Search - Lou Reed :: Definitive Collection

Not Definitive; But Decent

G.C. | Potomac, MD USA | 09/14/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Lou Reed has been a solo artist now for close to 30 years, and consumers still do not have a decent compilation of his career on CD. "The Definitive Collection" represented a perfect and timely opportunity to right this wrong, but failed. Still, its hard to argue too much because Lou himself put this collection together, and he included a lot of stuff from the late 1970's to early 1990's that most listeners may not be familiar with, as Lou's career has included high spots and low points and the inevitable record label changes. I think the first mistake has to be that this collection should have equally represented all phases of Lou's output. This collection is thin on the early to mid-1970's becuase there are already a few discs out there (including imports) that chronicle this period. In addition, many early copies of the RCA/Arista CD's weren't mastered very well, which is another reason to start fresh with a remastered collection. Personally, I would have liked to see a couple of cuts from Lou's underrated first album, which included several Velvet Underground songs that weren't released until much later. Two essentials from his second album, 'Transformer', are included ("Vicious" and the essential "Walk On The Wild Side"), while a third ("Satellite Of Love"), is left off. No "Berlin", no "Sally Can't Dance", nothing from 'Rock And Roll Animal', which is unfortunate. However, one of may favorite songs, "I Wanna Be Black" (from 'Street Hassle'), is included. My other beef is that the compilation used the live version of "Dirty Blvd." instead of the studio recording, and excluded the humorous "Don't Talk To Me About Work"."

An album more than a retrospective

Derrick Smith | Richmond, CA | 04/19/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this CD wincing, knowing I was buying some slop with the treats. But on first listen that wince became the smile I had upon first hearing Lou years ago. The problem some reviewers have with this disc is that it's not "objective" enough - doesn't include all the agreed-upon classics - and therefore is merely an excuse for Lou to hoist upon us his personal favorites. What's really going on is this: Lou used tracks from his entire career to make not a retrospective but an album, with the feel and logic of an album; not every track is a stand-out, but every track fills a role in setting the scene and telling the story. Even with its flaws, this may be one of the best Lou Reed albums, from that point of view. Point-of-view is what makes this a coherent work, not merely a collection of career highs."

'Definitive Collection' a misnomer, but still damn good

Derrick Smith | 10/10/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This isn't a 'Definitive Collection' in any sense of the name. Lou Reed's career and music spans sooo many albums and sooo many great songs, that if they were to do a truly 'Definitive' collection it'd probably have to be 4 discs (which has already been done - Between Thought and Expression), and then fans STILL probably wouldn't agree on its choices (a picky lot they are). I think this is STILL a great collection though. It foregoes 'Perfect Day' and 'Satellite of Love', which, though FANTASTIC songs, are on EVERY OTHER Lou-related compilation, as well as movie soundtracks, etc. I think the general tone of this album is set by the fact that it opens with 'The Blue Mask' -- not a big Lou hit in any sense of the matter. A strictly personal, raw song. This album is a great Lou sampler for those who want to wade into the water beyond 'Perfect Day' and 'Walk on the Wild Side' (though the latter is included). 'Definitive' it ain't, but that doesn't mean it's not a great album. Hell, it IS Lou Reed, so it can't go TOO wrong (unless we start talking about 'Mistrial'.. but that's another review altogether).."