Rock 'n' Roll Animal

good stuff

The Lou Reed album for non-Lou Reed fans (even Lou Reeds HATERS love this one), ROCK'N'ROLL ANIMAL left me non-plused in '74 and kinda still does today. As a fan, I bought it, of course, and gave it a good listen or two before deciding that it was "good of kind" (but what was the KIND?) but not my cup of white light/white heat.In theory, I was not against Lou teaming up with guitar heroes Hunter and Wagner and coming out with something like the Velvet Underground Meets Derek and the Dominoes. There was even something of a thrill to the opener, "Sweet Jane," a tune that you can do hundreds of ways and still come up with a definitive rock'n'roll tune. "Heroin," though, was more problematic. Thundering guitars COULD begin to reproduce the rush of John Cale's viola runs, but what was with the "Phantom of the Opera" organ in the middle. Just wrong, wrong, wrong. I'm sorry.As is typical of the genre, moments of grandeur slip readily into sheer grandiosity.And "White Light/White Heat" without the madcap piano? I dunno. The album ends pretty well with another great song from LOADED that you can't really muck up too readily--although stretching out to ten minutes doesn't really help much.Fans of the album are quick to point out that it was only half the show (actually, less than THAT, but that's been remedied, you could say, by the inclusion of CD "bonus tracks," "How Do You Think It Feels?" and "Caroline Says I"). I've always found it personally significant that when more outtakes from this concert were released a year or so later (under the title LOU REED LIVE), I never quite got around to buying it. I don't even recall HEARING it. Maybe someday I will yet.In a kind of first, the two bonus tracks are NOT tacked on at the end of the CD, but sandwiched in the middle. That may reflect something nearer to the original set list and certainly does allow the current product to end on a stronger "Rock'n'Roll" note. The concert tour WAS supposed to be in support of the BERLIN album, so their inclusion (along with that of "Lady Day") makes sense and does fix the album temporally.Listening to it almost 40 years on, I find I do like it more now than I did then. Still Lou was pretty much drowned out by Hunter, Wagner and Co. That's what some "Classic Rock" fans prefer, as it turns out, and believe it or not, I understand that sentiment. But when I listen to Reed's strained vocals on this record, I realize what he was up against with these flashy musicians. "Classic Lou," as opposed to Classic Rock, was all about leanness, meanness and less being more. I can be generous and say that ROCK'N'ROLL ANIMAL was a valid experiment. And I'm glad it exposed his work to a new audience--some of whom may have actually found it a revelation.For others, it was probably a pretty good HUNTER AND WAGNER record.

You don’t have to have a good voice or even sense of pitch to sing well. It’s not that these qualities can’t help but rather that singing is an act of communicating at heart. Find a way (of your own) to communicate to your auditors what you’ve got to say –information and feeling-- and you’re singing. Think Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady; Louis Armstrong’s recording of Porgy and Bess; Jimmy Smith’s wavering voice, uncertain pitch and perennial problems with his breathing; or “the Schnozz,” Jimmy Durante, singing love ballads.Nowhere is this truth more in evidence than in the counter-culture rock of the early 70s. Lou Reed, for instance, whose voice was nasal, limited in range and intensity. He often sang whole lines in monotone, and when he did move from one note to another, he often didn’t quite land on the new note. But when he was cooking, his voice was perfect for what he wanted to express, which was a deep-seated ennui that rejected all of society’s safe solutions to problems. It’s an uncomfortable music that he produced but sometimes, not all the time, it made you feel things you hadn’t felt before. Or, I suppose, if you were part of his no limits culture, it affirmed what you felt about yourself but nobody else was saying –or at least, not as well as Reed did. His best songs were nightmares, but influential ones that struck chords even in other musicians. (Brian Eno once famously stated that Reed’s first album with the Velvet Underground only sold 30,000 copies but “everyone who bought one of [them] started a band.”)Rock & Roll Animal came out in 1973, after his most controversial album to date, Berlin (also 1973). His fans awaited it anxiously: most of them hadn’t been happy with the direction he’d taken in this previous album. But this new album was recorded live, using a killer band with twin guitars, keyboards, bass and drums. It signaled a return to Reed’s rock and roll roots. Listening now, it’s a mixed bag. Most of the cuts are good to quite good --the bravura guitar lead-in, extending for minutes before it kicks into Reed singing (almost chanting) “Sweet Jane;” cult-favorite “Heroin;” “Caroline Says I;” the closing song, “Rock ‘n’ Roll.” “Lady Day” is a letdown –needlessly embarrassingly stagy. (Ditto the start of “Heroin.”) But over all, Animal is a good album. I can see why it reassured his fans that Lou Reed was still there and kicking.Long live Rock ‘n’ Roll in all its many, rich forms! (Except for the Monkees of course. Or Herman and the Hermits.)

Lou’s band at this time are tight as hell but create space to jam and showcase their musical skills. The Into/Sweet Jane is one of the greatest beginnings to any rock album. Stunning fret work. In my opinion the album is bookended by my 2 favourite songs. The afore mentioned’ Intro/Sweet Jane and the final track : the irresistibly catchy ‘ Rock n Roll.’ On this musical odyssey we go from lead guitar glory to Prakash John’s bass workout. Which has stood the test of time as one of the ‘ funkiest and groovy bass workouts ‘ EVER. Treat yourself and buy this CD. GLORIOUS.I owned this on Vinyl back in 1980 and it didn’t have these 2 songs on it1/ Caroline Says I2/How Do You Think It Feels I can’t recall whether Steve Hunter was mentioned on the Vinyl.Much as I bemoan the ‘ death of vinyl ‘ the revamped CD album comes packed with Lou’s life and band member stories.( Which I have yet to read ). If after Listening to Transformer : most peoples intro to Lou : I ABSOLUTELY RECOMMEND “ Rock n Roll Animal “ as the next port of call. An awesome sonic experience. Play LOUD and then LOUDER !! All killer : No filler.Lou Reed. RIP.

Here is Lou and that amazing seventies super band letting rip in an old theatre, the low-fi Velvet Underground are given the seventies crunch, funk and disco swagger, showcasing the monster riffs submerged in the mellow VU early outings. The creepy swirling organ that fills the thirteen minutes of heroin could be the ceremonial accompaniment to rock & roll's black mass and Lou Reed in dog collar and black leather officiating as High Priestess. Can you imagine Heroin with a pulsing disco beat after intermitting with long hypnotic, guitar splashes? it shouldn't work, is almost a travesty, but it does by Jove! The funk is released in the famous wah-wah section of Rock n' Roll, that wet rippling effect-- what can you say? with typical understated Lou Reed cool the album is "alright."

The greatest live album by the godfather of alternative rock. The intro to Sweet Jane alone sends shivers up my back. I have loved this album for 35 years from the day I first heard it, and I still love it now. It is heavy rock in every sense of the word. It transcends the boundaries of pop music to become theatre. RIP Lou, you were a genius.

Heard this in the 70s long players in those days! It hasn't lost any of its raw power on CD Lou Reed is a total master he can keep u involved listening I mean right to the end

Amazing live album though unrepresentative of most of his records. I still love it 45 years after buying it as a 15 year old. Great to have the extra music that wasn’t on the original vinyl.