Description Lou Reed Live: Take No Prisoners Artist: Lou Reed Title: Live: Take No Prisoners Release Year: 1978 Pressing Year: 1978 Label: Arista Records Catalog Number: AL 8502 (2) Format: 33 RPM • Two 12” Albums • Stereo UPC: none "I do Lou Reed better than anybody, so I thought I'd get in on it," Lou Reed says at one point during this double-album live set, and that seems to sum up the theme quite well. Recorded during a week of shows at New York's Bottom Line in 1978, this two-record set presents Lou Reed the Standup Comic, doing schtick on Patti Smith ("F*ck Radio Ethiopia, man! I'm Radio Brooklyn!"), political activism ("Give me an issue, I'll give you a tissue, and you can wipe my ass with it"), and the agony of playing Walk on the Wild Side ("It's not that I don't want to play your favorites but there are so many favorites to choose from!") while occasionally pausing to play a song. As a comic, Reed is funny by fits and starts. On the odd moments when Reed is focused enough to actually perform a song from start to finish, he's in fine form, sounding loose but enthusiastic, but those moments don't happen especially often, and these two albums plow through a mere ten songs in close to 100 minutes, which gives you an idea of just how far he stretches out here. If you're a fan who wants a look into the mind of Lou Reed, comic or otherwise, these recordings certainly fill the bill. As Reed himself points out, "What's wrong with cheap dirty jokes? I never said I was tasteful." Personnel: Lou Reed (lead vocals, guitars, guitar synthesizer); Marty Fogel (saxophone); Michael Fonfara (electric piano); Stuart Heinrich (guitar, backing vocals); Ellard “Moose” Boles (bass, backing vocals); Michael Suchorsky (drums); Angela Howell (backing vocals, percussion); Chrissy Faith (backing vocals). Record One, Side 1: Record One, Side 4: Sweet Jane Coney Island Baby I Wanna Be Black Street Hassle Satellite Of Love Record Two, Side 2: Record Two, Side 3: Pale Blue Eyes Walk On The Wild Side Berlin Leave Me Alone I’m Waiting For My Man VINYL GRADE: VG+ Notes (on both albums): Minimal surface noise. A good cleaning is all these need. Neither is warped. LABEL GRADE: VG+ Notes (on both albums): No ring wear, spindle wear, tape, or writing. Standard light-blue Arista “a” on black; text is gray on black. SLEEVE GRADE: VG+ Notes (on both albums): Original plain white paper. The b&w newspaper and magazine clippings collage on the first sleeve is repeated on the second sleeve. No writing, no tape, no stains, no rips, no splits, slight yellowing, a few crinkles. JACKET GRADE: VG Notes: Visible ring wear (on back cover). No marks, no splits, no writing, no tape, no stains, slight crinkling. Edges and spine (readable) are in good shape; corners are slightly worn. (See my original scan.) Gatefold has a b&w background of posterized concert, portrait, and art shots of Lou Reed, one large color portrait, and liner notes. Bottom right corner has been snipped to designate a cut-out. Shipping is $4.00. NOTE: I will NOT be responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail. PayPal accepted. Combined shipping: I will be happy to combine multiple items. If you buy more than one album from me, the shipping cost will be the original shipping fee plus $1 per additional item. However, when making your PayPal payment, please pay $4.00 for each album. I will refund the shipping cost overrun ASAP. This is not a record-club pressing. It is the original issue. Note: I haven't cleaned these 42-year-old vinyl records because everybody seems to prefer their own methods. I'll leave the cleaning up to the buyer. Also, I'm not a professional vinyl seller or buyer. This comes from my own collection. Bought at Books, Strings & Things, downtown Blacksburg VA. Enjoy the auction — and good luck!