Word: reed
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...usually seen as the elusive figure in the eyes of the Velvet vortex. He wrote the songs, he set the tone, he was the first to wear pre-Ray Ban black shades. So the newfound love for the Velvet Underground has spilled over to Lou Reed, which naturally means that someone--namely the record companies--cashes...
WHICH EXPLAINS why Arista Records, with whom Reed was affiliated from 1976-80, has just released Classic Performances by Lou Reed: City Lights, an album attempting to chronicle the most underrated and, honestly, least coruscating years of Reed's career. These were the years after RCA, Reed's original and once-again label, abandoned him as a relic, a shadow of his past triumphs. He migrated to Arista and did a few years of soul-searching songstering (and drying up) before returning to RCA and getting back on track...
...listen to the album in its proper context: remember that the late seventies' most enduring contribution to humanity was herpes. And as the liner notes convey, this collection could be justified because it shows Reed coming of age, discovering romance and relfection after years of cynicism. Here we have the seminal influence on punk rock doing love songs and happy music just as the Sex Pistols and the Clash were creeping into the public consciousness...
...most interesting part of this album is that it reminds us that Lou Reed is always going against the grain, and is always more than a bit ahead...
...eighties, Sid Vicious dead, the Clash has broken up, and people are listening to treacly love songs and talking about getting married (something Reed does quite a bit of on 1980's Growing Up In Public, whose selections are included in this compilation...