NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967–2003) | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 3, 2003 | |||
Recorded | 1966–2002 | |||
Genre | Rock | |||
Label | RCA/BMG Heritage | |||
Producer | Lothar Landt, Lou Reed, Rob Santos, Hal Willner | |||
Lou Reed chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Rolling Stone | [2] |
NYC Man is a 2-CD anthology of Lou Reed's work. All songs of this career spanning collection were chosen, sequenced and remastered by Lou Reed himself.
Cover art: painting from Marie Pittroff
Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band The Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground 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.
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour. The album features experimental performance sensibilities and controversial lyrical topics, including drug abuse, prostitution, sadomasochism and sexual deviancy.
The Velvet Underground is the third studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released in March 1969 by MGM Records, it was their first record with Doug Yule who replaced previous member John Cale. Recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, California, the album's sound—consisting largely of ballads and straightforward rock songs—marked a notable shift in style from the band's previous recordings. Lead vocalist Lou Reed intentionally did this as a result of their abrasive previous studio album White Light/White Heat (1968). Reed wanted other band members to sing on the album; Yule contributed lead vocals to the opening track and the closing track "After Hours" is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker.
Loaded is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Velvet Underground, released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records' subsidiary label Cotillion. Despite having a number of singles originate from it, the album itself failed to chart.
Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by the Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor.
Transformer is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lou Reed. Produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, the album was released in November 1972 by RCA Records. It 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 controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution and drug use. Although 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 fame to promote Reed, who had not yet achieved mainstream success.
Street Hassle is the eighth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in February 1978 by Arista Records. Richard Robinson and Reed produced the album. It is the first commercially released pop album to employ binaural recording technology. Street Hassle combines live concert tapes and studio recordings.
Gold is a two-CD compilation album by the Velvet Underground. It was released for the North American market on June 14, 2005, by Polydor, the record label that oversees the band's Universal Music Group back catalogue.
20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Velvet Underground is a compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was initially released for the North American market by Polydor in October 2000 as part of their "20th Century Masters" series of budget compilations celebrating the turn of the century. The album was subsequently released with varying titles and covers in Europe.
Coney Island Baby is the sixth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released December 1975 in the US, and in January 1976 in the UK, by RCA Records.
The Blue Mask is the eleventh solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on February 23, 1982, by RCA Records. Reed had returned to the label after having left Arista Records. The album was released around Reed's 40th birthday, and covers topics of marriage and settling down, alongside themes of violence, paranoia, and alcoholism.
"Heroin" is a song by the Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song, which overtly depicts heroin abuse, is one of the band's most celebrated compositions. Critic Mark Deming of Allmusic writes, "While 'Heroin' hardly endorses drug use, it doesn't clearly condemn it, either, which made it all the more troubling in the eyes of many listeners." In 2004, it was ranked at number 448 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was re-ranked at number 455 in 2010.
"I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Written by Lou Reed, it was first released on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The lyrics describe a man's efforts to obtain heroin in Harlem.
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.
Set the Twilight Reeling is the seventeenth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released on February 20, 1996, by Warner Bros. Records.
The Bells is the ninth solo studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed, released in May 1979 by Arista Records. It was recorded in binaural sound at Delta Studios in Wilster, West Germany. Production was handled by Reed with Michael Fonfara serving as executive producer. Three out of nine songs on the album are the product of a short-lived writing partnership between Reed and Nils Lofgren. More of the team's work appeared on Nils' solo studio album Nils, released the same year. Lofgren released his version of "Stupid Man" as "Driftin' Man" on Break Away Angel (2001). Lofgren resurrected five songs he wrote with Reed in the late 70s on Blue with Lou (2019).
Perfect Night: Live in London is a live album by American musician Lou Reed recorded during the Meltdown '97 festival. It includes a version of the Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror", originally sung by Nico. The album includes two songs, "Talking Book" and "Into the Divine" from the 1996 play Time Rocker Reed's collaboration with Robert Wilson, and Darryl Pinckney (text). The cover photograph was taken by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders. In Australia, the 2-CD tour edition of Reed's 2000 album Ecstasy included Perfect Night as the second disc.
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.
"Sweet Jane" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground; it appears on their fourth studio album Loaded (1970). The song was written by Lou Reed, the band's leader, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances as a solo artist.
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. It originally comprised singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise was replaced by Moe Tucker in 1965, who played on most of the band's recordings. Though their integration of rock and the avant-garde achieved little commercial success, they became one of the most influential bands in rock, underground, experimental, and alternative music. Their provocative subject matter, musical experiments, and nihilistic attitude was also instrumental in the development of punk rock, new wave and several other genres.