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Rating: In Reed's solo career, we are fortunate to have various live recordings both from the immediately post-Velvet era and the early years of the new millennium. All of which are very valuable, never a lapse in style, never banal.
This 1978 double live album that I am about to review is unique in the entire Reed catalog. It’s unique because it’s different from the others. Yet, the setlist is quite predictable: it starts with the usual "Sweet Jane" and then features all the classics from Transformer ("Satellite of Love" and the indispensable "Walk On The Wild Side") as well as Velvet-era tracks ("Pale Blue Eyes", "I’m Waiting For My Man") and more recent songs like "Street Hassle" and "Coney Island Baby".
The point is in the manner these songs are staged. One could speak more of Talkin Blues than of Rock 'n' Roll. Only 4 years have passed since Rock 'n' Roll Animal, but listening to this live, it seems like centuries.
Never before has Lou been so talkative with the audience in this concert, making the music almost a background to what he says. And he says and sings it almost like a rap. It almost feels like attending a cabaret show. The sound is incredibly engaging (much closer to that of "Street Hassle") with sax and backup singers.
The versions of "Street Hassle" and "Coney Island Baby" are truly something unique with Reed's voice as strong as ever. The audience is in a frenzy, at some points the shouting is really loud (check when he mentions broadcasting from radio Brooklyn as opposed to Smith broadcasting from radio Ethiopia).
Absolutely the most beautiful Reed live along with "Animal Serenade". A gem for all the ex-VU lovers. A must-have.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Sweet Jane (10:44)
Standing on the corner, suitcase in my hand
Jack is in his corset, jane is in her vest
And me, I'm in a rock'n'roll band
Ridin'a stutz bearcat, jim
You know, those were different times
Oh, all the poets, they studied rules of verse
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes
Sweet jane, sweet jane, sweet jane
jack, he is a banker
And jane, she is a clerk
And both of them save their monies
when they come home from work
Ooh, they be sittin' down by the fire
Oh, the radio does play
The classical music, said jim, the `march of the wooden soldiers`
All you protest kids, you can hear jack say, get ready
Sweet jane, come on, baby
Sweet jane, sweet jane
Some people, they like to go out dancing
Other peoples, they have to work
Just watch me now
And there's some evil mothers
Well they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt
You know, that women never really faint
And that villains always blink their eyes
And that, you know, children are the only ones who blush
And that life is just to die
But anyone who ever had a heart
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who's ever played a part
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and hate it
Sweet jane, sweet jane, sweet jane ...
02 I Wanna Be Black (06:28)
I wanna be black, have natural rhythm
Shoot twenty foot of jism too
and fuck up the jews
I wanna be black, I wanna be a panther
Have a girlfriend named Samantha
and have a stable of foxy whores
Oh, oh, I wanna be black
I don't wanna be a fucked up
middle class college student anymore
I just wanna have a stable of
foxy little whores
Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
Oh, oh, I wanna be black
Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
I wanna be black, wanna be like Martin Luther King
And get myself shot in the spring
And lead a whole generation, too
and fuck up the jews
I wanna be black, I wanna be like Malcolm X
And cast a hex
over President Kennedy's tomb
and have a big prick, too
Oh, I don't wanna be a fucked up
middle class college student no more
Yeah, I just wanna have a
stable of foxy little whores
Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
I wanna be black
I wanna be black
I wanna be black
I wanna be black
yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wanna be black
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
(Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black, oh, oh)
(Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black, oh, oh)
(Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black, oh, oh)
(Yeah, yeah, I wanna be black, oh, oh)
03 Satellite of Love (07:05)
Satellite's gone up to the skies
Things like that drive me out of my mind
I watched it for a little while
I like to watch things on TV
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
Satellite of
Satellite's gone way up to Mars
Soon it'll be filled with parkin' cars
I watched it for a little while
I love to watch things on TV
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
Satellite of
I've been told that you've been bold
With Harry, Mark, and John
Monday and Tuesday, Wednesday through Thursday
With Harry, Mark, and John
Satellite's gone up to the skies
Things like that drive me out of my mind
I watched it for a little while
I love to watch things on TV
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
*BUM BUM BUM* Satellite of love
Satellite of
Satellite of love
05 Berlin (06:15)
In Berlin, by the wall
you were five foot ten inches tall
It was very nice
candlelight and Dubonnet on ice
We were in a small cafe
you could hear the guitars play
It was very nice
it was paradise
You're right and I'm wrong
hey babe, I'm gonna miss you now that you're gone
One sweet day
Oh, you're right and I'm wrong
you know I'm gonna miss you now that you're gone
One sweet day
One sweet day
In a small, small cafe
we could hear the guitars play
It was very nice
candlelight and Dubonnet on ice
Don't forget, hire a vet
he hasn't had that much fun yet
It was very nice
hey honey, it was paradise
You're right and I'm wrong
oh babe, I'm gonna miss you now that you're gone
One sweet day
You're right, oh, and I'm wrong
you know I'm gonna miss you now that you're gone
One sweet day
One sweet day
One sweet day, one sweet day
oh, one sweet day
One sweet day, baby-baby, one sweet day
one sweet day, one sweet day
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