Product Description

A Night with Lou Reed is an intimate visual record of Reed's legendary 1983 sold-out engagement at The Bottom Line in New York City. Fronting the most musically articulate band he had ever assembled--Reed and Robert Quine on guitar, Fernando Saunders on bass and Fred Maher on drums--Reed performs a treasure trove of his best hits. The energy and interplay on stage is so intense that it grabs the raw nerve of rock 'n' roll urgency. Songs: Sweet Jane, I'm Waiting for the Man, Martial Law, Don't Talk to Me About Work, Women, Waves of Fear, Walk on the Wild Side, Turn Out the Lights, New Age, Kill Your Sons, Satellite of Love, White Light White Heat, Rock and Roll.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #74781 in DVD
• Released on: 1999-01-12
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 60 minutes

Amazon.com
This 1983 concert film was shot during Lou Reed's legendary stand at the Bottom Line in New York City. Reed got his start in Greenwich Village, and indeed this show has a strong air of a hero's return. The former Velvet Underground frontman greets the crowd with a tidy-but-tough "Sweet Jane," then smoothly skips through his then-catalogue of pre- and post-solo career records. "I'm Waiting for the Man" takes us back to the well, while "Wild Side," "Don't Talk to Me About Work," "Waves of Fear," and a stunning version of "Kill Your Sons" reflects something of the scope of Reed's development. A blistering "White Light/White Heat" reminds one of the Velvets' magnificent sting, and the show closes out with an epic take on "Rock 'n' Roll." Reed is backed by a spare ensemble, including the outstanding Robert Quine on guitar, Fred Maher on drums, and Fernando Saunders on bass. Clearly and cleanly photographed, this performance is riveting to see and hear. Keep watching after Reed leaves the stage; his post-show comments about some special moments in front of the audience are well worth catching. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews

Lou Reed showcases new material and classic hits.
In this video Lou Reed is back at the Bottom Line Club in N.Y., backed by the band from 'The Blue Mask' and 'Legendary Hearts,' the early 80's albums that signalled a major comeback for Reed. Robert Quine on guitar, Fernando Saunders on bass and Fred Maher on drums would continue to work with Reed throughout the decade, and Saunders is still working with Lou now. But it's the music that makes this a night to remember. Classic rockers such as "Sweet Jane" and "Waiting for the Man" are interspersed with terrific versions of "Martial Law" and "Waves of Fear." This is Lou Reed at a vibrant and creative time in his career, able to present older material such as "Kill Your Sons" and "Satellite of Love" with the same energy and originality with which he invests his newer songs. One bonus - you can catch Andy Warhol in the audience and if you read his diaries you will find a refernce to this performance. Lou appears a little apprehensive at times during the show, less confident than at other times during his career, but that does not impair his performance one bit. Wait for the backstage comments at the end of the show when he describes hitting a "perfect note" which lifts him up away from the stage and into the audience. This is a tight, controlled rock 'n' roll show which all Lou Reed fans will enjoy, both new and old.

Robert Quine, the guy who revitalized Lou's career
A relic from the Robert Quine days of Lou's career, and...along with the excellent "Live In Italy" CD...the only other "official" concert release. Quine is rightfully credited as the man who got Lou to pick up the guitar again, and that revived interest produced some pretty entertaining "right channel, left channel" battles. 4 stars instead of 5 because Lou never really cuts loose here like he did on the "Live In Italy" 17-minute medley of "Some Kinda Love / Sister Ray." You do get Lou "floating" (as he describes it backstage after the show) during the guitar solo to "Kill Your Sons." Like Ringo Starr said in a recent issue of Rolling Stone, in regard to seeing Bob Dylan in concert, "You go to Bob's gig, and you get what Bob wants to give you." Same holds true for Lou. On some nights the genius comes out. On other nights, the genius phones it in. On the "Night With Lou Reed" DVD, you'll see about 4/5ths of the genius...not bad, not definitive, just Lou on one New York night, and worth every penny of the $13.49 that Amazon is charging. LOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Great Show
This DVD has good atmosphere. It is fullscreen, and shot as video, so the quality is as good as it gets, but that is pretty good for a 1983 era show. The song selection is great, and Lou puts in great versions of Kill Your Sons, Turn Out The Lights, and Waves of Fear. The only drawback is the length at 60 minutes. On DVD they should have extended the show, but you can't everything. If you like Lou, this is a great DVD to get. Both the picture and sound quality are much enhanced from the VHS version. Absolutely no extras!