4 keepers
keeper avg .363
Lou Reed's second album features several of his most well-known songs, probably due in no small part to working with David Bowie, and even more the contributions of Bowie's collaborator Mick Ronson. "Vicious"***** was inspired by Andy Warhol but surely Ronson's driving precision and melodic flair played a big part in crafting an arrangement to make Reed's dark humor accessible. The propulsive "Hangin' Round"**** and "Wagon Wheel" (as well as the less-distinguished "I'm So Free") owe to Ronson's rock sensibility as well as Reed's work in Velvet Underground, especially the relatively accessible Loaded. And Reed's signature songs "Perfect Day" and "Satellite Of Love" seem to be based on Bowie and Ronson's music-hall inspired "Life On Mars" (though "Satellite" dates back to the VU); neither have the exciting dynamics of Bowie's hit, though Bowie's brilliant multi-part vocal arrangement concludes the latter with an outstanding coda. The low-key "Make Up" and "Goodnight Ladies" (which start and end side 2) are also performed in this old-timey music-hall style. The playful and goofy "New York Telephone Conversation"**** is another that dates back to the Velvets, and has a sweetness that seems made for Maureen Tucker.
But the iconic "Walk On The Wild Side"***** doesn't seem to have any predecessor in the work of Reed, Bowie, or Ronson. Reed's gritty but humorous observations of Warhol-proximate acquaintances and Herbie Flowers's enigmatic hook, two complimentary, interlocking bass lines (for which he received a 17-pound flat fee), make the song one of the strangest in rock music, without any analog I can think of. It made the Top 20, and took Reed from obscurity to stardom, on which Reed hilariously reflected "I know my obituary has already been written. And it starts out, "Doot, di-doot, di-doot..."" RIP L.A.R. 1942-2013
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