I've picked up waaaay too many records recently considering I'll be heading to NY at the end of July. I have so many that I barely have time to listen to them all, let alone rip and share them with everybody. But gosh-darnit there's some that are just too good not to share. This gem from Lou Reed is one of them.
This record is unlike anything I've ever heard. It is a stripped-down indie/folk story song without any percussion, just some romantically loose strings and bass/cello. The vocals are reminiscent of Bob Dylan, but the subject matter is deliciously more dirty than anything Bob Dylan has touched (OK, maybe he has... I'm not a huge fan and haven't heard much of his catalog). At first glance/listen, it may seem like three separate tracks. But it's one full song broken up into 3 acts. The first one being more lighthearted describing good times at a house party and a surprisingly mutual interaction. The second has the narrator speaking coldly to a comrade who just had a girl(friend) die from an overdose. And the third act? I'll let you be the judge.
For fun, I've included two recordings of the track: one cleaned with my usual methods, and the other with some highly-recommended Groovy cleaner and cloth. Does the Groovy-cleaned track sound better? You be the judge.
