Today I made an impulse buy at FOPP. Lou Reed’s 2004 double live CD ”Animal Serenade”...
I had severe post purchase depression syndrome however upon reading a review on Amazon which revealed “no drums” “horrendous backing vocals” “gargantuan conceit by Mr Reed” etc etc...
This is a great album, probably one of his best live recordings. Some tracks do have drums (played electronically by the bassist Fernando Saunders) and there’s use of a guitar synth which turns it into a piano...
The songs stand up well in their stripped down state and I really enjoyed listening to this...panic over.
The backing vocals in question are by Anthony of recent Mercury Music Prize winners Anthony and the Johnsons. I remember seeing this band on Later with Jools Holland a couple of years ago and thinking to myself – what on earth possessed Lou to engage that FREAK on BVs (and what’s with the ninja guy “dancing” at the side of the stage?)...
Funny how time changes your perceptions. In the intervening period, despite not being conscious of ever having heard Anthony and the Johnsons, the voice now sounds brilliant to my ears and I doff my cap once again to Mr Reed for going out on a limb...
Highlight of the day was Anne's homemade Red Thai Chicken Curry which I helped with, in my own bumbling way, mostly by getting in the road, making unwanted suggestions and pouring out the glasses of red wine which we consumed while "we" cooked dinner...
Over the last couple of days I have reset the Jukebox to “Shuffle” having spent quite a bit of time recently listening to playlists I’ve compiled or to the new CBQ albums. This change is a refreshing one – and with over 11,000 tracks now saved onto the drive, there’s no end to the surprising juxtapositions the little machine throws up...
I love it...
Hey – while I’m writing this “Dirty Blvd” from the Reed CD comes on...spooky
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