That's a great selection. REM fit into the post-punk pigeonhole pretty neatly at first; by the time I started hearing them (not long before Drive), they had changed completely. And Lou Reed... he could barely sing outside of a studio, huh?
That's a tough song for Lou's talk-sing style, for sure, where he always seems to be rushing to cram in words at the end of a line. He nailed the album version, though. New York is such a great album!
Yes, it's vocally quite complicated so it's no wonder it comes off that way... but I don't know if I've heard a live track where Lou really had good vocals. In studio he could certainly hit it. That's okay, it's part of his charm.
I picked up New York when I first got into Lou Reed for $5 or so on the cheap rack. Romeo had Juliette and Dirty Boulevard are still big favourites of mine. "I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says 'it's hard to give a shit these days.'" Probably among the best $5 I ever spent on music.
That's a great selection. REM fit into the post-punk pigeonhole pretty neatly at first; by the time I started hearing them (not long before Drive), they had changed completely. And Lou Reed... he could barely sing outside of a studio, huh?
ReplyDeleteThat's a tough song for Lou's talk-sing style, for sure, where he always seems to be rushing to cram in words at the end of a line. He nailed the album version, though. New York is such a great album!
ReplyDeleteYes, it's vocally quite complicated so it's no wonder it comes off that way... but I don't know if I've heard a live track where Lou really had good vocals. In studio he could certainly hit it. That's okay, it's part of his charm.
ReplyDeleteI picked up New York when I first got into Lou Reed for $5 or so on the cheap rack. Romeo had Juliette and Dirty Boulevard are still big favourites of mine. "I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag with Latin written on it that says 'it's hard to give a shit these days.'" Probably among the best $5 I ever spent on music.
We saw him on that tour, 1989. Played the album straight through, then did some other stuff/hits.
ReplyDeleteActually, I think I first saw him in January 1987. Not living in NYC for even a week, and going to see Lou Reed. Good welcome to the city!
ReplyDeleteLou gets it in this version - while keeping his toothpick firmly in the side of his mouth!
ReplyDeleteOkay, that is a fantastic performance of the song. Beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAnd I am jealous to the point of being very, very pissed off at all the great music you guys were able to see in NYC.