Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician, singer, songwriter and poet. He was the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. The Velvet Underground was not a commercial success during its existence, but became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.
Transformer is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lou Reed. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side", which touched on then-controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution, and drug use. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album was released in November 1972 by RCA Records. Though Reed's self-titled debut solo album had been unsuccessful, Bowie had been an early fan of Reed's former band The Velvet Underground, and used his own fame to promote Reed, who had not yet achieved mainstream success.
"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day". The song received wide radio coverage and became Reed's biggest single, despite its touching on taboo topics such as transgender people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex. In the United States, RCA released the single using an edited version of the song without the reference to oral sex. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Lou Reed is the debut solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in April 1972 by RCA Records, two years after he left the Velvet Underground. It was produced by Richard Robinson and Reed and features London session musicians as Reed's backing band, two of whom, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe, were from the British progressive rock band Yes. Wakeman recalled that during the recording sessions, "the lights had to be out so nobody could see." The album was recorded in Morgan Studios, London, between December 1971 and January 1972.
Berlin is the third solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in July 1973 by RCA Records. A concept album, Berlin tells the story of a couple's struggle with drug addiction and abuse. Initially, critical reception was mixed but appraisals of the album have warmed over the years: in 1973 Rolling Stone declared the album "a disaster", but by 2012 the album was ranked No. 344 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Rockin' the Joint is a live album by Aerosmith, which was released on October 25, 2005. It was recorded in January 2002 in The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, and consists of Aerosmith classics and more recent songs performed live.
Lou Reed Live is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1975. It was recorded at the same concert as Rock 'n' Roll Animal ; on December 21, 1973, at Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York. It features three songs from Transformer, one song from The Velvet Underground & Nico and two songs from Berlin. Between this album and the remastered Rock 'n' Roll Animal, the entire show has been released, albeit in a different order than the original concert setlist.
"Can I Kick It?" is the third single from A Tribe Called Quest's debut album People's Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm. The song, which has a call and response chorus, was recorded in 1989, when the band members were aged 19.
Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed is the first greatest hits compilation by Lou Reed, formerly of The Velvet Underground. It was issued by RCA Records after Reed's first contract with them ended in 1976. Issued on compact disc on October 25, 1990, the album cover features photos by Mick Rock of Reed and then-girlfriend Rachel Humphreys.
Rock and Roll Diary: 1967–1980 is a compilation album by Lou Reed. It was released by Arista Records in 1980 as a double album split between tracks by the Velvet Underground and tracks by Reed, attempting to demonstrate the arc of his songwriting over the first fifteen years of his career.
Live: Take No Prisoners is a 1978 live album by American musician Lou Reed, recorded during May 1978 at The Bottom Line in New York.
Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology is a box set by Lou Reed. This 1992 release covers the first 20 years of his solo career, including the unreleased studio tracks "Downtown Dirt," an early version of "Leave Me Alone", Francis Scott Key's "America " from the 1980 Growing Up in Public sessions and an edited excerpt from the Metal Machine Music album. Additionally there are previously unreleased live tracks: "Heroin" from 1976 featuring jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, "Here Comes the Bride" from 1978, and "Voices of Freedom" from the Amnesty International tour A Conspiracy of Hope. The set also featured the 1975 B-side "Nowhere at All" and "Little Sister" from the soundtrack to the 1983 film Get Crazy.
The Best of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground is a compilation of some of Lou Reed's and some of The Velvet Underground's songs. It was released in 1995, but not in the U.S.
Jim Bianco is an independent musician, singer, songwriter and producer based in Los Angeles, California.
Sing is the second official studio album released by recording artist Jim Bianco and the first album to be released on the Hotel Cafe Records label. Bianco has said that most of the songs on this album were composed on the piano at the Hotel Cafe after regular club hours.
In 2008, "I Got A Thing For You (Remix)" was featured in the national television ad campaign for "Chickdowntown.com" and "To Hell With the Devil" was featured during an episode of "Moonlight" on CBS. Also in 2008, Bianco performed "I Got A Thing For You" on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, which aired in October. In 2010, four songs from this album were featured in the film Ca$h. In 2012, "I Got A Thing For You" was featured in an episode of NBC's series The Firm.
Jim Bianco and the Tim Davies Big Band is a collaboration between Jim Bianco and Tim Davies. Tim Davies arranged and adapted Bianco's songs and conducted his 19 piece big band, while Bianco provided the vocals.
Handsome Devil is the first official studio album released by recording artist Jim Bianco. The song "So Far, So Good" was featured on an episode of HBO's "Real Sex" and also used in a German car commercial in 2009. In August 2010, "So Far So Good" was featured in episode 33 of "True Blood" on HBO. In the 2005/2006 season, A&E's show "Random 1" featured the following songs over the course of three episodes:
Once Again, with Feeling! is a twenty song compilation by recording artist Jim Bianco. Released August 25, 2009, this compilation features eleven popular tracks from three of Bianco's studio albums and nine previously unreleased tracks from Bianco's collection of demos, alternate versions and B-sides.
Loudmouth is the third official studio album by recording artist Jim Bianco. Released April 5, 2011, this album was funded by pledges made by fans through Bianco‘s collaboration with Kickstarter. Over the course of the 45-day campaign, Bianco was able to raise $31,500. Bianco’s campaign success was featured in an article by Shanna Schwarze at CNN.com. The second track of this album, "Talented," was featured by KCRW as Today's Top Tune the day preceding its release, on April 4, 2011.
New York in the '70s is a concept album by British alternative rock artist Luke Haines. The music style is influenced by new wave and protopunk bands from the New York scene mostly by Suicide (band).
