An un-promising start to a brilliant career
3
By Prideful Terrier
A guy as prolifically created as Lou Reed could have been expected to record a debut solo album of new material and to have performed it w/ a band more reflective of his unique aesthetic sense. Instead we have this canned, formulaic reiteration of unreleased Velvet Underground material (all of which, without exception, was performed much more compellingly by the VU- see the excellent "VU" and "Another VU" albums). I like this version of 'Berlin', but that album was a much stronger performance and, for me, constitutes the real debut of Lou as a solo performer. Lou said, after the release of "Sally Can't Dance," his highest charting album, that the less involved he was with the recording of an album the better it sold. While that may or may not have been so, his lack of involvement is clearly evident here and much to the album's detriment.
