View More By Lou Reed Our Review Shaking off his aura of glam-rock camp, Lou Reed reclaimed the brutal grace of his Velvet Underground years with 1978’s Street Hassle. There’s serious intent behind the songs here, along with a renewed commitment to primal guitar-centered rock. Reed dispels the image of ennui and dissipation he’d cultivated […] Street Hassle – Lou ReedOctober 29th, 2013  or  iTunes Price: $9.99 Genre: Rock Released: 1978 Customer Ratings (21 Ratings) |
Our ReviewShaking off his aura of glam-rock camp, Lou Reed reclaimed the brutal grace of his Velvet Underground years with 1978’s Street Hassle. There’s serious intent behind the songs here, along with a renewed commitment to primal guitar-centered rock. Reed dispels the image of ennui and dissipation he’d cultivated over previous albums; instead, he probes themes of betrayal and self-destruction with merciless clarity. Street Hassle combines live and studio tracks, matching Velvets-era material (“Real Good Time Together”) with skull-crunching new compositions (“Dirt,””Leave Me Alone,””Shooting Star”). He tests the limits of bad taste with the sardonic racial commentary “I Wanna Be Black” and taps into his early affection for doo-wop with “Wait.” The album’s centerpiece is the title number, a song-suite that unfolds like a radio play. Against a nervous cello and a biting guitar, Reed narrates a stark tale of love and death with a grim sort of tenderness. (Listen for Bruce Springsteen’s brief but powerful vocal cameo on this track.) At the time of its release, the album was hailed as a major comeback by an artist in decline. Today, Street Hassle stands out as one of Reed’s most visceral and revelatory works.Customer ReviewsLouuuuuu (5 stars)An amazing album from an amazing spirit, the godfather of alternative and punk and the original wrapper. But iTunes, as of April 18, 2007 you only give us a partial album offering - shame. Check out Bruce Springsteen on the title track riffing a little soon to be released poetry... yep (5 stars) it's real good. He Wants To Be Black. (5 stars) It's a good record. You should buy it. BiographyBorn: March 2, 1942 in Brooklyn, NYGenre: Rock Years Active: '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s 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 strung-out junkie to avant-garde noiseman to straight rock & roller to your average guy. Few would deny Reed's immense importance and considerable achievements. As has often been written, he expanded the vocabulary of rock & roll lyrics into the previously forbidden territory of kinky sex, drug use...
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