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Sally Can't Dance

Lou Reed

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iTunes Review

In the early to mid-'70s, Lou Reed's solo career was gaining momentum despite his stubborn and erratic nature. Transformer had been a decent-sized hit with help from the single "Walk on the Wild Side," but he followed that up with Berlin, his most challenging album to date. Sally Can't Dance was a return to more accessible material. "Kill Your Sons" (inspired by his stay in a psychiatric hospital) proved that Reed still meets difficult subjects head-on, but the grand arrangements of "Ride Sally Ride," "Animal Language," and "Sally Can't Dance" gave him bright, funky tunes for the live show. However, Reed sounds most comfortable on the intimate "Baby Face," the putdown "N.Y. Stars," and the ballad "Billy." This edition of the album adds the single version of the title track and "Good Taste," a tune where Reed declares that "makin' a fool of yourself over me proves that you have good taste." Reed's discomfort with success would soon lead to the making of the unlistenable-but-classic Metal Machine Music, before he returned to narrative song forms with Coney Island Baby. 

Customer Reviews

Lou's Best Record

Although not the critic's choice, I think this is Lou Reed's best album precisely because it mixes pop hooks and guitar drive with his trademark art-rock sensibilities. Most of his solo work is, for me, quite tedious and boring. Not this album. Whatever his motivations (commercial success or otherwise) Sally Can't Dance delivers interesting songs that never devolve into self-indulgent nothingness. Admittedly, I'm not a fan of Lou Reed overall (because I think he purposely wastes his talent), but this album captures the nihilistic glam of the period, up there with Raw Power by the Stooges.

Reed Record Really Good

The songs are tuneful, heartfelt, with great playing. There's a nice unity and ambience throughout, each song flowing into the other. The album sounds really fresh and undated, not particularly 1974ish.

I have a handful of Lou Reed records and most of the VU stuff. Of his solo work that I've heard, this is my favorite for the above reasons.

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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