Real Good Time Together is a hangover track from the Velvet Underground days, with a distinct studio and concert sound divide. Bruce Springsteen delivers a spoken vocal, although he remained uncredited due to his ongoing legal wrangles. The 3-part Street Hassle suite is linked by a simple refrain and the story of a one night stand that dissolves into an overdose tragedy. The songs are suitably gritty too, both in content and delivery, with opener Dirt setting the tone for a dark ride. Even then, the mix of live concert backing tracks and over-dubbed vocals is quite jarring, and no attempt has been made to hide the joins or to master the record to an acceptable late 70s standard. Recorded using a new technique called binaural sound, Street Hassle isn’t an easy listen, and is best heard on headphones. A much more edgy affair than Transformer, it takes on much of the same subject matter, the street life and urban culture of New York.

This act of bloody mindedness was commercial suicide, but in a way, served to calm Reed down, as he came back with albums such as Coney Island Baby, the more patchy Rock and Roll Heart, and 1978’s Street Hassle. A few short years later, Reed would release Metal Machine Music, a double album consisting of blaring, unlistenable noise, with production credits going to various chemical symbols for the drugs he was addicted to at the time.

This aside, his burgeoning solo career had scored many triumphs, with his breakthrough album, Transformer, establishing him as a respected songwriter and performer. This is ironic, as his earlier work, especially with the Velvet Underground, had certainly helped to inspire a new generation to pick up guitars and form their own bands. LIKE many of his rock peers, the arrival of the punk and new wave movements proved to be a confusing time for Lou Reed. TRACKS TO DOWNLOAD: Street Hassle, I Wanna Be Black, Real Good Time Together

Binaural sound lou reed