Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I Can't Stand It
2. Lisa Says
3. Ocean
4. Walk on the Wild Side
5. Satellite of Love
6. Vicious
7. Caroline Says I
8. How Do You Think It Feels
9. Oh Jim
10. Caroline Says II
11. Kids
12. Sad Song
13. Sweet Jane
14. Kill Your Sons
15. Coney Island Baby

Disc 2:

1. Nowhere at All
2. Kicks
3. Downtown Dirt
4. Rock & Roll Heart
5. Vicious Circle
6. Temporary Thing
7. Real Good Time Together
8. Leave Me Alone
9. Heroin
10. Here Comes the Bride
11. Street Hassle
12. Metal Machine Music
13. Bells

Disc 3:

1. America (Star Spangled Banner)
2. Think It Over
3. Teach the Gifted Children
4. Gun
5. Blue Mask
6. My House
7. Waves of Fear
8. Little Sister
9. Legendary Hearts
10. Last Shot
11. New Sensations
12. My Friend George
13. Doin' the Things That We Want To
14. Original Wrapper
15. Video Violence
16. Tell It to Your Heart
17. Voices of Freedom

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118876 in Music
• Released on: 1992-04-14
• Number of discs: 3
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
It's hard to fault this three-CD collection, since Reed himself was so heavily involved with the project. Yet it presents the same problem posed by "authorized" biographies. Coming after the success of New York, this anthology offers the more literary, politically correct side of Uncle Lou, neglecting the "fuckin' faggot junkie" (his self-characterization, from Street Hassle's "Gimme Good Times"--not included here) image he cultivated so effectively early in his immediate post-Velvet Underground years. Yes, he's an amazing rock poet, but he was also a rock & roll animal. There are just too many exclusions here for this to be "definitive." It's not for novices, but completists will have to own this 45-track collection simply for the terrific rarities, including the unreleased "Downtown Dirt," "Nowhere At All" (originally a B-side), a 1978 live "Heroin" featuring jazz great Don Cherry, "Little Sister" (from the Get Crazy soundtrack), and the great, unreleased "America (Star Spangled Banner)." --Bill Holdship

Customer Reviews

Excellent survey of Lou Reed's RCA/Arista recordings
Lou Reed's solo career is notoriously erratic, and for anyone looking for a good introduction or a good summary, this is your best choice. A three CD set over three hours long, it has almost everything going for it. Everything's been remastered by Bob Ludwig from the original sources (in many cases, much better than other currently available CD's), the extensive liner notes by Rob Bowman is very well-written, incorporating a great deal of input by Lou himself, and the track selection by Lou and Bowman is very good. Every studio Lp recorded from 1972 (Lou's self-titled solo debut) to 1986 (MISTRIAL, his final Lp with RCA) is covered as well as a handful of choice live cuts and rarities. Every important aspect is given equal representation, from tender confessionals ("Think It Over"), raging confessionals ("The Blue Mask," "The Last Shot") political anthems ("Voices Of Freedom"), avant-garde experiments ("The Bells"), and even expert pop ("My Friend George").

This is almost everything you'd want from Lou Reed's RCA/Arista output (later Sire/WB albums like NEW YORK and MAGIC AND LOSS are worth owning), but it's not definitive. A few key tracks are missing, at very least, "Perfect Day" from TRANSFORMER, "I Wanna Be Black" from STREET HASSLE which Lou was hesitant to include, "Families" or "All Through The Night" from THE BELLS, a few more tracks from THE BLUE MASK and LEGENDARY HEARTS, and "I Love You Suzanne" from NEW SENSATIONS (his finest pop hit ever).

It's a minor complaint, because TRANSFORMER is a popular album, THE BELLS is love-it-or-hate-it (some think it's one of his best, others think it's a career killer), and THE BLUE MASK, LEGENDARY HEARTS, and NEW SENSATIONS are three rock-solid albums, arguably Lou's best run, so anyone who misses those tracks will probably buy the albums.

Normally I wouldn't recommend a three-CD box set as a first purchase, but in used condition, this set can be found CHEAP. Look around on ebay, or better yet here (as of this writing, there are THREE complete sets selling here for less than $10). Why pay $12 for one of Lou's subpar single disc collections, or a two-disc "NYC Man" when you can get this set for less? A nice introduction, after this set, check out THE BLUE MASK and NEW YORK, and if you still want more, check out TRANSFORMER, LEGENDARY HEARTS, and NEW SENSATIONS for Lou's more accessible side, and THE BELLS, BERLIN, and MAGIC AND LOSS for Lou's darker, somewhat more experimental side.

The ups and downs of Lou (mostly the ups)
Lou Reed's recorded catalog is frustrating for the average music buyer. He has plenty of great songs that are buried onto mediocre or ill-conceived albums. Fortunately, "Between Thought and Expression" contains many of his best moments from before the release of 1989's "New York" album. The best part is that it contains six cuts from his best 1970s album "Berlin" and mercifully contains only a short snippet from the atrocious double disc "Metal Machine Music" album that nearly destroyed his career. His biggest hit single "Walk on the Wild Side" is here along with his smokin' extended live version of "Sweet Jane." The only truly regrettable exclusion is "Wild Child" which is one of his best songs. Overall, this is a fine anthology album from one of rock's most eccentric figures.

Who's gonna argue with Lou?
Lou Reed hand picked the cuts on this compilation, and where one could nit-pick over the selection presented it stands up as a whole quite well. If Lou thought the songs worthy of inclusion in a retrospective of his career he had good reason. Collectively these performances create a considerable statement. Where Lou had his down moments, his brilliance is what perseveres. Slumps are unavoidable when one succumbs to the temptations of drug addiction. Still, the artist, like his music, has survived well. There are a number of unreleased cuts here that make it worthwhile for the fan(atic)s who have much of his work. Lou Reed, like Patti Smith, is one of the greatest voices of New York/American rock and roll. Voices of the street, voices of depth, integrity, and power. Highly recommended...Simon