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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
It Almost Was a Perfect Night, December 7, 2004
It almost was a perfect night. Just before this show Lou Reed had found an acoustic guitar that he described as "having the sound of diamonds" and a way of amplifying it so the instrument's real sound would reach the audience. Like any good artist would he wanted to share the find. He put a four piece ensemble together with guitarist Mike Rathke, bass player Fernando Saunders and drummer Tony Smith. They went on stage and played a tight set that pumped up both the audience and the band.
It drew from many of the nooks in Reed's catalogue. There was some newer material and a helping of the old. It all became new again that night. Reed likes to play around with material a little. It doesn't always work but there are always surprises. However it went all the songs got inspired readings.
The set opened with a commanding performance of "I'll Be Your Mirror". It was a hit when it was first released. It sounds as if it would be a hit if was released today. The song is as fresh now as it was thirty years ago. They follow it up with "Perfect Day". He could have named this one "Perfect Song"; it's that good. "Coney Island Baby" almost ended up as an obscure piece. When Reed first wrote it his management described it as "one of the worst things they'd ever heard". According to him that was the "end of the management". Listen to the impassioned treatment he gives it here and decide who was right.
Most of the set is up to the standard set by the opening numbers. Not all of the material scores points with me. I could have done without "Original Wrapper" and "Sex With Your Parents" but that's just a matter of personal taste. Those songs are just as well put together and just as well executed as the rest of the material in the was. Highlights are abundant. The performances of "Busload of Faith" and "Riptide" are riveting. He must of pulled this reading of "Talking Book" straight from his heart. Listen to it. Think about it. Feel it. There's something new there each time it's played. He couldn't have picked a better piece to close with than "Dirty Boulevard". The song combines scathing social commentary with a fine melody and a healthy injection of rock and roll passion. It's performed with fierce energy here.
Reed is one of the best writers of song in the business. He knows the technical side of the craft well. He was a staff writer for a company that wrote jingles for commercials before taking to the stage. He never lost the raw edges of a creative purist though. That's a mixture that's rare in the industry. His catalogue is a rich one and though he's never the one who sells the most records he's one the other musicians would never want to be without. This set will give anyone not familiar with his work a good insight as to why that's the case.
Listen and learn.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Wow, people really need to reconsider this album., May 4, 2002
I must admit I am kind of surprised after reading some of the reviews here. I agree that this might be a tough record for someone not too familiar with Lou to get into, but for those of us that would consider ourselves pretty big fans of the solo Lou should kind of know what to expect in terms of his vocal abilities and just type of songs he likes to play live. One can expect that he will perform a good deal of his newer work, whether or not it lives up to the standards of the Lou Reed legacy, some of his Transformer/New York crowd pleasers reinterpreted for live performance and a few lesser known but equally fantastic songs. And everything is set to a tight, muscular stripped down rock peformance, which has pretty much been his musical approach since Blue Mask. With this being said, I think the song selection is excellent and that the album is a nice companion piece to the Rock and Roll Heart PBS documentary. Songwise: I'll be Your Mirror is an amazing song, in any musical setting, Kicks rocks (!!) being the coolest solo Lou song in my opinion, with the possible exception of Vicious which gets a fantastic workover. Its great to hear him play Coney Island Baby again, however, I think a good deal of the original passion has been lost since Lou is (ahem) well not really the man he was in the mid70s. Riptide is a great, melodic track from Set the Twilight Reeling. The Time Rocker songs are interesting, a testament to Lou's more avant-garde sensibility. I do prefer alot of the original studio versions to these tracks, however, that is often to be expected. In my opinion, a live album is an interesting document of an artist at a certain period of time, that is best appreciated by diehard fans. I would have loved to hear a live interpretation of "Berlin" (the song) or "How do you think it feels" over "The Kids", or perhaps a live version of "Andy's Chest" instead of one of the lesser new compositions, but those are pretty minor complaints. Instrumentally-- Lou is a great guitar player. His style is simple, but emotive and very much suits his vocals and musical persona. Fernando Sauders is really quite good on bass and has survived as a Lou collaborator much longer than most. I actually prefer Mr. Reed's newest style of singing that favors a gruff, growly tone as opposed to the more talky New York drawl that ruled in the 80s and the mock-punk whiney vocals of the street hassle era. Lou is an artist, a truly great one, who has had his ups and downs. Despite this known fact, he has produced a body of work that rivals some of rocks true song writing luminaries, including Dylan AND Lennon. Its now 2002 and Lou is still going pretty damn strong for a man people thought was washed up in 1970, then again in '75. Then again in 1980, once again around 1987, and pretty much every year since. He is a true rock surviver and a musical hero of many. Buy this album. Enjoy an uncompromising artist in a business of pretenders and posers. Also: pick up Songs for Drella, New York , Blue Mask, Berlin, Coney Island Baby, Transformer, Rock and Roll Animal---and of course everything the VU ever touched. All are 4 or 5 star albums. swoop swoop...rock rock ****
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seminal Live Recording for all fans of Uncle Lou, September 20, 1999
This recording illuminates the most delicious element of Lou Reeds work over the years... his lyrical gift and the focus which a stripped down band provides for this attribute. From the opening chords of "I'll be your Mirror" to the closing bars of "Dirty Blvd" there is no doubt that the musicians, although brilliant and coordinated in all regards are only the supporting cast to Lou Reeds verbal imagery. The pace of the work is varied, as with most of the studio works, but this only shows off the more initmate tracks against the fat guitar, luscious bass & drum numbers. Any one who saw this show was truly fortunate... those of who did not should be grateful as we can be, read the technical notes with kudos to the engineering and mobile recording persons and BUY THIS DISC! Peace, William of Texas
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by Lou Reed 
