Rich Talks Records Ep 44- Lou Reed in 1975 & 1976 Pt. 2 #loureed #vinylcommunity
In this exciting episode, I rhapsodize about Lou Reed’s 1976 masterpiece Coney Island Baby. Please enjoy!
Godfrey Diamond- https://www.instagram.com/godfrey_diamond/
The Moonlight & You playlist- https://studio.youtube.com/playlist/PL1B_NRAo14PnpcDRiqLIsiPgICtg5C2LN/edit
#Rich #Talks #Records #Lou #Reed #loureed #vinylcommunity
Originally posted by UCXo4CoZQjxHlL04yi-n0GYg at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0EzsCJc_Nc
I only found your channel yesterday so I haven't gotten a chance to look at your other videos but are you into Kevin Ayers at all? He got his start as the lead vocalist and guitarist (actually bass but played like a guitar) in the first incarnation of Soft Machine. He was only on their first album and then went on to a fine solo career. His first album 'The Joy of a Toy' is a great British post-psychedelic classic. You might know him if you have the legendary 'June 1, 1974' album that features Ayers, Brian Eno, John Cale, and Nico. The album cover is somewhat notorious for the look John is giving Kevin (Kevin had slept with John's wife the night before and John wrote the great classic 'Guts' about how he felt). Check him out because there is such a great story there.
Joel
Shit, that is so effing cool that Lou was a big fan of Danger Bird. I love that epic and think that it is much better than 'Cortez the Killer'. Zuma is an awesome album as is Coney Island Baby. For a story, I was hanging out with my best friend from childhood and I happened to bring Zuma and Transformer with me for us to sit and listen to. We ended up having a few drinks and maybe a green cigarette, to reference the great Kevin Ayers on his classic 'Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes'. It was an amazing time listening to those two CDs over and over while catching up on what had gone on in the few years since we'd last seen each other. That was in 2007 and I still remember that night 17 years later on this early October day in 2024.
Joel
Around 15 or 20 years ago it was half-legal in Germany (or Europe?) to put your record collection on the internet for other people to check it out. I downloaded some Blues and Doo Wop records. I was very surprised that there was a song called „Coney Island Baby“ before Lou’s. It is great and very emotianal.
I heard „The Glory of Love“ as a teenager around 1973 from Big Bill Broonzy and thought it was one of his own songs. I am sure you know that the best known version is from the Doo Wop group The Five Keys.
Such a brilliant and impassioned examination of a truly great album. This video's length is completely justified by your detailed critique, and some of the connections you made are stellar. I read an interview with Godfrey Diamond many years ago wherein he discussed some very interesting technical aspects of producing Coney Island Baby. He mentioned that they began the seesions with Charley's Girl and that Lou didn't have an amp. So he placed a microphone up against the strings of Lou's electric guitar and recorded one track in that manner. Also, Lou suggested an upright bass for the song and that idea was realized. I wish I could find that article because it was a real look inside the creation of tthis amazing disc.
Great review. A performance in its own right. Thought I’d mention that Rolling Stone magazine actually gave it a very good review that i clipped and kept in the album jacket for years. Can’t access it now but from Wiki: “Reviewing for Rolling Stone in 1976, Paul Nelson wrote, ‘For the eight superb songs on Coney Island Baby, Reed assembled the best band he has performed with since the Velvet Underground.’” Too bad they let some idiot re-review the album for their book.
One of your most passionate and vibrant reviews: capturing the passion and vibrancy of Coney Island Baby. I feel like I undervalued the album when I reviewed it, so I'm glad you picked up my slack. It's definitely Reed's most purely melodic statement after the third Velvet Underground album (and I agree they share DNA). I don't think I even mentioned Bob Kulick's beautiful guitar playing throughout (you're often better at name-checking the musicians than I am). Easily the best unofficial KISS guitarist. He played on the Paul Stanley '78 solo album and did amazing work on that as well (though not on the level as Coney Island Baby, it's also interestingly enough "a roots album"). Anyway, great video as always, I will listen to the playlist your shared and I'm looking forward to part three…!!!
Yeah…too much..a very melodic album…