He poured all his energies into rock and roll, concocting a literary street styles that was distinctly his own, contemporary and ultimately timeless. His solo career turned out to be enormously varied and wildly erratic to put it mildly , from glam rock meets music hall to electronic noise and free-form heavy metal, he divided critics but declared himself unmoved. Enjoy this trip through the Top 50 Lou Reed solo songs. A now sober Lou denies his ego in his buzzy vocal style of the time. Bubblegum electro-rock, one of the many programmed drum tracks off Mistrial
"Metal Machine Music, Part 1"
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Actually, there were a few compromises along the way, but some of them are worthwhile too. With John Cale pounding away on the piano, Reed laid out the blueprint for his career: tough, urban, noisy, taboo, poetic. It would serve as a blueprint and inspiration for countless bands in the following decades — but on its release in , with psychedelic sounds seemingly everywhere, the Velvets stood alone, a genre unto themselves. The song has been covered by R. Is it a science-fiction tale of infidelity and voyeurism, a space-age lullaby, or an allegorical lament? This live version features Reed in full-on bleached-hair speed-freak mode. A tale of lust, death, misogyny, and lies — and it includes a monologue spoken by an uncredited Bruce Springsteen. This plainspoken song about November 22, , is a well-observed tale on the mundane reality of death. On The Blue Mask, Reed found the musical foil he had lacked for many years: guitarist Robert Quine, who had grown up bootlegging Velvet Underground shows.
20. Magic And Loss (Summation) (Magic And Loss, 1992)
He was the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. The Velvet Underground was not a commercial success during its existence, but became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career. After leaving the band in , Reed released twenty solo studio albums. His second, Transformer , was produced by David Bowie and arranged by Mick Ronson , and brought him mainstream recognition. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, " Walk on the Wild Side ". After Transformer , the less commercial but critically acclaimed Berlin peaked at No. Reed cleaned up in the early s, and gradually returned to prominence with New Sensations , reaching a critical and commercial career peak with his album New York. Reed participated in the reformation of the Velvet Underground in the s, and made several more albums, including a collaboration album with John Cale titled Songs for Drella which was a tribute to their former mentor Andy Warhol. He contributed music to two theatrical interpretations of 19th century writers, one of which he developed into an album titled The Raven.
Released in , people still consider it either a sick joke, the fulfillment of a contractual obligation or the embryonic beginnings of the avant genre of music known as noise rock. No matter which you pick, it definitely challenges the listener, with 64 minutes of formless feedback spanning "Part 1" through "Part 4. It was also one of four songs Reed performed with David Bowie during the latter's 50th birthday bash in Recorded by Reed for his album of the same name, "Street Hassle" is an minute rock opera broken into three separate and distinct parts: "Waltzing Matilda," "Street Hassle" and "Slipaway. Burroughs-like stream-of-consciousness monologue set to rock music with orchestral backing, it features an uncredited spoken-word section from none other than Bruce Springsteen. That makes "Caroline" technically the first of the two to come out, although they both carry the memorable refrain " It's so cold in Alaska. Lyrically, Reed really puts himself out there on "Coney Island Baby," probably the most tender and emotionally revealing ballad he's ever recorded. A bonus-track version of the song featured on the album's 30th-anniversary deluxe edition reissue was recorded with Doug Yule, who joined the Velvets in following the departure of founding member John Cale. Perhaps a little too normal? Some fans interpret the tune, clearly one of the best Lou Reed songs ever, as a veiled heroin reference, while others note that Reed's never been shy about about explicitly mentioning drugs and consider it an earnest love song.
