Take No Prisoners - Live

Product Description One of the most vicious-and funniest, if your sense of humor runs to the dark-albums in the history of rock music finally makes it to CD in the U.S., complete with live versions of such gems as Sweet Jane; Walk on the Wild Side; Berlin, and I'm Waiting for My Man alongside Lou's lacerating monologues. A career's worth of bitterness distilled down to 2 CDs, with rare photos and new mastering and notes. Bad, bad language. Amazon.com Recorded at New York's Bottom Line in 1978 following the release of the acclaimed Street Hassle, this live document probably isn't for the casual Lou Reed fan. But if you appreciate pre- New York Lou, Take No Prisoners demonstrates, perhaps more than any other Reed artifact, the importance of major attitude and myth to classic punk. Often called "the Lou Reed comedy album," Prisoners has the totally revved-up artist coming on like a rock & roll Lenny Bruce as he delivers often hilarious monologues: Sweet Jane" and "Walk on the Wild Side" are nothing but that, with the band vamping behind him. Reed's targeted subjects include Barbra Streisand, Robert Christgau, Patti Smith, politics, the music biz, members of the audience, and, most importantly, himself. It's terrific if you like that kind of thing. The band's terrific, too, especially on "Coney Island Baby" and "Street Hassle." But as live rock albums go, this one is best viewed as the funniest of the genre, and it's reportedly one of Lou's faves. --Bill Holdship