Lou Reed: A Retrospective (1972-2011)

Lou Reed A Retrospective: 1972-2011

Born: March 2, 1942 as Louis Firbank Where: Freeport, Long Island, NY Overview: Experimental rock singer/songwriter born 3/2/1942 in Long Island, NY. Died 10/27/2013. Established himself as "The Godfather of Punk" with art-rock group The Velvet Underground (1965-70) before going solo in the 1970s. “The career of Lou Reed defies capsule summarization. Like David Bowie (whom Reed directly inspired in many ways), he has made over his image many times, mutating from theatrical glam-rocker to scary looking junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. A firmer grasp of rock’s earthier qualities has ensured a more consistent career path than Bowie’s, particularly in his latter years. Yet his catalog is extremely inconsistent, in both quality and stylistic orientation. Liking one Lou Reed LP, or several, or all of the ones he did in a particular era, is no guarantee that you’ll like all of them, or even most of them.” AM “Few would deny Reed’s immense importance and considerable achievements, however. As has often been written, he expanded the vocabulary of rock & roll lyrics into the previously forbidden territory of kinky sex, drug use (and abuse), decadence, transvestites, homosexuality, and suicidal depression. As has been pointed out less often, he remained (and remains) committed to using rock & roll as a forum for literary, mature expression well into middle age, without growing lyrically soft or musically complacent. By and large, he’s taken on these challenging duties with uncompromising honesty and a high degree of realism.” AM “For these reasons, he’s often cited as punk’s most important ancestor. It’s often overlooked, though, that he’s equally skilled at celebrating romantic joy, and rock & roll itself, as he is at depicting harrowing urban realities.” AM The Velvet Underground “Although Reed achieved his greatest success as a solo artist, his most enduring accomplishments were as the leader of the Velvet Underground in the ‘60s. If Reed had never made any solo records, his work as the principal lead singer and songwriter for the Velvets would have still ensured his stature as one of the greatest rock visionaries of all time…The four studio albums they recorded with Reed at the helm are essential listening, as is much of their live and extraneous material. Heroin, Sister Ray, Sweet Jane, Rock and Roll, Venus in Furs, All Tomorrow’s Parties, What Goes On, and Lisa Says are just the most famous classics that Reed wrote and sang for the group.” AM “As innovative as the Velvets were at breaking lyrical and instrumental taboos with their crunching experimental rock, they were unappreciated in their lifetime. Five years of little commercial success was undoubtedly a factor in Reed leaving the group he had founded in August 1970, just before the release of their most accessible effort, Loaded.” AM “Although Reed’s songs and street wise, sing-speak vocals dominated the Velvets, he was perhaps more reliant upon his talented collaborators than he realized, or is even willing to admit to this day. The most talented of these associates was John Cale, who was apparently fired by Reed in 1968 after the Velvets’ second album (although the pair have worked together on various other projects since then).” AM Reed Goes Solo “Reed’s solo work ultimately cannot stack up to his Velvet output, despite its many highlights. Still, most would have to concede that with the exception of Neil Young, no other star that rose to fame in the ‘60s has continued to push himself so diligently into creating work that is meaningful and contemporary. If that means he relies on stock musical and lyrical ideas at times (as Young does), it also means he’s proved that rock can remain relevant to listeners other than hormone-crazed teenagers.” AM “Reed has a reputation of being a difficult man to work with…and that has made it difficult for his extensive solo oeuvre to compete with the standards of brilliance set by the Velvets. Nowhere was this more apparent than on his self-titled solo debut…recorded after he’d taken an extended hiatus from music, moving back to his parents’ suburban Long Island home at one point. Lou Reed mostly consisted of flaccid versions of songs dating back to the Velvet days, and he could have really used the group to punch them up, as the many outtake versions of these tunes that he actually recorded with the Velvet Underground (some of which didn’t surface until about 25 years later) prove.” AM His Most Acclaimed Solo Work “Reed got a shot in the arm (no distasteful pun intended) when David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced his second album, Transformer. A more energetic set that betrayed the influence of glam rock, it also included his sole Top 20 hit, Walk on the Wild Side, and other good songs like Vicious and Satellite of Love. It also made him a star in Britain, which was quick to appreciate the influence Reed had exerted on Bowie and other glam rockers.” AM “Reed went into more serious territory on Berlin (1973), its sweet orchestral production coating lyrical messages of despair and suicide. In some ways Reed’s most ambitious and impressive solo effort, it was accorded a vituperative reception by critics in no mood for a nonstop bummer (however elegantly executed). Unbelievably, in retrospect, it made the Top Ten in Britain, though it flopped stateside.” AM The Extremes of Commercialism “Having been given a cold shoulder for some of his most serious (if chilling) work, Reed apparently decided he was going to give the public what it wanted. He had guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner (who had already played on Berlin) give his music a pop-metal, more radio-friendly sheen. More disturbingly, he decided to play up to the cartoon junkie role that some in his audience seemed eager to assign to him. On-stage, that meant shocking bleached hair, painted fingernails, and simulated drug injections. On record, it led to some of his most careless performances. One of these, the 1974 album Sally Can’t Dance, was also his most commercially successful, reaching the Top Ten, thus confirming both Reed’s and the audience's worst instincts.” AM “As if to prove he could still be as uncompromising as anyone, he unleashed the double album ,i>Metal Machine Music, a nonstop assault of unlistenable electronic noise. Opinions remain divided as to whether it was an artistic statement, a contract quota-filler, or a slap in the face of the public.” AM The Lean Years “While Reed has never behaved as outrageously (in public and in the studio) as he did in the mid-‘70s, there's been plenty of excitement in the past two decades. When he decided to play it relatively straight, sincere, and hard-nosed, he could produce affecting work in the spirit of his best vintage material (parts of Coney Island Baby and Street Hassle). At other points, he seemed not to be putting too much effort into any aspect of his songs (Rock & Roll Heart). With 1978’s Take No Prisoners, he delivered one of the weirdest concert albums of all time, more of a comedy monologue (which not too many people laughed hard at) than a musical document. Reed had always been an enigma, but no one questioned the serious intent of his work with the Velvet Underground. As a soloist, it was getting impossible to tell when he was serious, or whether he even wished to be taken seriously anymore.” AM A Slight Critical Resurgence “At the end of the ‘70s, The Bells set the tone for most of his future work. Reed would settle down; he would play it straight; he would address serious, adult concerns, including heterosexual romance, with sincerity. Not a bad idea, but though the albums that followed were much more consistent in tone, they remained erratic in quality and, worse, could occasionally be quite boring.” AM “The recruitment of Robert Quine as lead guitarist helped, and The Blue Mask (1982) and New Sensations (1984) were fairly successful, although in retrospect they didn’t deserve the raves they received from some critics at the time. Quine, however, would also find Reed too difficult to work with for an extended period.” AM Back on Top in the Critical Acclaim World “New York (1989) heralded both a commercial and critical renaissance for Reed, and in truth it was his best work in quite some time, although it didn’t break any major stylistic ground. Reed works best when faced with a challenge, which arrived when he collaborated with former partner John Cale in 1990 on a song cycle for the recently deceased Andy Warhol. In both its recorded and stage incarnations, this was the most experimental work that Reed had devised in quite some time. Magic and Loss (1992) returned him to the more familiar straight rock territory of New York, again to critical raves.” AM A Velvet Reunion “The re-formation of the Velvet Underground for a 1993 European live tour could not be considered an unqualified success, however. European audiences were thrilled to see the legends in person, but critical reaction to the shows was mixed, and critical reaction to the live record was tepid. More distressingly, old conflicts reared their head within the band once again, and the reunion ended before it had a chance to get to America. Cale and Reed at this point seem determined never to work with each other again (the death of Velvet Underground guitarist Sterling Morrison in 1995 seemed to permanently ice prospects of more VU projects).” AM “In 1996, the surviving Velvet Underground members were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, performing a newly penned song for their fallen comrade, Morrison.” AM Back to the Solo World “Reed closed the ‘90s with an album that saw him explore relationships, 1996’s Set the Twilight Reeling (many speculated that the album was biographical and focused on his union with performance artist Laurie Anderson), which turned out to not be one of Reed’s more critically acclaimed releases.” AM “He also found time to compose music for the Robert Wilson opera Timerocker, and in 1998, released the ‘unplugged’ album Perfect Night: Live in London. The same year, Reed was the subject of a superb installment of the PBS American Masters series that chronicled his entire career (eventually released as a DVD, titled Rock and Roll Heart).” AM “2000 saw Reed’s first release for Reprise Records, Ecstasy, a glorious return to raw and straightforward rock, a tour de force that many agreed was his finest work since New York.” AM “Another collaboration with Robert Wilson, POE-try, followed in 2001 and continued it's worldwide stage run through the year. Including new music by Reed and words adapted from the macabre texts of Edgar Allen Poe, POE-try led to Reed’s highly ambitious next album, The Raven.” AM “Animal Serenade, a double-disc set recorded at the Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles during his 2003 world tour, was issued in spring 2004. The live effort is Reed’s tribute of sorts to his celebrated Rock'n'Roll Animal concert album, which was released 30 years before.” AM Links DMDB encyclopedia entry for Lou Reed Dave’s Music Database: Lou Reed/Velvet Underground: Top 50 Songs Dave’s Music Database: Velvet Underground/Lou Reed: Top 10 Albums DMDB blog (10/27/2013). “Lou Reed, 1942-2013: He Taught Rock to Walk on the Wild Side” LouReed.org (official site) Facebook Wikipedia Rock and Roll Animal Dave’s Music Database: Velvet Underground profile page DMDB encyclopedia entry for Velvet Underground

Awards

Studio Albums

Compilations WW Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of (covers 1972-75, released 1977) DT Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (covers 1972-75, released 1996) RD Rock and Roll Diary: 1967-1980 (covers 1967-80, released 1980) BO The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (covers 1966-84, released 1995) VR The Very Best of (covers 1970-84, released 2000) LG Legendary (box set: covers 1972-86, released 2002) BT Between Thought and Expression (box set: covers 1972-88, released 1992) Spotify Playlist Here’s my Title of Playlist playlist at Spotify for this artist. Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts.

Lou Reed Lou Reed

Released: May 1972 Peak: 189 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.525 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: I Can’t Stand It WM, PS, 20, VV, G, DT, BT Going Down LG Walk and Talk It Lisa Says WM, PS, G, DT, VR, BT Berlin DT, RD, BO, VR I Love You WW, BO, LG Wild Child WW, BO Love Makes You Feel DT, LG Ride into the Sun Ocean PS, G, VR, LG, BT About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Transformer Lou Reed

Released: November 8, 1972 Peak: 29 US, 13 UK, 12 CN, 12 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK Genre: glam rock Rating: 4.539 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Vicious DT, BO, VR, LG, BT Andy’s Chest LG Perfect Day DT, BO, VR, LG Hangin’ ‘Round Walk on the Wild Side WW, DT, RD, BO, VR, LG, BT Make Up LG Satellite of Love WW, DT, BO, VR, LG, BT Wagon Wheel New York Telephone Conversation WW I’m So Free Goodnight Ladies About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Berlin Lou Reed

Released: October 5, 1973 Peak: 98 US, 7 UK, 51 CN, 59 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK Genre: rock Rating: 4.038 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: Berlin DT, RD, BO, VR Lady Day LG Men of Good Fortune VR, LG Caroline Says I DT, LG, BT How Do You Think It Feels WW, BO, LG, BT Oh, Jim LG, BT Caroline Says II DT,VR, BT The Kids BT The Bed Sad Song DT, BT About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Sally Can’t Dance Lou Reed

Released: August 1974 Peak: 10 US, -- UK, 22 CN, 14 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.232 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: Ride Sally Ride Animal Language Baby Face N.Y. Stars Kill Your Sons DT, LG, BT Ennui Sally Can’t Dance (1974 single) WW, DT, BO, VR, LG Billy LG Good Taste * LG About the Album: A

Metal Machine Music Lou Reed

Released: July 1975 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 1.796 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks: Metal Machine Music A-1 [16:10] Metal Machine Music A-2 [15:53] Metal Machine Music A-3 [16:13] Metal Machine Music A-4 [15:55] About the Album: A

Coney Island Baby Lou Reed

Released: December 1975 Peak: 41 US, 52 UK, -- CN, 25 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.725 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: Crazy Feeling (1976 single) LG Charley’s Girl (March 1976 single) She’s My Best Friend DT Kicks BT A Gift DT, LG Ooohh Baby Nobody’s Business LG Coney Island Baby WW, DT, BO, VR, LG, BT Nowhere at All * WW, BO, LG, BT * bonus track About the Album: A

Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of (compilation) Lou Reed

Recorded: 1972-1975 Released: April 1977 Peak: 156 US, 144 UK, -- CN, 160 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.314 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Satellite of Love (2) Wild Child (3) I Love You (4) How Do You Think It Feels (5) New York Telephone Conversation (6) Walk on the Wild Side (7) Sweet Jane (live) (8) White Light/White Heat (live) (9) Sally Can’t Dance (10) Nowhere at All (11) Coney Island Baby Total Running Time: 41:37 About the Album: Reed had six solo studio albums under his belt at this point but it would be hard to say he’d really had “hits.” “Walk on the Wild Side” was the most iconic song of Reed’s career. Beyond that, casual fans weren’t likely to know more than “Satellite of Love” and the two Velvet Underground songs (“Sweet Jane” and “White Light/White Heat”) presented live by Reed solo here.

Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (compilation) Lou Reed

Recorded: 1972-1975 Released: May 1996 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.443 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks: (1) I Can’t Stand It (2) Love Makes You Feel (3) Lisa Says (4) Walk on the Wild Side (5) Perfect Day (6) Satellite of Love (7) Vicious (8) Berlin (9) Caroline Says I (10) Sad Song (11) Caroline Says II (12) Sweet Jane (13) Kill Your Sons (14) Sally Can’t Dance (15) A Gift (16) She’s My Best Friend (17) Coney Island Baby Total Running Time: 76:16 About the Album: This is a superior collection to Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of, if only because it has more songs. However, this set covers some vital material (“I Can’t Stand It,” “Lisa Says,” “Berlin”) left off the earlier collection.

Rock and Roll Heart Lou Reed

Released: October 1976 Peak: 64 US, -- UK, 91 CN, 68 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 2.993 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: I Believe in Love (Nov. 1976) Banging on My Drum Follow the Leader You Wear It So Well (with Garland Jeffreys) Ladies Pay Rock and Roll Heart (4/22/77) VR, BT Chooser and the Chosen One (single, 1977) Senselessly Cruel Claim to Fame Vicious Circle BT A Sheltered Life Temporary Thing RD, BT About the Album: A

Street Hassle Lou Reed

Released: February 1978 Peak: 89 US, -- UK, -- CN, 24 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.520 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: Gimme Some Good Times Dirt Street Hassle (a) Waltzing Matilda (b) Street Hassle (c) Slip Away (1978 single) RD, BT I Wanna Be Black VR Real Good Time Together BT Shooting Star Leave Me Alone BT Wait About the Album: A

The Bells Lou Reed

Released: April 1979 Peak: 130 US, -- UK, -- CN, 58 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 2.995 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: Stupid Man Disco Mystic (1979 single) I Want to Boogie with You VR With You Looking for Love City Lights (1979 single) All Through the Night RD Families The Bells BT About the Album: A

Growing Up in Public Lou Reed

Released: April 1980 Peak: 158 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 2.767 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks: How Do You Speak to an Angel My Old Man Keep Away RD Growing Up in Public Standing on Ceremony So Alone RD Love Is Here to Stay The Power of Positive Drinking (1980 single) Smiles Think It Over BT Teach the Gifted Children BT About the Album: A

Rock and Roll Diary: 1967-1980 (compilation) Velvet Underground/Lou Reed

Recorded: 1967-1980 Released: December 1980 Peak: 178 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.398 out of 5.00 (average of 13 ratings)

Tracks: (1) I’m Waiting for the Man (2) White Light/White Heat (3) I Heard Her Call My Name (4) Pale Blue Eyes (5) Beginning to See the Light (6) Sweet Jane (7) Rock and Roll (8) Heroin (live) (9) Femme Fatale (live) (10) Walk on the Wild Side (11) Berlin (12) Men of Good Fortune (13) The Kids (14) Coney Island Baby (live) (15) Temporary Thing (16) All Through the Night (17) So Alone (18) How Do You Speak to an Angel (19) Keep Away (20) Street Hassle Total Running Time: 74:29 About the Album: This is more of a career retrospective than previous Lou Reed compilations as nearly half the set is dedicated to his Velvet Underground days. When it comes to the Lou Reed solo material, there are some obvious oversights (“Satellite of Love,” “Perfect Day,” “I Can’t Stand It,” “Berlin”).

The Blue Mask Lou Reed

Charted: February 27, 1982 Peak: 169 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.766 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Tracks: My House BT Women (1982 single) Underneath the Bottle (1982 single) LG The Gun VR, LG, BT The Blue Mask (1982 single) BT Average Guy The Heroine Waves of Fear LG, BT The Day John Kennedy Died LG Heavenly Arms About the Album: A

Legendary Hearts Lou Reed

Released: March 1983 Peak: 159 US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.420 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Tracks: Legendary Hearts LG, BT Don’t Talk to Me About Work (1983 single) Make Up Mind LG Martial Law (1983 single) The Last Shot VR, LG, BT Turn Out the Light Pow Wow Betrayed LG Bottoming Out LG Home of the Brave LG Rooftop Garden LG About the Album: A

New Sensations Lou Reed

Released: April 30, 1984 Peak: 56 US, 92 UK, 96 CN, 56 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.640 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Tracks: I Love You, Suzanne (May 1984 single) BO, VR, LG Endlessly Jealous My Red Joystick (Apr. 1984 single) Turn to Me LG New Sensations LG, BT Doin’ the Things That We Want To BT What Becomes a Legend Most LG Fly into the Sun LG My Friend George VR, BT High in the City (Aug. 1984 single) LG Down at the Arcade About the Album: A

The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (compilation) Lou Reed

Recorded: 1966-1984 Released: 1995 Peak: -- US, 56 UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.1 UK Genre: proto-punk/rock Rating: 3.426 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Sunday Morning (2) I’m Waiting for the Man (3) Venus in Furs (4) Candy Says (5) Pale Blue Eyes (6) Beginning to See the Light (7) Satellite of Love (8) Nowhere at All (9) Vicious (10) Perfect Day (11) Walk on the Wild Side (12) How Do You Think It Feels (13) Sweet Jane (live) (14) White Light/White Heat (live) (15) Sally Can’t Dance (16) Wild Child (17) I Love You (18) Berlin (19) Coney Island Baby (20) I Love You, Suzanne About the Album: A

The Very Best of Name of Act

Recorded: 1972-1984 Released: May 16, 2000 Peak: -- US, 94 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.06 UK Genre: rock Rating: 3.092 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Perfect Day (2) Walk on the Wild Side (3) Vicious (4) Rock and Roll Heart (5) The Gun (6) I Love You, Suzanne (7) Caroline Says II (8) Men of Good Fortune (9) My Friend George (10) Lisa Says (11) I Want to Boogie with You (12) Ocean (13) The Last Shot (14) I Wanna Be Black (15) Sally Can’t Dance (16) Coney Island Baby (17) Berlin (18) Satellite of Love Total Running Time: 72:41 About the Album: A Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums:

Mistrial Lou Reed

Released: April 1986 Peak: 47 US, 69 UK, 54 CN, 47 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.003 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Tracks: Mistrial LG No Money Down (Apr. 1986 single) LG Outside LG Don’t Hurt a Woman Video Violence (1986 single) BT Spit It Out The Original Wrapper (Apr. 1986 single) BT Mama’s Got a Lover I Remember You LG Tell It to Your Heart BT About the Album: A

Legendary Lou Reed

Recorded: 1972-1986 Released: July 9, 2002 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.407 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Going Down (2) I Love You (3) Love Makes You Feel (4) Ocean (5) Walk on the Wild Side (6) Andy’s Chest (7) Perfect Day (8) Make Up (9) Vicious (10) Lady Day (11) Caroline Says I (12) How Do You Think It Feels (13) Oh Jim (14) Men of Good Fortune (15) Rock and Roll (16) Good Taste (17) Intro/Sweet Jane (18) Kill Your Sons (19) Billy (20) Sally Can’t Dance (21) Satellite of Love (live) (22) Crazy Feeling (23) A Gift (24) Nowhere at All (25) Nobody’s Business (26) Coney Island Baby (27) Underneath the Bottle (28) The Gun (29) Waves of Fear (30) The Day John Kennedy Died (31) Legendary Hearts (32) Home of the Brave (33) Rooftop Garden (34) Bottoming Out (35) Make Up Mind (36) The Last Shot (37) Betrayed (38) Sweet Jane (live) (39) I’m Waiting for the Man (live) (40) White Light/White Heat (live) (41) I Love You, Suzanne (42) Turn to Me (43) What Becomes a Legend Most (44) Fly into the Sun (45) High in the City (46) New Sensations (47) Outside (48) Mistrial (49) I Remember You (50) No Money Down About the Album: This three-disc box set was released a decade later than Between Thought and Expression and covered the same territory. The 1992 box set is the superior of the two.

Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology (box set) Lou Reed

Recorded: 1972-1988 Released: April 14, 1992 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, 165 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 4.174 out of 5.00 (average of 16 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) I Can’t Stand It (2) Lisa Says (3) Ocean (4) Walk on the Wild Side (5) Satellite of Love (6) Vicious (7) Caroline Says I (8) How Do You Think It Feels (9) Oh, Jim (10) Caroline Says II (11) The Kids (12) Sad Song (13) Sweet Jane (live) (14) Kill Your Sons (15) Coney Island Baby Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Nowhere at All (2) Kicks (3) Downtown Dirt (4) Rock and Roll Heart (5) Vicious Circle (6) Temporary Thing (7) Real Good Time Together (8) Leave Me Alone (9) Heroin (10) Here Comes the Bride (11) Street Hassle (12) Metal Machine Music (excerpt) (13) The Bells Tracks, Disc 3: (1) America (2) Think It Over (3) Teach the Gifted Children (4) The Gun (5) The Blue Mask (6) My House (7) Waves of Fear (8) Little Sister (9) Legendary Hearts (10) The Last Shot (11) New Sensations (12) My Friend George (13) Doin’ the Things That We Want To (14) The Original Wrapper (15) Video Violence (16) Tell It to Your Heart (17) Voices of Freedom Total Running Time: 219:30 About the Album: This is a well-needed snapshot of Lou Reed’s solo career. While he had few radio hits, this box set does a more than respectable job offering snapshots of some of his best work over more than a decade. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album. Tracks Not on Previously Noted Albums: Downtown Dirt BT Here Comes the Bride BT Metal Machine Music (excerpt) BT America BT Little Sister BT Voices of Freedom BT

New York Lou Reed

Released: January 10, 1989 Peak: 40 US, 14 UK, 44 CN, 25 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 0.6 world (includes US + UK) Genre: rock Rating: 4.222 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: A About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Songs for Drella Lou Reed & John Cale

Released: April 24, 1990 Peak: 103 US, 22 UK, -- CN, 100 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 4.005 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: A About the Album: Comments here. Go to the DMDB page for more about this album.

Magic and Loss Lou Reed

Released: January 14, 1992 Peak: 80 US, 6 UK, 56 CN, 56 AU, 11 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.686 out of 5.00 (average of 22 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: A About the Album: A

Set the Twilight Reeling Lou Reed

Released: February 20, 1996 Peak: 110 US, 26 UK, 46 CN, 109 AU, 13 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.530 out of 5.00 (average of 24 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: A About the Album: A

Ecstasy Lou Reed

Released: April 4, 2000 Peak: 183 US, 54 UK, -- CN, 121 AU, 12 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 3.518 out of 5.00 (average of 25 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks: A About the Album: A

The Raven Lou Reed

Released: January 28, 2003 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 1.929 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks: A About the Album: A

Hudson River Wind Meditations Lou Reed

Released: April 2007 Peak: -- US, -- UK, -- CN, -- AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US + UK) Genre: rock Rating: 1.901 out of 5.00 (average of 8 ratings)

Tracks: A About the Album: A

Lulu Lou Reed & Metallica

Released: November 1, 2011 Peak: 36 US, 36 UK, 25 CN, 33 AU Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: rock Rating: 2.334 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Tracks: A About the Album: A

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com bio by Richie Unterberger & Greg Prato Related DMDB Links: First posted 2/3/2007; last updated 9/2/2026.