Following his somber 1973 concept album Berlin, Lou Reed switched gears once again with 1974's Rock 'n' Roll Animal, a searing live set recorded at Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York in December of 1973 with his road band at the time which featured the twin guitar attack of Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter.
The 5-song set primarily consists of extended arrangements of former Velvet Underground classics including a 13-minute plus version of "Heroin," and a 10-minute "Rock 'n' Roll" to go along with more concise takes on "Sweet Jane" and "White Light/White Heat."
Rock 'n' Roll Animal amplifies the music of the Velvet Underground as never before or since and it finds Lou Reed doing what he does best, challenging the status quo with artistic ambition and restless abandon. |