Animal Serenade

Animal Serenade
Live album by Lou Reed
Released	March 23, 2004
Recorded	June 24, 2003
Genre	Rock
Length	128:00
Label	Sire Reprise
Producer	Lou Reed Fernando Saunders
Lou Reed chronology
The Raven (2003) Animal Serenade (2004) Le Bataclan '72 (2004)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	71/100 [1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Blender	[3]
Entertainment Weekly	B+ [4]
Drowned in Sound	5/10 [5]
Filter	84% [6]
Mojo	[7]
Pitchfork	6.5/10 [8]
Q	[9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Uncut	7/10 [11]

Animal Serenade is a live album by American rock musician Lou Reed, recorded in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre in 2003 after The Raven . The show features a drummer-less band (including Mike Rathke on guitar/synth, bassist, vocalist Fernando Saunders, and the cello of Jane Scarpantoni). In addition, Anohni, of Antony and the Johnsons fame, contributes background vocals throughout and sings the lead on "Set the Twilight Reeling" and "Candy Says".

Fernando Saunders plays bass and other instruments. He did background vocals on most songs and sang lead vocals on "Tell It to Your Heart" and "Reviens Cherie", scat on "Sunday Morning".

Three songs were performed during the concert that did not appear on the album: "Sweet Jane", "The Last Shot" and "Perfect Day" (sung in duet with Anohni). "Sweet Jane" is available by digital download.^{[ dubious – discuss ]}

Track listing

All tracks composed by Lou Reed; except where indicated

Disc one

1. "Advice" - 2:07
2. "Smalltown" (Reed, John Cale) - 6:04
3. "Tell It to Your Heart" - 6:03
4. "Men of Good Fortune" - 4:27
5. "How Do You Think It Feels" - 8:09
6. "Vanishing Act" - 5:31
7. "Ecstasy" - 7:09
8. "The Day John Kennedy Died" - 4:04
9. "Street Hassle" - 6:59
10. "The Bed" - 5:15
11. "Reviens Cherie" (Fernando Saunders) - 7:12
12. "Venus in Furs" - 10:02

Disc two

1. "Dirty Blvd." - 6:54
2. "Sunday Morning" (Reed, John Cale) - 5:04
3. "All Tomorrow's Parties" - 6:18
4. "Call on Me" - 2:45
5. "The Raven" - 9:33
6. "Set the Twilight Reeling" - 9:08
7. "Candy Says" - 6:04
8. "Heroin" - 9:11

Personnel

• Lou Reed - vocals, electric & acoustic guitar
• Mike Rathke - electric & acoustic guitar, Ztar synthesizer, guitar synthesizer
• Fernando Saunders - electric & acoustic bass, Roland drums, guitar, backing vocals, vocals on "Tell It to Your Heart" & "Reviens Cherie", scat on "Sunday Morning"
• Jane Scarpantoni - cello
• Anohni - vocals on "Call on Me", "Set the Twilight Reeling" & "Candy Says", backing vocals
• John Bishop - f.o.h.
• Bill Bentley - executive producer
• Biff Dawes - recording engineer

References

1. "Animal Serenade by Lou Reed". Metacritic . Retrieved October 3, 2016.
2. Deming, Mark. Animal Serenade at AllMusic
3. Blender (magazine) review
4. As usual, his ego rages, but so, thankfully, does his guitar. [26 Mar 2004, p.72]
5. Hayward, Daniel (March 3, 2004). "Lou Reed - Animal Serenade". Drowned in Sound . Retrieved October 23, 2025.
6. The irony is that the closer Reed gets to his present material, the more alive it becomes. [#10, p.87]
7. It can't shake off the usual curse of live albums: an underlying sense, in the context of Reed's studio catalogue, of inescapable superfluity. [Apr 2004, p.114]
8. May, Stephen (July 14, 2014). "Lou Reed - Animal Serenade". Pitchfork . Retrieved December 31, 2016.
9. Even on a daft live album, he refuses to coast. [May 2004, p.106]
10. Hoard, Christian (April 7, 2004). "Lou Reed: Animal Serenade : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 17, 2009. Retrieved September 4, 2011.
11. As ever with Reed, when it's good, it's blistering. [Apr 2004, p.104]