Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
It has often surprised me how little love the "Live" album gets; much of the other part of the 'Animal" show. It is hardly mentioned in some write ups. The performances are just as lethal as 'Animal". "Oh Jim" is a guitar duel of the old school; one of the best ever. The way Glan, drummer is building intensity behind them.
When I was very young I was in Hamburg on the Reeperbahn once. This was in the day k'when you'd go to a Discotheque, and in many there would be hard roc'kn roll blasting. Here the dance floor was a boxing ring; elevated. The Reeperbahn was always populated by hardcore German bikers and sailors. The volume was deafening, chemicals were happening, and I stepped into the Ring with the Bikers dancing their asses off to "Oh Jim". I think it must have been a life changer.
"Sad Song" is also incredible on the Live album.
Lou has distanced himself from that tour at times because he said "Heroin" was done a bit too commercial, but Hunter and Wagner did pretty good I think. "Lady Day" is majestic; "White Light" set the standard of how that song was to be played on Bass; "How do you think it feels" in many ways may be the best song because the lyrics are just so great.

Is Lady Day about Doris Day? I forgot who he is talking about in that song. It is certainly not Mary Tyler Moore.

Live is indeed great. If anything I think there's three reasons its often overlooked:

1. The Animal album has Velvet Underground tracks. Animal is basically all VU and Live is basically all solo (despite the incredible I'm Waiting For The Man). Personally, I perfer solo over VU (VU is obviously incredible but most of it has been played to death) but I think the overwhelming majority just love that VU material so much. Its why Lou could never stop playing it all those years. Not that I think he ever wanted to, they are his songs and he's proud of them, but without fail whenever he played VU stuff in his solo career it got the biggest response.

2. I think the sound mix (and really everything) about the Live release feels lazy. The sound is nowhere near as good as Animal, which literally comes blowing out of your speakers. It never fails to get the hair on my neck standing up. Live, there's something sterile about it. I think the entire release for some reason they just kinda threw out. Which is sad, cause it is really great. The performances on there are excellent. But the album has always felt lifeless to me. They reversed the guitar channels as well if I remember correct. Not a big deal, but just shows they did some weird stuff with that release. If it got the same care as Animal has always gotten, which sounds so beautifully warm and in the moment, I think it would be more highly looked at. The bonus tracks on Animal sound so much better than Live.

3. That Animal album is just THAT good. Listen, it is what it is. The whole concert is excellent. But Lou Reed (or more likely his management) were tasked with picking a concert and selecting the best from it that made a single album. They did exactly that with Animal and instead of those songs being highlights throughout a show, it was basically all in a row. Its almost a rape of incredible songs. Its what makes the album unbelievable, and its unfairly why not much could really live up to it, even the rest of the concert. By comparison, the rest of the concert sounds slightly dull, even though it certainly wasn't, because they plucked literally all the best stuff from it.

Overall I agree, its overlooked and they should re-release the show in its complete form. I'm a little shocked they never have but I guess Animal is that beloved that it doesn't need it and technically its all out there so people can make their own versions the way I and many others probably have. But Animal is just so damn good. Every song is just definitive. That Sweet Jane is just one of the greatest things ever made. Heroin was never that good again. I get how some of it is self indulgent but its just always been perfect to me. White Light/White Heat, like you said, is the model for every version after it. Rock And Roll is sublime. And the solo tracks are outstanding. The Berlin songs get the treatment the album versions lacked. Lady Day is so powerful. He literally snarls through Caroline Says (complete with that "shut up" before they go into it, classic Lou). I agree with you, How Do You Think It Feels is so @#$%& good live. Those incredible lyrics (how do you think it feels to always make love by proxy, I mean come on how great are those lyrics?!!) combined with the incredible guitar solos on that live version. That band is as important as the songs on that album and they all really kill it. And then of course the ironic part that Lou is maybe the least into it, looks the weirdest he ever did, and barely sings. It almost seems like a job for him. And yet its the greatest live album ever. Everything about that record is just amazing.

Nice Post- Rolling Freak. However, Yes maybe I'm waiting for the Man and Oh Jim could have been recorded slightly different- the overall sound is good. Yes the Lou Reed voice crack during Walk on the wild Side is annoying but doesn't destroy the song.

To change the subject on LRL the best is Satellite of Love -this gem may have the best guitar solos on the suite of same concert albums.

Quote
Chris Fountain

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
It has often surprised me how little love the "Live" album gets; much of the other part of the 'Animal" show. It is hardly mentioned in some write ups. The performances are just as lethal as 'Animal". "Oh Jim" is a guitar duel of the old school; one of the best ever. The way Glan, drummer is building intensity behind them.
When I was very young I was in Hamburg on the Reeperbahn once. This was in the day k'when you'd go to a Discotheque, and in many there would be hard roc'kn roll blasting. Here the dance floor was a boxing ring; elevated. The Reeperbahn was always populated by hardcore German bikers and sailors. The volume was deafening, chemicals were happening, and I stepped into the Ring with the Bikers dancing their asses off to "Oh Jim". I think it must have been a life changer.
"Sad Song" is also incredible on the Live album.
Lou has distanced himself from that tour at times because he said "Heroin" was done a bit too commercial, but Hunter and Wagner did pretty good I think. "Lady Day" is majestic; "White Light" set the standard of how that song was to be played on Bass; "How do you think it feels" in many ways may be the best song because the lyrics are just so great.

Is Lady Day about Doris Day? I forgot who he is talking about in that song. It is certainly not Mary Tyler Moore.

Billy Holiday, no MT Moore
Sorry RollingFreak, I just now read your review. I agree w/ everything you say. Playing "Live" after 'Animal" is a little demoralizing. You KNOW it is the very same show, yet you find yourself asking 'WTF?'. The level is so much lower, thinner. Sounds like a CDR of "Stone Age" LOL. But the performances are on fire. I can't quite agree that 'Animal' is better performances. That entire show did not have one weak moment. I had not realized what you say re. VU vs solo tracks. And I can not believe you picked my favorite line from 'How do you think it feels". That line "always make love by proxy" is the best.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-10-30 22:22 by Palace Revolution 2000.

Thanks PR2000!

Source: (second)


Billie Holiday Biography
Singer (1915–1959)

Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. She had a thriving career for many years before she lost her battle with addiction.
Billie Holiday Biography
Jazz vocalist Billie Holiday was born in 1915 in Philadelphia. Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday had a thriving career as a jazz singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance abuse.

Also known as Lady Day, her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues. In 2000, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.


Eleanora Fagan

Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Some sources say her birthplace was Baltimore, Maryland, and her birth certificate reportedly reads "Elinore Harris.")

Holiday spent much of her childhood in Baltimore. Her mother, Sadie, was only a teenager when she had her. Her father is widely believed to be Clarence Holiday, who eventually became a successful jazz musician, playing with the likes of Fletcher Henderson.


Unfortunately for Billie, her father was an infrequent visitor in her life growing up. Sadie married Philip Gough in 1920 and for a few years Billie had a somewhat stable home life. But that marriage ended a few years later, leaving Billie and Sadie to struggle along on their own again. Sometimes Billie was left in the care of other people.

Holiday started skipping school, and she and her mother went to court over Holiday's truancy. She was then sent to the House of Good Shepherd, a facility for troubled African American girls, in January 1925.

Only 9 years old at the time, Holiday was one of the youngest girls there. She was returned to her mother's care in August of that year. According to Donald Clarke's biography, Billie Holiday: Wishing on the Moon, she returned there in 1926 after she had been sexually assaulted.

In her difficult early life, Holiday found solace in music, singing along to the records of Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong. She followed her mother, who had moved to New York City in the late 1920s, and worked in a house of prostitution in Harlem for a time.


Around 1930, Holiday began singing in local clubs and renamed herself "Billie" after the film star Billie Dove.

Billie Holiday Songs
At the age of 18, Holiday was discovered by producer John Hammond while she was performing in a Harlem jazz club. Hammond was instrumental in getting Holiday recording work with an up-and-coming clarinetist and bandleader Benny Goodman.

With Goodman, she sang vocals for several tracks, including her first commercial release "Your Mother's Son-In-Law" and the 1934 top ten hit "Riffin' the Scotch."

Known for her distinctive phrasing and expressive, sometimes melancholy voice, Holiday went on to record with jazz pianist Teddy Wilson and others in 1935.

She made several singles, including "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" and "Miss Brown to You." That same year, Holiday appeared with Duke Ellington in the film Symphony in Black.

[[u]b]Lady Day[/b][/u]

Around this time, Holiday met and befriended saxophonist Lester Young, who was part of Count Basie's orchestra on and off for years. He even lived with Holiday and her mother Sadie for a while.

Young gave Holiday the nickname "Lady Day" in 1937—the same year she joined Basie's band. In return, she called him "Prez," which was her way of saying that she thought it was the greatest.

Holiday toured with the Count Basie Orchestra in 1937. The following year, she worked with Artie Shaw and his orchestra. Holiday broke new ground with Shaw, becoming one of the first female African American vocalists to work with a white orchestra.

Promoters, however, objected to Holiday—for her race and for her unique vocal style—and she ended up leaving the orchestra out of frustration.

Strange Fruit

Striking out on her own, Holiday performed at New York's Café Society. She developed some of her trademark stage persona there—wearing gardenias in her hair and singing with her head tilted back.

During this engagement, Holiday also debuted two of her most famous songs, "God Bless the Child" and "Strange Fruit." Columbia, her record company at the time, was not interested in "Strange Fruit," which was a powerful story about the lynching of African Americans in the South.

Holiday recorded the song with the Commodore label instead. "Strange Fruit" is considered to be one of her signature ballads, and the controversy that surrounded it—some radio stations banned the record—helped make it a hit.

Over the years, Holiday sang many songs of stormy relationships, including "T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do" and "My Man." These songs reflected her personal romances, which were often destructive and abusive.


Holiday married James Monroe in 1941. Already known to drink, Holiday picked up her new husband's habit of smoking opium. The marriage didn't last—they later divorced—but Holiday's problems with substance abuse continued.

Personal Problems

That same year, Holiday had a hit with "God Bless the Child." She later signed with Decca Records in 1944 and scored an R&B hit the next year with "Lover Man."

Her boyfriend at the time was trumpeter Joe Guy, and with him she started using heroin. After the death of her mother in October 1945, Holiday began drinking more heavily and escalated her drug use to ease her grief.

Despite her personal problems, Holiday remained a major star in the jazz world—and even in popular music as well. She appeared with her idol Louis Armstrong in the 1947 film New Orleans, albeit playing the role of a maid.

Unfortunately, Holiday's drug use caused her a great professional setback that same year. She was arrested and convicted for narcotics possession in 1947. Sentenced to one year and a day of jail time, Holiday went to a federal rehabilitation facility in Alderston, West Virginia.

Released the following year, Holiday faced new challenges. Because of her conviction, she was unable to get the necessary license to play in cabarets and clubs. Holiday, however, could still perform at concert halls and had a sold-out show at the Carnegie Hall not long after her release.

With some help from John Levy, a New York club owner, Holiday was later to get to play in New York's Club Ebony. Levy became her boyfriend and manager by the end of the 1940s, joining the ranks of the men who took advantage of Holiday.

Also around this time, she was again arrested for narcotics, but she was acquitted of the charges.

Later Years

While her hard living was taking a toll on her voice, Holiday continued to tour and record in the 1950s. She began recording for Norman Granz, the owner of several small jazz labels, in 1952. Two years later, Holiday had a hugely successful tour of Europe.

Holiday also caught the public's attention by sharing her life story with the world in 1956. Her autobiography, Lady Sings the Blues (1956), was written in collaboration by William Dufty.

Some of the material in the book, however, must be taken with a grain of salt. Holiday was in rough shape when she worked with Dufty on the project, and she claimed to have never read the book after it was finished.

Around this time, Holiday became involved with Louis McKay. The two were arrested for narcotics in 1956, and they married in Mexico the following year. Like many other men in her life, McKay used Holiday's name and money to advance himself.


Despite all of the trouble she had been experiencing with her voice, she managed to give an impressive performance on the CBS television broadcast The Sound of Jazz with Ben Webster, Lester Young, and Coleman Hawkins.

After years of lackluster recordings and record sales, Holiday recorded Lady in Satin (1958) with the Ray Ellis Orchestra for Columbia. The album's songs showcased her rougher sounding voice, which still could convey great emotional intensity.

How Did Billie Holiday Die?
Holiday gave her final performance in New York City on May 25, 1959. Not long after this event, Holiday was admitted to the hospital for heart and liver problems.

She was so addicted to heroin that she was even arrested for possession while in the hospital. On July 17, 1959, Holiday died from alcohol- and drug-related complications.

Legacy

More than 3,000 people turned out to say good-bye to Lady Day at her funeral held in St. Paul the Apostle Roman Catholic Church on July 21, 1959. A who's who of the jazz world attended the solemn occasion, including Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Tony Scott, Buddy Rogers and John Hammond.

Considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, Holiday has been an influence on many other performers who have followed in her footsteps.

Her autobiography was made into the 1972 film Lady Sings the Blues with famed singer Diana Ross playing the part of Holiday, which helped renew interest in Holiday's recordings.

In 2000, Billie Holiday was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Diana Ross handling the honors.

I just finished the Anthony DeCurtis of Lou- very good book - what a wild life Lou led!

My favourite artist I never saw live (not including those that died before I was old enough to go to concerts).

I saw the Velvets at the Electric Circus in NYC, circa 'loaded,' which is
an album I still love.
I spoke with Sterling and sat with Mo. Lou wasn't there, but I'm telling
you that band was great. They did very, very well with the "loaded,"
and other material. Really well. I asked Sterling. Remember now, I'm pretty
much barelhy legal, if even 18, and he's an experienced world shaker
(to me, VERY much so, being a city kid and having the 'banana' LP, tho
the actual ambiance of the street and drug scene and all that wasn't my
young experience Still, we LOVED that band. We had White Light White Heat
and the 'banana' one; eponymous; epperponims hippopottimouse, it was called their name. that was it.
I had never done even much sex never mind any desire for hard drugs or
sex scenes, tho if you grow up in an urban area, what's called 'gay culture' now, wasn't really out of most people's wider frame of reference,
but 'hustlers' and the inspiring (often tragic) folks who inspired those
songs and were part of that scene, were only part of the heavy, controversial and dark images in Lou's writing.

some kids have a taste for noisy avant-garde; I sorta did.
the kind of blowhard kid that likes 'two virgins' and thinks that
recording 'silence' is the perfect neitzchean wasy to get above it all,
and out of the pop structures; and exposed to
something more textural than what was allowed conceptually in pop records...

i had older friends
(college dropouts destined for loser-ship like yours truly), prisononers
of rock and roll who know they will never get out; and just try to help
the younger prisoners if they can. Loaded was, and is, a really important,
wonderful album and they did right by Lou's songs. they did record them
and sing on some of them after all. "Loaded" was just a sublime way
to leave the 'studio album' world for any band. I adore even what
folks consider 'filler' on that LP.
I never did get to see Lou Reed in person. but appreciated the
easy, common, access and inter-weave the band members had with the audience.
the big star wasn't there so they didn't even much use the small dressing room;
but sat with fans on the same bench outside that door.

I of course asked Sterling where Lou was. (tho the band played a hot set including 'rock and roll' and pulled it off. imo VERY Much so...
it WAS them.
minus the charismatic, bristling, erratic special genius of their lead singer and writer. but it HIT and it Stuck....

He tole me he was with his mother on Long Island.
That sounds sort of snippy in the telling, but he didn't
put derisive or slam-energy into the tone of his answer.
maybe he probably intended some; he was a little chagrined but
also very confident. In some weird way, I'm actually glad this happened.
I'm not making excuses. seeing Lou would have been like seeing The Kinks,
a special fave of mine I never did see once, not any of them...unlike
ALL my other faves....
....but lou's guitar work is very simple and sterling's was solid and
also emotional; he was the experienced older professional; i was
a rabid fan but the atmosphere was very cool and laid back...
i was so young, one of my first legal visits to a nightclub or bar...
very inexperienced and new to that entire thing ; but they were so laid
back and cool; it was very 'old nyc' in that regard, and i was born there
so i guess naturalloy it was sort of local anyway, cause the star wasn't there.
i don't remember if I knew that going in or not; it was too long ago....
but i sure remember Maureen and Sterling pretty well. Not just because
they were the ones willing to talk and sit with a kid, but because they
were ver4y solid rhythm guitar and drums that played with confidence.
There are great Velvet songs that dear Lou did not write.
And the Velvet Underground, circa '69 i guess, did an inspired,
not simply credible, an inspired hot presentation of the great songs
Lou did write for that album. Sung well, played well.

Lou more than proved his mettle as a 'solo' writer, singer and performer
for SURE, as the World surely does know, and his work will live on and on
for sure.
But The Velvet Underground was rock and roll band after all.
tho much 'more' than that of course, in their unique way.
i was very happy with that evening out and feel blessed, tho
those two were never big stars, they were to us. as is John and Nico,
also, not part of the "Loaded" finale to VU official studio work.

......



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2018-10-31 21:50 by hopkins.

Just an update Lou played 4 concerts after Prague 2012...When he was on stage he looked really fit and seem to be having a good time...Well a Lou Reed good time anyway...All the Tai-Chi he had been doing for some years now...Paid off...But,It was the liver in the end....Howard Sounes book ''Notes from the Velvet Underground The Life of Lou Reed"is a good read also ''Transformer"by Viktor Bockris is pretty good also...Peace

For crying outloud!!! Lou Reed passed st 73 Glen Frey, (73) David Bowie ., (69)

There is nothing unusual at passing at these years. I want to say prepare yourself No worries you won't not know when you are gone.

Lady Day = Billie Holliday

Quote
Chris Fountain
Let's talk about Sweet Jane for a minute. This is a Rock-n-Roll classic just as Smoke on the Water by respective fans.

That's an interesting comparison. The Rock n Roll Animal version of"Sweet Jane" became an FM Rock Radio staple not long after "Walk On The Wild Side" put Lou on the map.

During the mid-70's, as the album Rock radio format began to calcify and become repetitive and boring, hipsters (who HATED "Smoke On The Water") and Lou Reed fans began to distance themselves from and disown the Hunter/Wagner guitar pyrotechnics from that album.

I remember a 1978 Lou show at the Roxy in L.A. when Street Hassle came out. Before the show started I heard a local scene maker loudly proclaim, "I love ALL of Lou's albums--EXCEPT Rock n Roll Animal!!"

The release of Lou Reed Live was a big reason why his rhythm section, Pentti "Whitey" Glan (RIP) and Prakash John quit the band. They didn't get paid for that album. The record label saw it as an extension of the R and R Animal album (since both albums are from the same concert) and didn't see it as a separate release therefore they weren't paid.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Prakash John, regarding his time with Lou:
Wagner and Hunter - I remember this clearly - all these guys that came after Wagner and Hunter in '73, all these guys in that band Aerosmith, and a band called Boston, they'd have those dueling guitar things, you know... leads, harmonizing - they got that all from Wagner and Hunter. These guys use to come and follow us all over the place - New York, Boston, wherever we were playing with Lou Reed. Next thing I know, I listen to their albums, and it sounds like Wagner and Hunter. And good for them, but people should acknowledge that Wagner and Hunter were the originators. They're the guys who made that sound.

If you hear that live album, Rock N Roll Animal, play the intro to "Sweet Jane." I'm telling you, that will give you and idea of what the two Detroit guys - well, Hunter came from Decatur, Illinois - and Whitey and I from Toronto, with our R&B roots, hammering away on a Lou Reed song. It's unedited. The beauty of that is none of the mistakes are fixed. Nothing is fixed on that album. It's a true live album.

It was the third day I was in that band. I rehearsed one day, played in Toronto - of all places - the opening night, the next night was in New York and they recorded this album. When we were with Alice Cooper, people all over the world would always play that album, more than Welcome to My Nightmare, so that usually used to irritate Alice. That album got such rave reviews that even Lou Reed hates it, because a lot of people started panning him because of his singing, and I thought that was kind of unfair.

Lou Reed has his own style - great lyricist - and people shouldn't judge him on his ability to sing. Nobody said he had to be Al Green or Frank Sinatra. He's Lou Reed. He can sing in that monotone voice, and if he didn't, it would sound silly. Anyway, Lou doesn't acknowledge that album, but that is a famous album, and everywhere in Europe, they'd play it.

People still e-mail me about that album. The president of the Jack Bruce fan club finally got a hold of me a couple years ago. He'd been looking for me because was such a fan of Jack Bruce, but he was also a fan of Chris Squire and, oddly enough, me. He was telling me how influential that album was to a lot of people in Australia. Get it, play it full blast, and think of yourself at the Academy of Music in New York. Steve Katz, the guitar player for Blood, Sweat, and Tears, produced that album... the most unusual guy to produce that album, but nevertheless, the best guy, because he left it alone.

That's probably my favorite album of all the albums I've done. I've done stuff that's maybe technically better, but every time that album is played, it sounds just like the way we recorded it. There's Lou reed coming in a bar early, two bars late... but that's how he is. You would be surprised at how many people talk about "Sweet Jane" alone. People just go mental when they find out that I played on it or they've been looking for me.

Outtakes of that album actually ended up on an album called Lou Reed Live. That's a prime example of RCA Records ripping off the bloody musicians. They have two albums, they pay us for one, but they can get away with it, because it was outtakes of the previous album. You couldn't give each musician a couple grand in the early '70s? That's the stuff that really irks me about the business. Once in a while I may think of it in a conversation like this, but really, the overriding factor is the music.


The entire interview is worth a read: [www.troianomusic.com]
p.s. Bush (not the 90s UK band) is a truly underrated band. They were incredible.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-01 20:56 by Boognish.

i would highly recommend the "Live in Italy" album. Show from 1983. Absolute killer band & performance. The set list is phenomenal. Don't know if I mentioned here but Lou bummed a cig from me once. A highlight of my 25 years in music!

Side one
"Sweet Jane" (3'46)
"I'm Waiting for My Man" (4'00)
"Martial Law" (4'06)
"Satellite of Love" (5'06)
Side two
"Kill Your Sons" (5'35)
"Betrayed" (3'05)
"Sally Can't Dance" (3'24)
"Waves of Fear" (3'16)
"Average Guy" (2'54)
Side three
"White Light/White Heat" (3'10)
"Some Kinda Love / Sister Ray" (Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker) (15'30)
Side four
"Walk on the Wild Side" (4'28)
"Heroin" (8'34)
"Rock & Roll" (6'10)
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]

Lou Reed – vocals, guitar
Fred Maher – drums
Robert Quine – guitar
Fernando Saunders – bass guitar

Quote
crholmstrom
i would highly recommend the "Live in Italy" album. Show from 1983. Absolute killer band & performance. The set list is phenomenal. Don't know if I mentioned here but Lou bummed a cig from me once. A highlight of my 25 years in music!

Side one
"Sweet Jane" (3'46)
"I'm Waiting for My Man" (4'00)
"Martial Law" (4'06)
"Satellite of Love" (5'06)
Side two
"Kill Your Sons" (5'35)
"Betrayed" (3'05)
"Sally Can't Dance" (3'24)
"Waves of Fear" (3'16)
"Average Guy" (2'54)
Side three
"White Light/White Heat" (3'10)
"Some Kinda Love / Sister Ray" (Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker) (15'30)
Side four
"Walk on the Wild Side" (4'28)
"Heroin" (8'34)
"Rock & Roll" (6'10)
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]

Lou Reed – vocals, guitar
Fred Maher – drums
Robert Quine – guitar
Fernando Saunders – bass guitar

I actually caught this tour in Chapel Hill NC in a small auditorium that seats 5-7 thousand if I remember correctly.

What kind of cig did he bum and did he ask for a light? What year ? Thanks CH



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-02 14:37 by Chris Fountain.

Quote
Boognish
The release of Lou Reed Live was a big reason why his rhythm section, Pentti "Whitey" Glan (RIP) and Prakash John quit the band. They didn't get paid for that album. The record label saw it as an extension of the R and R Animal album (since both albums are from the same concert) and didn't see it as a separate release therefore they weren't paid.

Here's an excerpt from an interview with Prakash John, regarding his time with Lou:
Wagner and Hunter - I remember this clearly - all these guys that came after Wagner and Hunter in '73, all these guys in that band Aerosmith, and a band called Boston, they'd have those dueling guitar things, you know... leads, harmonizing - they got that all from Wagner and Hunter. These guys use to come and follow us all over the place - New York, Boston, wherever we were playing with Lou Reed. Next thing I know, I listen to their albums, and it sounds like Wagner and Hunter. And good for them, but people should acknowledge that Wagner and Hunter were the originators. They're the guys who made that sound.

If you hear that live album, Rock N Roll Animal, play the intro to "Sweet Jane." I'm telling you, that will give you and idea of what the two Detroit guys - well, Hunter came from Decatur, Illinois - and Whitey and I from Toronto, with our R&B roots, hammering away on a Lou Reed song. It's unedited. The beauty of that is none of the mistakes are fixed. Nothing is fixed on that album. It's a true live album.

It was the third day I was in that band. I rehearsed one day, played in Toronto - of all places - the opening night, the next night was in New York and they recorded this album. When we were with Alice Cooper, people all over the world would always play that album, more than Welcome to My Nightmare, so that usually used to irritate Alice. That album got such rave reviews that even Lou Reed hates it, because a lot of people started panning him because of his singing, and I thought that was kind of unfair.

Lou Reed has his own style - great lyricist - and people shouldn't judge him on his ability to sing. Nobody said he had to be Al Green or Frank Sinatra. He's Lou Reed. He can sing in that monotone voice, and if he didn't, it would sound silly. Anyway, Lou doesn't acknowledge that album, but that is a famous album, and everywhere in Europe, they'd play it.

People still e-mail me about that album. The president of the Jack Bruce fan club finally got a hold of me a couple years ago. He'd been looking for me because was such a fan of Jack Bruce, but he was also a fan of Chris Squire and, oddly enough, me. He was telling me how influential that album was to a lot of people in Australia. Get it, play it full blast, and think of yourself at the Academy of Music in New York. Steve Katz, the guitar player for Blood, Sweat, and Tears, produced that album... the most unusual guy to produce that album, but nevertheless, the best guy, because he left it alone.

That's probably my favorite album of all the albums I've done. I've done stuff that's maybe technically better, but every time that album is played, it sounds just like the way we recorded it. There's Lou reed coming in a bar early, two bars late... but that's how he is. You would be surprised at how many people talk about "Sweet Jane" alone. People just go mental when they find out that I played on it or they've been looking for me.

Outtakes of that album actually ended up on an album called Lou Reed Live. That's a prime example of RCA Records ripping off the bloody musicians. They have two albums, they pay us for one, but they can get away with it, because it was outtakes of the previous album. You couldn't give each musician a couple grand in the early '70s? That's the stuff that really irks me about the business. Once in a while I may think of it in a conversation like this, but really, the overriding factor is the music.


The entire interview is worth a read: [www.troianomusic.com]
p.s. Bush (not the 90s UK band) is a truly underrated band. They were incredible.

Thats an excellent interview. Thank you so much.

Yes great interview. Now I remember seeing Prakash John still with the next incarnation of Lou Reed band. The one with M Fonfara, and single guitarist who played a brown Telecaster.
Also recall re. "Sweet Jane" where Lou pretended to dismiss the notion that it had become one of those iconic riffs. In truth he was tickled pink. The one thing he always pointed out though, was that there is a minor chord in the sequence. A fact that many did not catch.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-02 18:35 by Palace Revolution 2000.

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Palace Revolution 2000
Also recall re. "Sweet Jane" where Lou pretended to dismiss the notion that it had become one of those iconic riffs. In truth he was tickled pink. The one thing he always pointed out though, was that there is a minor chord in the sequence. A fact that many did not catch.

[www.youtube.com]

Thanks Rolling Freak!!! Great Interview - Where is Whitey Glan is these days -would love to hear what his take is on the great Christmas Holiday night was-

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Chris Fountain

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crholmstrom
i would highly recommend the "Live in Italy" album. Show from 1983. Absolute killer band & performance. The set list is phenomenal. Don't know if I mentioned here but Lou bummed a cig from me once. A highlight of my 25 years in music!

Side one
"Sweet Jane" (3'46)
"I'm Waiting for My Man" (4'00)
"Martial Law" (4'06)
"Satellite of Love" (5'06)
Side two
"Kill Your Sons" (5'35)
"Betrayed" (3'05)
"Sally Can't Dance" (3'24)
"Waves of Fear" (3'16)
"Average Guy" (2'54)
Side three
"White Light/White Heat" (3'10)
"Some Kinda Love / Sister Ray" (Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker) (15'30)
Side four
"Walk on the Wild Side" (4'28)
"Heroin" (8'34)
"Rock & Roll" (6'10)
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]

Lou Reed – vocals, guitar
Fred Maher – drums
Robert Quine – guitar
Fernando Saunders – bass guitar

I actually caught this tour in Chapel Hill NC in a small auditorium that seats 5-7 thousand if I remember correctly.

What kind of cig did he bum and did he ask for a light? What year ? Thanks CH

It was a camel filter & I offered a light automatically. Cig ettiquette haha. it was the New York tour in 1989 @ the Paramount in Seattle. Great show. I saw some other shows including a poetry reading in Central Park. The last time I saw him was the Bumbershoot festival on "The Raven" tour. Fantastic set (except for the Raven material, haha). He was headlining in a small stadium to a pretty big crowd. Started playing to good response. Then he got into the Berlin material. You could see people streaming out (taking her children away, etc). it was awesome! Lou was definitely 1 of my heroes. I'm lucky I got to meet a lot of them. Keith, Bowie, Neil Young, Lou to name some. 3 that I haven't met & would love to are Dylan, Bruce & Jeff Beck. I had backstage pass for Dylan but only got to hang with the band. & I shook Bruce's hand once on the original River tour. Bruce stood on a chair directly in front of me for a song & shook my hand before going back to the stage.

I have mixed emotions about Rock n Roll Animal. Yeah, it's my favorite heavy metal album, and it was my gateway to the Lou/VU catalog as a numbskull 13-year old.

But over time, I've been made aware of what a desecration of the VU catalog it is. It's Lou cynically slurring his way through his best songs backed by the best band money can buy, hoping that knucklehead teenagers (such as myself) won't notice how barely there Lou was. He doesn't even play guitar in that band.

The VU songs on Animal aren't about overdriven harmony guitar breaks and megachops. BTW, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts did the guitars in harmony thing better and earlier than Hunter and Wagner. Animal seems like monotone bombast for its own sake.

The VU didn't need any of that. Lou, Cale, Sterling, Mo, and later Doug Yule just worked it, to borrow from the original Waiting for the Man. But what a glorious racket they made. They didn't have great technical ability, but they served the songs perfectly. Personally, I prefer the various 1969 VU sets and Lou's Live in Italy album.

The entire 12/21/73 show is out there. Rip Animal and Live onto your hard drive and reassemble it in the correct running order. Setlist.fm has the setlist.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-04 02:24 by ab.

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Chris Fountain
For crying outloud!!! Lou Reed passed st 73 Glen Frey, (73) David Bowie ., (69)

There is nothing unusual at passing at these years. I want to say prepare yourself No worries you won't not know when you are gone.

Correction:when they died, Frey was 67, Bowie was 69 and Lou was 71. Given the state of modern medicine, checking out before 80 seems early. FWIW, the average life expectancy is now around 80 years.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-04 02:21 by ab.

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ab
I have mixed emotions about Rock n Roll Animal. Yeah, it's my favorite heavy metal album, and it was my gateway to the Lou/VU catalog as a numbskull 13-year old.

But over time, I've been made aware of what a desecration of the VU catalog it is. It's Lou cynically slurring his way through his best songs backed by the best band money can buy, hoping that knucklehead teenagers (such as myself) won't notice how barely there Lou was. He doesn't even play guitar in that band.

The VU songs on Animal aren't about overdriven harmony guitar breaks and megachops. BTW, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts did the guitars in harmony thing better and earlier than Hunter and Wagner. Animal seems like monotone bombast for its own sake.

The VU didn't need any of that. Lou, Cale, Sterling, Mo, and later Doug Yule just worked it, to borrow from the original Waiting for the Man. But what a glorious racket they made. They didn't have great technical ability, but they served the songs perfectly. Personally, I prefer the various 1969 VU sets and Lou's Live in Italy album.

after i mentioned it in post, i broke out live in italy today. it's a go to. the energy of the crowd & band feeding off each other is phenomenal. lou is absolutely riled up. the guitar weaving between lou & robert quine is excellent. just listen to "some kind of love/sister ray". 1 of my other faves on the record is "kill your sons". from later years, i really like "animal serenade". its almost more of a college course though but the performance is great. i'm a sucker for good cello used right "candy says" is so beautiful on that record.

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crholmstrom

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ab
I have mixed emotions about Rock n Roll Animal. Yeah, it's my favorite heavy metal album, and it was my gateway to the Lou/VU catalog as a numbskull 13-year old.

But over time, I've been made aware of what a desecration of the VU catalog it is. It's Lou cynically slurring his way through his best songs backed by the best band money can buy, hoping that knucklehead teenagers (such as myself) won't notice how barely there Lou was. He doesn't even play guitar in that band.

The VU songs on Animal aren't about overdriven harmony guitar breaks and megachops. BTW, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts did the guitars in harmony thing better and earlier than Hunter and Wagner. Animal seems like monotone bombast for its own sake.

The VU didn't need any of that. Lou, Cale, Sterling, Mo, and later Doug Yule just worked it, to borrow from the original Waiting for the Man. But what a glorious racket they made. They didn't have great technical ability, but they served the songs perfectly. Personally, I prefer the various 1969 VU sets and Lou's Live in Italy album.

after i mentioned it in post, i broke out live in italy today. it's a go to. the energy of the crowd & band feeding off each other is phenomenal. lou is absolutely riled up. the guitar weaving between lou & robert quine is excellent. just listen to "some kind of love/sister ray". 1 of my other faves on the record is "kill your sons". from later years, i really like "animal serenade". its almost more of a college course though but the performance is great. i'm a sucker for good cello used right "candy says" is so beautiful on that record.

Yep, Lou and Quine weave and they couldn't harmonize if they wanted to. I saw Lou the following year. The change of drummers (Lenny Ferrantu for Fred Maher) and addition of a keyboard player (Peter Wood) diminished the band.

The Animal Serenade tour followed The Raven. So of course it sounds like a recital. But it smoulders.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-11-04 03:51 by ab.

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crholmstrom

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ab
I have mixed emotions about Rock n Roll Animal. Yeah, it's my favorite heavy metal album, and it was my gateway to the Lou/VU catalog as a numbskull 13-year old.

But over time, I've been made aware of what a desecration of the VU catalog it is. It's Lou cynically slurring his way through his best songs backed by the best band money can buy, hoping that knucklehead teenagers (such as myself) won't notice how barely there Lou was. He doesn't even play guitar in that band.

The VU songs on Animal aren't about overdriven harmony guitar breaks and megachops. BTW, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts did the guitars in harmony thing better and earlier than Hunter and Wagner. Animal seems like monotone bombast for its own sake.

The VU didn't need any of that. Lou, Cale, Sterling, Mo, and later Doug Yule just worked it, to borrow from the original Waiting for the Man. But what a glorious racket they made. They didn't have great technical ability, but they served the songs perfectly. Personally, I prefer the various 1969 VU sets and Lou's Live in Italy album.

after i mentioned it in post, i broke out live in italy today. it's a go to. the energy of the crowd & band feeding off each other is phenomenal. lou is absolutely riled up. the guitar weaving between lou & robert quine is excellent. just listen to "some kind of love/sister ray". 1 of my other faves on the record is "kill your sons". from later years, i really like "animal serenade". its almost more of a college course though but the performance is great. i'm a sucker for good cello used right "candy says" is so beautiful on that record.

I did the same thing because of this thread. That just shows how wrong I have been in putting Lou on the back burner for last years. Lou Reed was for years probably my favorite artists after Stones; and I had pretty much decided that "Italy" was the best Live album by him. And then I literally forgot about the album. I do think Quine was one of the best guitars ever with him. That makes me wonder: how would Richard Lloyd have sounded with Lou Reed? That should have happened...

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ab

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Chris Fountain
For crying outloud!!! Lou Reed passed st 73 Glen Frey, (73) David Bowie ., (69)

There is nothing unusual at passing at these years. I want to say prepare yourself No worries you won't not know when you are gone.

Correction:when they died, Frey was 67, Bowie was 69 and Lou was 71. Given the state of modern medicine, checking out before 80 seems early. FWIW, the average life expectancy is now around 80 years.

Given their respective health issues, lamentably their exit dates weren't necessarily shocking. Frey suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had a long history of stomach problems...Bowie had liver cancer...Reed had diabetes and hepatitis for years, and had undergone a liver transplant before succumbing to liver cancer...Tom Petty had emphysema (not a direct cause of death, but a challenge he was dealing with).

Sad as it is, for a lot of these guys -- and many people -- 65 or 70 is old.

I never knew he was gay (openly, apparently), although I probably should have.
His "Transformer" album is one of my all-time favorites.
A great guy, from all accounts, and a wonderful man who was openly gay at a time when it was not fashionable.
I read one of his biographies and was most impressed with his demeanor and street smarts.

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Jah Paul

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ab

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Chris Fountain
For crying outloud!!! Lou Reed passed st 73 Glen Frey, (73) David Bowie ., (69)

There is nothing unusual at passing at these years. I want to say prepare yourself No worries you won't not know when you are gone.

Correction:when they died, Frey was 67, Bowie was 69 and Lou was 71. Given the state of modern medicine, checking out before 80 seems early. FWIW, the average life expectancy is now around 80 years.

Given their respective health issues, lamentably their exit dates weren't necessarily shocking. Frey suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had a long history of stomach problems...Bowie had liver cancer...Reed had diabetes and hepatitis for years, and had undergone a liver transplant before succumbing to liver cancer...Tom Petty had emphysema (not a direct cause of death, but a challenge he was dealing with).

Sad as it is, for a lot of these guys -- and many people -- 65 or 70 is old.

life expectancy is actually dropping some in the states, sadly. unless you have a lot of money. i have what is considered "good" insurance via my employer. it is getting less good every year & now for profit insurance companies are making calls about care, over ruling doctors. this is directly affecting me. i've got a life threatening/ending condition & its another full time job dealing with it. a couple of specifics: earlier this year i had to have spine surgery or be confined to a wheel chair. they literally cut parts of 3 vertebrae out. the insurance company said it was a day surgery. my doc pitched a fit & i was in for 2 nights. first morning home, i woke up in a pool of blood. close call. the other instance is ongoing. i'm on a 16 week cycle for chemo. the problem is it lasts for 12 weeks. doc wants me to have every 12 weeks but insurance has decided not cost effective, so i suffer hugely with much damage for 25% of the year. its a variation on what killed glen frey. i've kept working but i'm wearing out. because of my relatively young age, i'm going to have to do a long term disability. i bought extra insurance for this when i was healthy. in order to collect though, i'm going to have to retain a lawyer no matter what the medical documentation says. its brutal & there are times i think that maybe the best choice would be to just give up. take from that what you will but living in constant extreme pain for years has worn me out. its not much of a life.

@ CH Is there any medication available to mitigate the the pain?

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Chris Fountain
@ CH Is there any medication available to mitigate the the pain?

I'm on big doses of pain meds daily. That's another issue that is political now. All it really does is take the edge off a little. I resist upping dosages as I have to function.