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Rock and Roll Animal

Lou Reed

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Album Review

In 1974, after the commercial disaster of his album Berlin, Lou Reed needed a hit, and Rock N Roll Animal was a rare display of commercial acumen on his part, just the right album at just the right time. Recorded in concert with Reed's crack road band at the peak of their form, Rock N Roll Animal offered a set of his most anthemic songs (most dating from his days with the Velvet Underground) in arrangements that presented his lean, effective melodies and street-level lyrics in their most user-friendly form (or at least as user friendly as an album with a song called "Heroin" can get). Early-'70s arena rock bombast is often the order of the day, but guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter use their six-string muscle to lift these songs up, not weigh them down, and with Reed's passionate but controlled vocals riding over the top, "Sweet Jane," "White Light/White Heat," and "Rock 'n' Roll" finally sound like the radio hits they always should have been. Reed would rarely sound this commercial again, but Rock N Roll Animal proves he could please a crowd when he had to. [The revised CD reissue of Rock N Roll Animal released in 2000 offers markedly better sound than the album's initial release, along with two bonus cuts that give a better idea of how this band approached the material from Berlin on-stage, as well as an amusing moment of Reed verbally sparring with a heckler.]

Customer Reviews

wow ....

I grew up with this album as a staple in my life ... listening to it on the turntable or in the 8 track with the matchbook to keep it playing ... this album was always a welcome dose of high octane, guitar hero, adrenaline boosting fun. As I got older, it was still able to hit the same chords in my gut that it hit when I was a kid first hearing it. Now, as a 47 yr old father that rarely has the time or inclination to let go and let my inner hippy, rock out, let's get wasted former self shine ... I still hear this music the way I did as a kid and it still slams into me and makes me want to be a rock star all over again. All these years later ... all of life's bruises later ... and it's still just as strong as it was the first time I heard it in the car with my two older brothers with me ... and I still go back to that day in the car when life was simple and the music was loud and we could do anything. Thanks Lou.

Best pure example of a great rock concert

For 35 years I've touted this album as the best live rock recording I've ever heard, and though not all my new victims who hear it are willing to concede that point immediately (nobody dumps their favorite in a heartbeat), they sure do smile when you crank the volume up, and they always seize the the jewel cover and start studying intently at once. Invariably, they have their own copy next time I see them.
The guitar work on this album is just sensational. Alice Cooper told me that the two lead players (Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter) were the best he ever played with by a wide margin. They never sounded as good with him as they do here, a dazzling example of two great players wheeling through pieces with the sensory awarness of sparrows wheeling suddenly as one against the sky. They concede soaring bars to one another, each happily laying back to play a bit of perfect rhythm while the other guy thunders away. The instruments are tuned to perfect ahd compliment each other as if hand-chosen. There's no hint of one never trying to top the other, as so many twin guitarists reflexively do. Rather, they strain to elevate each other and hence the music. They moving along the same lines, their guitars growing angry at the same pace, exploding together, then simultaneously winding into something more artful and delicate. They respect each other, the craft, the crowd and Lou Reed, and they work with tremendous concentration.
Lou Reed's vocals are a little more focused and sharp. The bass is ambitious and drives the other players. The drums aren't hidden, but they never trump the playing of the strings and vocals.
The versions of "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll" stand, in this live setting, as seminal moments of rock history. What I wouldn't have paid to have been there to take in this elemental and raw show live! A backstage pass wouldn't haven been bad, either.

rock and roll animal

i've been listening to this album since it came out, and it still sounds great. the intro to sweet jane is one of the great duo guitar moments i know. now my kids are into velvet underground and it's great to introduce them to this version of some amazing songs. i know this dates me compared to most who write reviews on i-tunes, but this is a great album and worthy of a listen.

Biography

Born: March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, NY

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s

The career of Lou Reed defies capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he has made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam rocker to scary-looking junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. A firmer grasp of rock's earthier qualities has ensured a more consistent career path than Bowie's, particularly in his latter years. Yet his catalog is extremely inconsistent, in both quality and stylistic orientation....
Full Bio

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