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The Legends of Laurel Canyon

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die

It’s So Hard To Tell Who’s Going To Love You The Best

Karen Dalton

Transfiguration of Vincent

M. Ward

Muswell Hillbillies

Kinks

Christmas in the Heart

Bob Dylan

Glitter and Doom Live

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Let It Roll: The Best of George Harrison

George Harrison

Secret, Profane & Sugarcane

Elvis Costello

Playing for Change

Songs Around the World

Walk On The Wild Side

Reed, Lou

Listen to Lou Reed:

Walk On The Wild Side In the early ‘70s, David Bowie had become such a (boy?) wonder that he was able to freely bestow his Midas touch upon other artists who interested him. Bowie gave “All the Young Dudes” to Mott The Hoople, and their flagging career was instantly revived when the song became an anthem of sorts for the glam-rock fans. Iggy Pop, who had come to resemble little more than a burnt-out loony, saw his career revitalized as well when Bowie took the production reins for a series of albums that once again placed Pop on the cutting edge. Bowie also contacted Lou Reed, whose work with the Velvet Underground was one of Bowie's most potent early influences. Reed was seeking direction for his solo career around this time. After Reed’s failed first attempt at recording in Europe, Bowie came aboard to help him cross over to the flourishing style of glitter and glam-rock.

While Bowie wrote word collages that suggested dadaism or surrealism, Reed was much more literal in his word play. With "Walk On The Wild Side," he continued to do what he had always done, which was to artfully document the decadence of the New York City underground. All Bowie could do was dress up Reed’s droll, deadpan delivery to make it more palatable to a mass audience. Narcissism was a key ingredient of glitter music, and Reed had plenty to spare - perhaps too much. He sounds as though he has barely enough strength to stay awake till the end of the record. Also, the subject matter of transvestitism, oral sex, and drugs was hardly typical for a pop record, making Reed's laconic delivery all the more odd and disconcerting. "Walk On The Wild Side" paints such a vivid picture of deliberate decadence that it can still be shocking thirty years later - perhaps even more so in light of the AIDS and the “family values” debate. The gentle strings that weave through the verses help romanticize the loneliness that lurks below the surface of Reed’s characters. When Reed invokes the “colored girls” to sing "do do-do do-do, do-do-do" and their voices fade into the lush and atmospheric sound of a lazy baritone sax solo, the music suggests the atmosphere of a New York City subway station at three in the morning - an experience I'd just as soon have by proxy, thank you. Although Reed would come close with his wordy and topical theme album New York, a more chillingly stark portrait could hardly have been painted of America's largest and darkest city.