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Unsung Forum » Who's best: Lou Reed or John Cale? |
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machineryelf 3681 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 08:49
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What's the hipster opinion on the RNRAnimal/live sets these days, I remember them being universally loathed back in the 7os then gaing some kudos in the 80s as metal went bouffant and they were held up as shining examples of good guitar rock along with The Man Who Sold The World , before returning to everything bad about Lou & how he ruined the Velvet Legacy corner again.It must surely have returned to the essential list by now
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IanB 6761 posts |
Edited Apr 28, 2010, 10:27
Apr 28, 2010, 09:39
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machineryelf wrote: What's the hipster opinion on the RNRAnimal/live sets these days, I remember them being universally loathed back in the 7os then gaing some kudos in the 80s as metal went bouffant and they were held up as shining examples of good guitar rock along with The Man Who Sold The World , before returning to everything bad about Lou & how he ruined the Velvet Legacy corner again.It must surely have returned to the essential list by now I loved R&R Animal back then. Live not so much. Felt like a rip-off / cash-in release even then. The guitars sound great and Lou is great too where no real singing is involved. The version of Heroin is genius. The songs where he should be crooning are horrible vocally but convincing musically.
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Lonesome Cowboy Bill 356 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 10:49
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I'm going to disgrace myself and bring shame on my family by saying I own no Cale albums, nor have I even heard any of it bar the odd song or two. Where to begin and what is his style? I often read about the Paris album being a great one. I love the VU and have a big slab of Lou albums in my collection as well. He just seemed to be the one to follow and buy stuff by once I'd had my early fix of the VU. Coney Island Baby is a personal fav of mine along with Transformer, Berlin and bits of Street Hassle. Also New York but I only ever had that on cassette at the time so haven't heard it for many year. The downside with him is that whenever I'd see live footage of him he kinda ruined the songs I loved. Though I did see him on the NY tour at Hammersmith and loved that - but he ignored my mates heckling for Coney Island Baby. VU Loaded is a beauty of an album. I'm all for that one and VU 3rd as much is the debut and White Light. Different tastes for different days and moods.
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The Sea Cat 3608 posts |
Edited Apr 28, 2010, 11:17
Apr 28, 2010, 11:16
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As a taster, the Island 'Introduction To..' is very good, as is the more comprehensive Island Years comp. All of his early-mid 70s output is good ie Paris 1919, Fear, Slow Dazzle, Helen Of Troy, Vintage Violence, His recent albums Hobo Sapiens and Black Acetate have some great stuff on them as well. Live, the piano based Fragments Of A Rainy Season from the early 90s and the recent full band Circus are definitely woth checking out. He also did the greatest cover of Heartbreak Hotel that you will ever hera.
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singingringingtree 964 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 11:41
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i'm gonna disagree a bit, just to give you a different angle = i'd grab "church of anthrax" (w/ terry fuggin riley!) + "the academy in peril" first off... both from early 70s + largely instrumental + brimming w/ ideas + spark ... i used to love "paris 1919", but in recent years i've been unable to listen to it ... something about the vocal delivery ... weirdly hesitant + "not right" ... maybe it's just me ... "fear" is pretty good, mind, but the 2 i mention uptop are the ones i reach for most. As for lou, similarly i used to love "berlin" when i was a kid, but can't really bear it any more (last track excepted) ... but "street hassle", as an LP (not just the title track), has grown on me to the point where, MMM excepted, it's easily my favourite Lou rec. Great sound throughout that rec. But "unbearable" is part of the appeal of Lou = "take no prisoners" is the most insane, unbearable, fucked up, WTF thing ... waaaaaay more difficult to sit thru than "MMM", but if yr in the mood for some comedy, it's a winner
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The Sea Cat 3608 posts |
Edited Apr 28, 2010, 11:56
Apr 28, 2010, 11:51
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I haven't heard Anthrax or Academy. i will definitely check them out. Thanks for the tip. I wasn't very keen on the Eno collaboration Wrong Way Up, though. (As to not being able to listen to something you once loved, I'm like that with the Smiths. It's not the music, I just can't be doing with Morrisey at all. It was only relevant to the adolescent me. Lyrics that make life comments have to resonate to where I'm at now. I'd have to be 15 again).
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Lawrence 9547 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 12:20
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Am I one of the few who liked "Take No Prisoners"? I thought it was very entertaining to hear Lou in pure misanthropic mode. "If you've got an issue I'll give you a tissue..."
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IanB 6761 posts |
Edited Apr 28, 2010, 14:22
Apr 28, 2010, 12:28
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Lonesome Cowboy Bill wrote: Where to begin and what is his style? Grumpy Welshman from the avant-garde end of the street marries Peter Hammill's angsty, Poe-influenced tales of psychological horror and relationship misery to a rag bag of rock styles in the manner of the good Kevin Ayers records and "Nadir's Big Chance". Allegedly often under the considerable influence of artificial stimulants. Sprinkle a little NYC art-rock angularity over the top ... et voila. He's funnier than Hammill and has better melodies but is not as good a writer. Funnily enough it works really well a lot of the time. He just isn't Lou (which was the original question). "Helen of Troy" is where I would start and if you want a broader taster then I am sure you can get the "Guts" compilation on cd for nuppence these days.
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machineryelf 3681 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 12:33
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IanB wrote: machineryelf wrote: What's the hipster opinion on the RNRAnimal/live sets these days, I remember them being universally loathed back in the 7os then gaing some kudos in the 80s as metal went bouffant and they were held up as shining examples of good guitar rock along with The Man Who Sold The World , before returning to everything bad about Lou & how he ruined the Velvet Legacy corner again.It must surely have returned to the essential list by now I loved R&R Animal back then. Live not so much. Felt like a rip-off / cash-in release even then. The guitars sound great and Lou is great too where no real singing is involved. The version of Heroin is genius. The songs where he should be crooning are horrible vocally but convincing musically. I'm pretty sure Live was my intro to the VU, it was almost certainly a 1.99 bargain bin special and I purchased anything with live on it as I assumed it would be some kind of greatest hits set, I do remember thinking when I fist heard the VU that it was a lot lighter than what was to me the original It certainly fitted my idea of arcane US rock at the time i.e Alice Cooper,BOC, Doors & MC5.Life was simple then .
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singingringingtree 964 posts |
Apr 28, 2010, 12:34
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"like" is prob not the word, but, yeah, it gets a thumbs-up from me, + a load of lou-watchers i know too ... highly entertaining ... looks like a greatest hits type of thing too, from the tracklist, then the needle hits the wax, it's "normal" for a minute or so, then ... jeeeeez! has anyone mentioned lester bangs vs lou reed yet? if not, why not?
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