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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.
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Chris FountainQuote
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.
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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Chris FountainQuote
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
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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.
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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.
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crholmstromQuote
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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crholmstromQuote
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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abQuote
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.
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Jah PaulQuote
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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.
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Chris Fountain
@ CH Is there any medication available to mitigate the the pain?