Lou Reed / Street Hassle LP Vinyl

Lou Reed 'Street Hassle' LP Vinyl

Street Hassle, oddly enough, is both: a confession of failure that becomes a stunning, incandescent triumph — the best solo album Lou Reed has ever done. Side one begins with an electrifying, Promethean challenge. “Sweet Jane,” that incalculably beautiful hymn to human endurance, has become the emblem of Reed’s decay, a sleazy, crowd-pleasing rocker. By trashing the song so completely at the outset of this record, Reed deliberately raises both the stakes and our expectations almost impossibly high.

He delivers, too, with an ease close to casualness. Of course, every trick and technique Reed has ever learned is present here, but Street Hassle doesn’t advertise its virtuosity. Instead, it’s completely uncluttered and unexpectedly direct.

Tracklisting:

A1        Gimmie Some Good Times    
A2        Dirt    
A3a        Waltzing Matilda    
A3b        Street Hassle
A3c        Slipaway    
B1        I Wanna Be Black
B2        Real Good Time Together    
B3        Shooting Star
B4        Leave Me Alone
B5        Wait