Lou Reed's Street Hassle

I got love for you Alfred but if you mean The Blue Mask, Legendary Hearts and New Sensations then wtf

the middle one there has maybe two good songs on it

And say what you will be MMM is so relaxing.

Also likely everyone here knows already I'm insane over Take No Prisoners so that version bears mention too. There's one more song on the Street Hassle album, though, that I want to mention...must pull it out to see...you know I'm not sure which one it is. I'll have to play it again to figure it out.

Look I had a bad dream about Hitler last night give me a break.

this was a lie, hoorah! wonderful what a half-decent turntable will do.

I love this alb - there's something abt this sound of this rec, the vocals and shit, that's unique in Lou's discog - pisses all over any of his 80s albs (blue mask, r. quine solos and all, is SERIOUSLY overrated, esp. the stuff abt him getting outing his ouija board to contact delmore schwartz, now that's what i call bad luck)

Unfortunately H2-H4, my own turntable has broken as of a few days ago. Suddenly wouldn't pick up the needle off the record. I can still play records, but if I forget to pick it up off the record before the end, I risk scratching the entire record and ruining my needle. Oh joy.

Thank goodness I have Street Hassle on CD.

1) For the record I believe I was the first person to go by Suzy Creamcheese on this board, though I did spell it entirely differently than whoever posted above.

2) The Bruce Springsteen part of SH totally rules and I hate Springsteen with a passion.

2) Bruce's part still sucks, and I'm totally indifferent to BRUUUUUCE

I <3 this album.

esp. the title track

yeh, this record is beautiful. i have no further insight at the moment, regrettably.

Oh my god I could talk about this song all day.

listening to this for the first time today... the opening track is funny but pretty much a mess production-wise (Lou's layered vocals sound terrible! multi-tracking that croaking voice attempting to hold a vibrato produces sad results). The title track is fantastic, I don't have anything to add about that apart from it being so weird for me to come to it so late - I feel I already knew it from Spacemen 3/Spiritualized ripping it, and having it prick up my ears in the Squid and the Whale

I have been on a real VU/Lou Reed kick lately... eventually I will get around to testing Alfred's early 80s trilogy theory (haven't heard the blue Mask since at least '92...?)

Always thought the weird version of "Real Good Time Together" on here was Lou's attempt at a kind of Suicide thing

hmm, never thought of suicide with that track, but now that you mention it. is that song the last instance of Lou dipping into his old unreleased VU songs for a solo album?
anyway, i always had a soft spot for this album, though it is certainly, er, spotty. obviously the title track is one of his career highlights, but the trashier stuff is fun too.

Also recently gave a listen to his first s/t debut - an album that apparently no one ever listens to or references or reviews (and that has been out of print for decades now...?) Really weird album - comprised mostly of shitty versions of leftover VU material, over-played way to straight (choice of Rick Wakeman as a sideman = wtf, for obvious reasons). It has its moments - the end of Ride Into the Sun, Wild Child (did Wild Child get re-cut on a later album?) The version of Berlin is virtually unrecognizable from its later re-interpretation but is still not very good, and overall the sound of the album is really thin and boring. Have no idea if Lou Reed even plays guitar on it at all... I do find it odd though, for a guy whose later career missteps are habitually pored over and re-evaluated that this album is basically never discussed, by ANYBODY. Its like it never even happened. Even though less than a year after its release, Reed would be killing it with Transformer.

It's been reissued tons of time AND talked about! Agree about the thin sound, and sometimes inapt accompaniment but some of it's great!

i like it a lot (or i did prior to the VU release that more or less made it irrelevant). then again, i don't think much of Transformer.

xp

yeah, i kinda like "Ocean" on the s/t album ... haven't listened to it in forever. Oh, "Lisa Says" is nice too. Neither of those songs are a patch on the VU versions, but I like their slickness. that album does make it painfully clear that Lou had no idea what direction to take his career in at that point.

Those are my two least favourite tracks on the album!

had no idea about the reissues - I've never seen one, and cruising blogs looking for a post of the album took a while.

agreed that the version of Ocean is at least interesting - its chugging as opposed to dreamy

x-post

haha, well there you go.
xpost

it IS crazy how somebody convinced Lou (or Lou convinced himself) that he shouldn't be playing guitar on his own records. that's really a big thing that's missing from most of his 70s records.

Amazing how shitty those hotshot British session men were are playing rock 'n' roll, esp. the drummer!

Makes you realise how great Sterling Morrison was for one thing!

doesn't steve howe play on the first one too?

i used to have this bizarro reissue of the s/t album that shuffled the tracklisting and added tracks from Lou Reed Live! weirdness. are the more recent reissues better sounding? i remember reading that it was mastered all wrong originally. something to do with dobly recording. :)

very true about the inexplicable inability of british session guys to rock appropriately. Definitely a "too many notes" situation.

he shoulda used the spiders from mars for that record!

A too many of everything situation. Never got that with Sterl and Mo.

I've played this version of "Real Good Time Together" for a listening party, and you can't help but do an imitation of Lou being coked out of his mind singing this.

"we're gooo-NA have a REAL. GOOD. TIIIIME. tooo-GETHA!" *sniiiiiiiif*

Yeah, I've been on a real VU/Lou kick lately as well, Shakey. Played Berlin again yesterday after not hearing it some years and still don't think a whole lot of it. I think Street Hassle as an album has enough high points to make it worthwhile. I've never heard his first solo album...kinda scared to hear it, actually.

I've fallen in love with these videos on You Tube of him live in Paris, '74...but when I d/l this album entitled "The Olympia Theatre Paris, '74" the sound quality is absolutely horrible. Anyone know how I can get around this and find some more stuff like that?

yeah I think Berlin is pretty spotty myself. Ezrin's about as much of a mismatch for Reed as Wakeman in terms of overdoing things.

eventually I will get around to testing Alfred's early 80s trilogy theory

Get around to it!

I will check the sausage before I put it in the waffle, so to speak

https://makeminecriterion.wordpress.com/2016/01/04/get-crazy-allan-arkush-1983/

https://pleasekillme.com/lou-reed-allan-arkush/

Maybe I should start new thread or put on Rock rock rock rock Rock and roll high school

If only one of you watches it this year my posting here will not have been in vain.

It's got everything: hippies, punks, teen idols, Allen Garfield, Ed Begley, Jr., Paul Bartel and Mary Woronov. A lost Lou Reed song with Robert Quine on it, or so it seems!

Unless it's Lou soloing, either way.

uh hey James

Allan Arkush here- the Director of Get Crazy. I am happy to let you know that there will be a GET CRAZY BLU_RAY in early 2021. I am in the process of compiling the extras, since you are such a big fan, any thoughts? –aark✧✧✧@m✧✧.c✧✧

(from that Make Mine Criterion link, in the comments)

Ah, cool, thanks!

Just the Lou Reed scenes (albeit in shittier quality)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMEbY7vGRmE

Also his scenes from Blue in the Face (which I can't recommend, but it has its moments, particularly Jim Jarmusch's bit on smoking)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xduERw9BSns

Just looked at the personnel for Reggie’s band. Pretty interesting.

Love how the absolutely dead mic on Lou’s vocals gives the feeling of him in some shitty dimly lit studio at 3am trying to get it together. Such a nighttime album.