Search - Lou Reed :: Between Thought & Expression

Excellent survey of Lou Reed's RCA/Arista recordings

04/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Reed's solo career is notoriously erratic, and for anyone looking for a good introduction or a good summary, this is your best choice. A three CD set over three hours long, it has almost everything going for it. Everything's been remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original sources (in many cases, much better than other currently available CD's), the extensive liner notes by Rob Bowman is very well-written, incorporating a great deal of input by Lou himself, and the track selection by Lou and Bowman is very good. Every studio Lp recorded from 1972 (Lou's self-titled solo debut) to 1986 (MISTRIAL, his final Lp with RCA) is covered as well as a handful of choice live cuts and rarities. Every important aspect is given equal representation, from tender confessionals ("Think It Over"), raging confessionals ("The Blue Mask," "The Last Shot") political anthems ("Voices Of Freedom"), avant-garde experiments ("The Bells"), and even expert pop ("My Friend George").This is almost everything you'd want from Lou Reed's RCA/Arista output (later Sire/WB albums like NEW YORK and MAGIC AND LOSS are worth owning), but it's not definitive. A few key tracks are missing, at very least, "Perfect Day" from TRANSFORMER, "I Wanna Be Black" from STREET HASSLE which Lou was hesitant to include, "Families" or "All Through The Night" from THE BELLS, a few more tracks from THE BLUE MASK and LEGENDARY HEARTS, and "I Love You Suzanne" from NEW SENSATIONS (his finest pop hit ever).It's a minor complaint, because TRANSFORMER is a popular album, THE BELLS is love-it-or-hate-it (some think it's one of his best, others think it's a career killer), and THE BLUE MASK, LEGENDARY HEARTS, and NEW SENSATIONS are three rock-solid albums, arguably Lou's best run, so anyone who misses those tracks will probably buy the albums.Normally I wouldn't recommend a three-CD box set as a first purchase, but in used condition, this set can be found CHEAP. Look around on ebay, or better yet here (as of this writing, there are THREE complete sets selling here for less than $10). Why pay $12 for one of Lou's subpar single disc collections, or a two-disc "NYC Man" when you can get this set for less? A nice introduction, after this set, check out THE BLUE MASK and NEW YORK, and if you still want more, check out TRANSFORMER, LEGENDARY HEARTS, and NEW SENSATIONS for Lou's more accessible side, and THE BELLS, BERLIN, and MAGIC AND LOSS for Lou's darker, somewhat more experimental side."

The ups and downs of Lou (mostly the ups)

Brian D. Rubendall | Oakton, VA | 08/31/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Reed's recorded catalog is frustrating for the average music buyer. He has plenty of great songs that are buried onto mediocre or ill-conceived albums. Fortunately, "Between Thought and Expression" contains many of his best moments from before the release of 1989's "New York" album. The best part is that it contains six cuts from his best 1970s album "Berlin" and mercifully contains only a short snippet from the atrocious double disc "Metal Machine Music" album that nearly destroyed his career. His biggest hit single "Walk on the Wild Side" is here along with his smokin' extended live version of "Sweet Jane." The only truly regrettable exclusion is "Wild Child" which is one of his best songs. Overall, this is a fine anthology album from one of rock's most eccentric figures."

A Great post-Velvets Summation

S. Finefrock | Raleigh, NC | 03/07/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"One could argue that Lou Reed peaked early in his career. His first band the vaunted Velvet Underground's influence re-wrote rock and roll's codes of values (at some level at least)in their short exsitance of 1966 through 1970. Their four studio albums have defined a style which still has impact today, some thirty years after they broke up. Though Lou's solo career never reached those daunting levels consistantly, this box shows that some of that early magic has continued well into the 80's.Reed's solo career has been filled with numerous peaks (THE BLUE MASK, BERLIN, TRANSFORMER), valleys (METAL MACHINE MUSIC, MISTRIAL, ROCK AND ROLL HEART) and a whole lot of in betweens. This collection contains the highlights from his good albums and rescues a number of great tracks from his lesser works, and has a generous helping of good, quality unreleased and rare tracks to boot. Any VU or Lou Reed fan would be well advised to check this out, especially if there are gaps in your collection. I'm sure that anyone would add and subtract certain selections, as I would, but overall this is of excellent quality."