Take No Prisoners (Live) [Remastered] - Lou Reed

...in all directions are well worth hearing. It's a pity that the CD reissue couldn't have added a few more tracks recorded over this week of gigs, as that would have been wonderful. But as it is, Take No Prisoners is a live album that is hard to beat.  ... more

Lou Reed himself originally wanted to call this album Lou Reed Talk And Talk And Talks.
It's certainly an odd album, pitched midway between a straight live album and stand up comedy. There's over 100 minutes of music but only ten tracks which gives you an idea straight away that these are not simple live renditions of Lou's songs.
By 1978 Lou had pretty much come out of his mid 1970s drug period. He was still not entirely clean, but was in better shape than he had been for at least five years. He had a superb band behind him, led by keyboard player Michael Fonfara, and most of them had been touring with Lou for a few years. The musicians were capable of playing the most tender ballad before suddenly and shockingly roaring off like a locomotive at full speed. Lou had a habit of extending or shortening songs on a whim, but the band could easily accomodate Lou's changes of mood.
Nowhere is the skill of band more apparent than on this album.

The opening is a blast - Lou lights a cigarette and speaks directly to the listener. "Hello, sorry we were late, but we were just tuning" then the live recording kicks in with the rowdy and excitable audience at The Bottom Line in New York whooping and applauding Lou's every word. The Stereo Binaural recording deserves a mention. This short lived enhanced stereo recording method places the listener right in the centre of the action. You feel like the crowd ae all around you and when the band gets going you can hear everything, again all around your head. It's a terrific sound, and is perfect for live recordings, really making you feel like you are actually there.

After a bit of banter one of the best ever versions of "Sweet Jane" crashes in. The band are amazingly tight, the overall sound quality is faultless and I find it absolutely thrilling. Mid song, and we get the first of many diversions. As the band takes it down behind Lou he starts chatting away. The whole album is full of snappy one-liners, and delightfully caustic put-downs. No one is safe - critics, hecklers, the Warhol scene, Patti Smith, politics. During "Walk On The Wild Side" Lou decides to tell the story of how he came to write the song. After 15 minutes the song peters out a little and he's only sung the first verse!
"Waiting For The Man" is similarly strung out, with loads of chat before morphing into an uncredited "Temporary Thing".

But it's all like that. "Coney Island Baby" is quite brilliantly performed, the conclusion is deeply affecting as Lou and the backing singers chant, over and over, "The Glory Of Love", Lou becoming hoarse with emotion. "Street Hassle" has a power and depth that beats even the original - Lou at one point breaks off after the girls sing a lovely harmony to congratulate them with "That's beautiful, thanks". "Berlin", "Satellite Of Love" and "Pale Blue Eyes" are all played straight, though the delicacy of the original acoustic "Pale Blue Eyes" is replaced by an angry buzzing guitar synth.

"I Wanna Be Black" is as scabrously funny as always and "Leave Me Alone" is as horridly harsh as always, this time stretched to a murderous 7 minutes.

But on the whole, the album is just fantastic. As I said above it sounds amazing, the performances are amazing (even "Leave Me Alone" one chord dirge that it is, is still brilliantly performed) and the sharp barbed comments that Lou lets fly in all directions are well worth hearing. It's a pity that the CD reissue couldn't have added a few more tracks recorded over this week of gigs, as that would have been wonderful. But as it is, Take No Prisoners is a live album that is hard to beat. 

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