Suicide. Towards the end of the song Lou fades in a blustering, lunk-headed, concrete-booted live version - crazy arrangement, crazy guy.

"Shooting Star" is a another live track, Lou recycles the same three chords he's used in a million other songs and overlays some tuneless soloing. It shouldn't work, it should NOT work but it does!

Next up is one of my faves, "Leave Me Alone". Lou sings like a mental patient on some particularly bizarre course of medication over a club-footed stomp of a rhythm and a riff so [bad] even the Troggs would have turned it down as being too unsophisticated. Sheer genius!

Unfortunately the album dribbles out with the ... 50's pastiche "Wait" but, all in all, this is one Lou's best and funniest albums.

You really have to understand Lou's intentions behind this album to fully understand and appreciate it. I've always been a huge Lou fan, but upon first listen I thought this album was absolute garbage. The singing sucks, the guitars are noisy and out of tune, the production is bizarre. But then it hit me...that was the intention. This IS Lou Reed. Gritty, downbeat, and yet somehow F'ING hilarious. If the cheesy cover wasn't clue enough. He set out to make the ultimate (if not THE first) punk album. This is Lou Reed raw. So do yourself a favor and give this one another listen. Forget that SALLY CAN'T DANCE crap and listen to the real Lou Reed!!

Lou Reed has had many different sounds and styles since his days with the Velvet Underground. From the glam rock of Transformer to the ultra depressive Berlin. From the commercial Sally Can't Dance to the unlistenable Metal Machine Music. From the Beauty of Coney Island Baby to the ugliness of Street Hassle. Street Hassle, along with New York, is Reed's most harsh and edgy album. Altough the stories told are ugly, the music on this album is beautiful. Gimmie Some Good Times and Dirt start the album off with a bang. Right away, you know what kind of Lou Reed this album would be. The three part Street Hassle is the highlight of the album. It is one of Reed's all time best compositions. I Wanna Be Black is an excellent song also, that is NOT a racist song. It is,however, making fun of racial stereotypes. Real Good Time Together is incredibly different than the Velvet's original version. Both versions are great. Shooting Star, Leave Me Alone, and Wait keep up the quality and feeling of all the previous songs. Street Hassle is one of Lou Reed's all time best solo albums. It is an essential purchase for any fan of Reed's work.

In my opinion Street Hassle is a masterpiece. The album delivers everything that makes Lou a great musical artist- street-wise lyrics, sleazy rhythms and an attitude to kill. How many listeners out there know about Bruce Springsteen's cameo on the title track? And the way Lou nails the vocal after Bruce's spoken word delivery. "I Wanna Be Black" is hysterical. "Dirt" is a wonderfully raunchy put-down of someone who obviously got on Lou's bad side. And there's even a tribute to Phil Spector called "Wait" with a subtle Crystals reference. But note this album does not offer instant gratification- it takes a while to sink into your pores, but once it does your hooked. If it ain't the rock n roll animal himself!

If you've never listened to Lou Reed before, this mightn't be where you want to start. The uninitiated would do better to pick up "Transformer," "Rock And Roll Animal," or "New York." However, if you are already a bona-fide Lou Reed fan looking to get a new, totally fresh perspective on the man, you are ready for "Street Hassle." I'd also apply the same caveat to "Take No Prisoners," his live album from this era: not for first-time listeners, but if you're ready for the real HEART of Lou Reed, it's all here.
"Gimme Some Good Times" starts proceedings in fine fashion, with Lou's quavering, overdubbed vocals casting a gritty pallor over a ultimately catchy tune. "Dirt," is my opinion, was better served in it's earlier form as "Downtown Dirt" from the Coney Island Baby sessions (available on the "Between Thought And Expression" box set) but this version is a fascinating evolution of the original idea and features some VERY far-out and great playing by the band.
"Street Hassle" is the unqualified masterpiece of the disc. Several other reviewers have nailed the essence of the song, if you haven't heard it, just listen. Definitely one of the top highlights in a career full of them. I could go on all day about it but the other reviewer's comment have summed it up nicely.
"I Wanna Be Black" is a fun, bouncy number, although I prefer the "Take No Prisoners" version. "Real Good Time Together" is a sonic head-trip that melds studio and live performance to great effect.
In my opinion, however, the hidden classic on "Street Hassle" is the next song, "Shooting Star." The band crashs and plods wildly all over the place as Lou lays down one of his catchiest tunes ever. Lou's chorus and the sax riff that hold the song together provide BIG hooks, the song might've had a chance on the radio had it not be such an experimental, noisy, improvised performance. It rocks as hard as anything Lou's ever done, and it's a must-hear.
"Leave Me Alone" is another song that I feel he did better on "TNP" but perhaps I just haven't opened up to this version yet. The last song, "Wait" seemed to me a throwaway number when I first heard the album years ago. Now it's one of my favorite tracks on the album...some great singing by the girls and one Lou's funniest, heartfelt vocals ever. I love when he says "I know propriety is such a WASTE!" He ends the album in true punk fashion, pleading "Babe I really wish that you would wait...I really think you oughta wait..." The band is all over the place again, but listen hard, and you'll hear there's some great hooks in this song...they just need to be drawn out. The horn playing of Marty Fogel and bass of "Moose" Boles particularly stand out.
All in all..."Street Hassle" is definitely 5-star, a must-have for any Lou Reed fan. There's a reason they call this his "Godfather Of Punk" album...without giving an inch or kowtowing a bit to the scene that had taken his beloved NYC by storm, he sticks to his guns and beats the punks at their own game.

It amazes me that this one has remained so obscure. To me, it is his best and will be a collectible item for decades. "Dirt" is surely one of , if not his best, composition.The whole CD is like the soundtrack of a hardcore NYC S/M film. Reminds me of the writings of John Rechy, set to music. Buy it!

Gimme Some Good Times introduces the album with a series of sarcastic comments and compelling melody line that becomes ever more gripping as Lou wails out the poetry of cynicism and despair, equating pleasure and pain, in his most world-weary voice ever. The mood becomes even darker on Dirt, where the bitter lyrics incorporate snatches of the song "I Fought The Law" by Bobby Fuller, before it is given a humorous twist by the girl choir repeating "Sweet, sweet, uptown dirt" in a sort of Motowny way, all of this over the band's loose and intentionally messy playing. This is followed by the title track masterpiece, a movement in three parts sketching a tragic situation and its resultant emotions in some of Reed's most cinematic lyrics. Waltzing Matilda introduces the girl meets boy scenario in Reed's monotone over ominous cello. This is followed by a moment of silence and then Genya Ravan's ghostly chant of impending doom giving way to Reed the indifferent observer of a drug death and the complications arising out of it, ending in Bruce Springsteen's sad monologue where he twists his own famous lyric to "Tramps like us, we were born to pay." The third movement has a more human Reed lamenting the loss of romance and love in a most moving and poignant way. Wow, this is strong stuff. I regret to say that the rest of the album (with the exception of I Wanna Be Black) doesn't appeal much to me and I seldom listen to it. Some of these sound like not-too-inspired live performances. So this is the best and the worst of Lou Reed, but this album merits four stars for the sheer brilliance of the first three tracks.