Complete List Of Lou Reed Albums And Songs

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This Complete List Of Lou Reed Albums And Songs presents Lou Reed’s solo studio catalog, major collaborative studio albums, principal officially released live albums, and key archival releases. Lewis Allan Reed was born on March 2, 1942, in Brooklyn, New York, and was raised in Freeport on Long Island. After leaving The Velvet Underground, he began a solo career that moved through glam rock, hard rock, noise, jazz-influenced experimentation, stripped-down guitar records, theatrical projects, and ambient meditation music. Reed died on October 27, 2013, leaving behind one of the most distinctive bodies of work in modern rock music.

The studio albums below run chronologically from Lou Reed in 1972 through the collaborative Lulu with Metallica in 2011. The live section includes the major authorized concert albums that became established parts of Reed’s catalog, while the archival section adds important posthumous releases from RCA/Legacy and the Lou Reed Archive. Each album includes its track listing so the progression of Reed’s songwriting, performance style, and recording experiments can be followed across the decades.

LOU REED STUDIO ALBUMS

Lou Reed (1972)

Lou Reed was the first solo studio album Reed released after leaving The Velvet Underground. Recorded in London, the album revisited several songs that had existed in earlier Velvet Underground form while giving them new arrangements. Richard Robinson produced the record, and the sessions included musicians such as Rick Wakeman, Steve Howe, Caleb Quaye, and Herbie Flowers. Songs including “I Can’t Stand It,” “Lisa Says,” “Berlin,” and “Ocean” made the transition into Reed’s solo catalog here. The album did not yet establish the commercial identity that arrived later in 1972, but it marked the beginning of a long and unpredictable solo career.

CD Track Listing:

“I Can’t Stand It” – 2:37
“Going Down” – 2:57
“Walk and Talk It” – 3:40
“Lisa Says” – 5:36
“Berlin” – 5:17
“I Love You” – 2:18
“Wild Child” – 4:40
“Love Makes You Feel” – 3:12
“Ride into the Sun” – 3:20
“Ocean” – 5:04

Transformer (1972)

Transformer became the album that turned Lou Reed into a major solo figure. David Bowie and Mick Ronson produced the record at Trident Studios in London, surrounding Reed’s New York writing with glam-rock color and sharper pop arrangements. “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Perfect Day,” “Satellite of Love,” and “Vicious” became some of the best-known songs of his career. Ronson’s arrangements and musicianship gave the record elegance without sanding away Reed’s dry humor or street-level perspective. The album remains Reed’s most widely recognized studio release and one of the essential records of the glam era.

CD Track Listing:

“Vicious” – 2:58
“Andy’s Chest” – 3:20
“Perfect Day” – 3:43
“Hangin’ ‘Round” – 3:39
“Walk on the Wild Side” – 4:12
“Make Up” – 2:58
“Satellite of Love” – 3:42
“Wagon Wheel” – 3:19
“New York Telephone Conversation” – 1:33
“I’m So Free” – 3:07
“Goodnight Ladies” – 4:19

Berlin (1973)

Berlin pushed Lou Reed in a far darker direction after the success of Transformer. Bob Ezrin produced the concept album, which follows the destructive relationship between Jim and Caroline through addiction, violence, separation, and despair. Reed’s songs are framed by dramatic orchestration, choirs, and a large cast of musicians that includes Steve Winwood, Jack Bruce, and Aynsley Dunbar. “Caroline Says II,” “The Kids,” “The Bed,” and “Sad Song” make the record emotionally relentless. Although its initial reception was divided, Berlin was later widely reassessed as one of Reed’s most ambitious and important albums.

CD Track Listing:

“Berlin” – 3:23
“Lady Day” – 3:40
“Men of Good Fortune” – 4:37
“Caroline Says I” – 3:57
“How Do You Think It Feels” – 3:42
“Oh, Jim” – 5:13
“Caroline Says II” – 4:10
“The Kids” – 7:55
“The Bed” – 5:51
“Sad Song” – 6:55

Sally Can’t Dance (1974)

Sally Can’t Dance gave Lou Reed the highest-charting album of his solo career in the United States. Steve Katz produced the record, which mixes polished 1970s rock production with Reed’s usual combination of humor, bitterness, and uncomfortable observation. “Kill Your Sons” looks directly back at Reed’s youth, while the title track turns decadence and social collapse into a darkly catchy groove. The album’s smoother sound helped it reach a wider audience than many of Reed’s earlier records. Reed himself remained ambivalent about the finished album, but it stands as one of the most commercially visible moments of his 1970s catalog.

CD Track Listing:

“Ride Sally Ride” – 4:06
“Animal Language” – 3:05
“Baby Face” – 5:06
“N.Y. Stars” – 4:02
“Kill Your Sons” – 3:40
“Ennui” – 3:44
“Sally Can’t Dance” – 4:12
“Billy” – 5:11

Metal Machine Music (1975)

Metal Machine Music remains one of the most extreme releases in Lou Reed’s catalog. Instead of conventional songs, the double album consists of sustained electric-guitar feedback, distortion, harmonics, and layered noise spread across four long sections. Reed created the work without a traditional backing band, pushing amplification and studio manipulation into territory far removed from rock songwriting. The album confused and angered many listeners when RCA released it in 1975, while others eventually embraced it as an important precursor to noise music. Whatever the interpretation, it remains one of Reed’s clearest statements that commercial expectations would never control the limits of his work.

CD Track Listing:

“Metal Machine Music, Part I” – 16:10
“Metal Machine Music, Part II” – 15:53
“Metal Machine Music, Part III” – 16:13
“Metal Machine Music, Part IV” – 15:55

Coney Island Baby (1975)

Coney Island Baby brought Lou Reed back toward melody, intimacy, and direct songwriting after Metal Machine Music. Reed and Godfrey Diamond shaped a warmer sound around a band that included Bob Kulick, Bruce Yaw, and Michael Suchorsky. “Crazy Feeling,” “She’s My Best Friend,” and the title track show Reed at his most open and reflective. The closing “Coney Island Baby” became one of his most enduring solo songs, balancing nostalgia, tenderness, and self-reinvention. The album remains a major turning point because it proved Reed could return to conventional songs without giving up his personality or edge.

CD Track Listing:

“Crazy Feeling” – 2:56
“Charley’s Girl” – 2:36
“She’s My Best Friend” – 5:55
“Kicks” – 6:06
“A Gift” – 3:47
“Ooohhh Baby” – 3:45
“Nobody’s Business” – 3:41
“Coney Island Baby” – 6:37

Rock and Roll Heart (1976)

Rock and Roll Heart was Lou Reed’s first studio album for Arista Records. The record moves through rock, soul, jazz, and lighter pop textures while keeping Reed’s New York storytelling at the center. Michael Fonfara, Marty Fogel, Bruce Yaw, and other musicians helped give the album a loose and flexible sound. “I Believe in Love,” “You Wear It So Well,” and the title track show a more playful side of Reed than some of the records that surrounded it. The album was not one of his biggest commercial successes, but its relaxed character makes it a distinctive chapter in his catalog.

CD Track Listing:

“I Believe in Love” – 2:46
“Banging on My Drum” – 2:11
“Follow the Leader” – 2:13
“You Wear It So Well” – 4:52
“Ladies Pay” – 4:23
“Rock and Roll Heart” – 3:05
“Chooser and the Chosen One” – 2:47
“Senselessly Cruel” – 2:08
“Claim to Fame” – 2:51
“Vicious Circle” – 2:53
“A Sheltered Life” – 2:21
“Temporary Thing” – 5:14

Street Hassle (1978)

Street Hassle returned Lou Reed to darker writing and more experimental production. The album made notable use of binaural recording, giving parts of the record an unusually immediate and three-dimensional feel. Its centerpiece is the long title composition, a three-part work that combines strings, spoken narrative, and brutal urban imagery. “Gimme Some Good Times,” “Dirt,” and “I Wanna Be Black” surround that centerpiece with sarcasm, confrontation, and black humor. The album was never a major commercial hit, but it remains one of the strongest examples of Reed combining formal experimentation with street-level storytelling.

CD Track Listing:

“Gimme Some Good Times” – 3:15
“Dirt” – 4:43
“Street Hassle” – 10:53
- a. “Waltzing Matilda”
- b. “Street Hassle”
- c. “Slipaway”
“I Wanna Be Black” – 2:55
“Real Good Time Together” – 3:22
“Shooting Star” – 3:11
“Leave Me Alone” – 4:44
“Wait” – 3:13

The Bells (1979)

The Bells is one of the strangest and most jazz-influenced albums in Lou Reed’s discography. Reed worked closely with Michael Fonfara, whose keyboards and arrangements helped shape the record’s loose, improvisational sound. “Stupid Man,” “Disco Mystic,” “Families,” and the long title track move between rock, funk, jazz, repetition, and spoken imagery. The album often feels deliberately unstable, as though Reed wanted the performances to stay close to the edge of falling apart. That unpredictability divided listeners, but it also makes The Bells one of his most distinctive late-1970s records.

CD Track Listing:

“Stupid Man” – 2:33
“Disco Mystic” – 4:30
“I Want to Boogie with You” – 3:55
“With You” – 2:20
“Looking for Love” – 3:29
“City Lights” – 3:22
“All Through the Night” – 4:58
“Families” – 6:01
“The Bells” – 9:17

Growing Up in Public (1980)

Growing Up in Public continued Lou Reed’s collaboration with keyboardist Michael Fonfara. The album turns inward, examining family history, adulthood, drinking, relationships, and the uncomfortable process of self-examination. “How Do You Speak to an Angel,” “My Old Man,” “The Power of Positive Drinking,” and the title track show Reed writing with unusual directness about his own life. The production is cleaner than the rougher sound of Street Hassle and The Bells, but the lyrics remain sharp. The record closed Reed’s first Arista period before he returned to RCA for The Blue Mask.

CD Track Listing:

“How Do You Speak to an Angel” – 4:08
“My Old Man” – 3:15
“Keep Away” – 3:31
“Growing Up in Public” – 3:04
“Standing on Ceremony” – 3:32
“So Alone” – 4:05
“Love Is Here to Stay” – 3:10
“The Power of Positive Drinking” – 2:13
“Smiles” – 2:44
“Think It Over” – 3:25
“Teach the Gifted Children” – 3:21

The Blue Mask (1982)

The Blue Mask restored a harder guitar sound to Lou Reed’s music and began one of the strongest stretches of his 1980s work. Reed was joined by Robert Quine on guitar, Fernando Saunders on bass, and Doane Perry on drums, creating a spare band sound with very little decoration. Quine’s abrasive guitar lines push against Reed’s rhythm playing and give songs such as “The Gun,” “Waves of Fear,” and the title track their tension. The album also contains deeply personal songs including “My House” and “Heavenly Arms.” Reed’s voice sounds unusually exposed against the band’s spare arrangements. Its combination of emotional openness and raw guitar interplay made The Blue Mask a major critical comeback.

CD Track Listing:

“My House” – 5:25
“Women” – 4:57
“Underneath the Bottle” – 2:33
“The Gun” – 3:40
“The Blue Mask” – 5:00
“Average Guy” – 3:10
“The Heroine” – 3:00
“Waves of Fear” – 4:10
“The Day John Kennedy Died” – 4:08
“Heavenly Arms” – 4:48

Legendary Hearts (1983)

Legendary Hearts continued the personal writing and stripped-down band approach of The Blue Mask. Robert Quine, Fernando Saunders, and Fred Maher joined Reed on a set of songs focused on relationships, addiction, disappointment, and domestic life. “Legendary Hearts,” “Betrayed,” “The Last Shot,” and “Bottoming Out” carry some of Reed’s most direct writing from the period. Tension between Reed and Quine affected the final mix, with Quine later expressing frustration about how low his guitar had been placed. Even so, the album remains an important companion to The Blue Mask and a key part of Reed’s early-1980s resurgence.

CD Track Listing:

“Legendary Hearts” – 3:26
“Don’t Talk to Me About Work” – 2:11
“Make Up Mind” – 2:52
“Martial Law” – 3:56
“The Last Shot” – 3:22
“Turn Out the Light” – 2:48
“Pow Wow” – 3:07
“Betrayed” – 3:13
“Bottoming Out” – 3:40
“Home of the Brave” – 6:52
“Rooftop Garden” – 3:05

New Sensations (1984)

New Sensations brought a brighter and more accessible sound into Lou Reed’s 1980s catalog. Reed and John Jansen produced the album, with Fernando Saunders and Fred Maher helping drive the rhythm section. “I Love You, Suzanne” opens the record with an unusually buoyant pop-rock feel, while “New Sensations,” “My Friend George,” and “High in the City” balance optimism with Reed’s usual realism. The album reached the Billboard 200 Top 60 and gave Reed renewed commercial momentum. The album sits between Legendary Hearts and Mistrial as one of the most upbeat records in Reed’s studio catalog.

CD Track Listing:

“I Love You, Suzanne” – 3:16
“Endlessly Jealous” – 3:59
“My Red Joystick” – 3:35
“Turn to Me” – 4:24
“New Sensations” – 5:47
“Doin’ the Things That We Want To” – 3:56
“What Becomes a Legend Most” – 3:39
“Fly into the Sun” – 3:08
“My Friend George” – 3:58
“High in the City” – 3:28
“Down at the Arcade” – 3:40

Mistrial (1986)

Mistrial found Lou Reed working with a distinctly mid-1980s production palette. Reed and Fernando Saunders produced the album, combining guitars with synthesizers, electronic percussion, and a brighter studio finish. “No Money Down” became the best-known track, helped by a memorable mechanical music video, while “Video Violence” and “The Original Wrapper” show Reed responding directly to contemporary media and culture. The record divided listeners because its production is so closely tied to its era. Even so, Mistrial captures Reed refusing to repeat the sound of his earlier albums and trying to work inside the technology of the moment.

CD Track Listing:

“Mistrial” – 3:22
“No Money Down” – 3:10
“Outside” – 3:00
“Don’t Hurt a Woman” – 3:48
“Video Violence” – 5:32
“Spit It Out” – 3:39
“The Original Wrapper” – 3:37
“Mama’s Got a Lover” – 4:21
“I Remember You” – 3:13
“Tell It to Your Heart” – 5:08

New York (1989)

New York returned Lou Reed to a lean guitar-band sound and placed his writing about the city at the center of the record. Reed and Fred Maher produced the album, with Mike Rathke and Rob Wasserman completing the core ensemble. Reed asked listeners to hear the fourteen songs as a continuous work, and the sequence moves through poverty, politics, AIDS, racism, corruption, faith, and neighborhood life. “Dirty Blvd.” reached number one on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks chart. The album became one of the most acclaimed records of Reed’s solo career and remains one of his clearest statements about New York City.

CD Track Listing:

“Romeo Had Juliette” – 3:09
“Halloween Parade” – 3:33
“Dirty Blvd.” – 3:29
“Endless Cycle” – 4:01
“There Is No Time” – 3:45
“Last Great American Whale” – 3:42
“Beginning of a Great Adventure” – 4:57
“Busload of Faith” – 4:50
“Sick of You” – 3:25
“Hold On” – 3:24
“Good Evening Mr. Waldheim” – 4:35
“Xmas in February” – 2:56
“Strawman” – 5:54
“Dime Store Mystery” – 5:01

Songs for Drella (1990)

Songs for Drella reunited Lou Reed with John Cale for a song cycle about Andy Warhol. Reed and Cale wrote and performed the album themselves, using guitar, keyboards, viola, and voices instead of a full rock band. The songs move between Warhol’s imagined perspective, biographical scenes, and the artists’ own complicated feelings about their former mentor. “Smalltown,” “Style It Takes,” “Work,” and “Hello It’s Me” give the record both intimacy and dramatic range. The collaboration also helped reopen the relationship between former Velvet Underground members and preceded the group’s reunion in the 1990s.

CD Track Listing:

“Smalltown” – 2:04
“Open House” – 4:18
“Style It Takes” – 2:54
“Work” – 2:38
“Trouble With Classicists” – 3:41
“Starlight” – 3:28
“Faces and Names” – 4:12
“Images” – 3:30
“Slip Away (A Warning)” – 3:05
“It Wasn’t Me” – 3:30
“I Believe” – 3:18
“Nobody But You” – 3:46
“A Dream” – 6:33
“Forever Changed” – 4:52
“Hello It’s Me” – 3:13

Magic and Loss (1992)

Magic and Loss is a concept album shaped by the deaths of people close to Lou Reed, including songwriter Doc Pomus. Reed and Mike Rathke produced the record, keeping the arrangements restrained so the lyrics could remain at the center. Rob Wasserman and Michael Blair join Reed and Rathke on a sequence that moves through illness, fear, anger, memory, and acceptance. “What’s Good,” “Sword of Damocles,” “Cremation,” and the title track form part of a carefully structured emotional arc. The album became one of Reed’s strongest international chart successes and one of the most openly reflective records of his career.

CD Track Listing:

“Dorita (The Spirit)” – 1:07
“What’s Good (The Thesis)” – 3:22
“Power and Glory (The Situation)” – 4:23
“Magician (Internally)” – 6:22
“Sword of Damocles (Externally)” – 3:42
“Goodby Mass (In a Chapel Bodily Termination)” – 4:25
“Cremation (Ashes to Ashes)” – 2:54
“Dreamin’ (Escape)” – 5:07
“No Chance (Regret)” – 3:15
“Warrior King (Revenge)” – 4:26
“Harry’s Circumcision (Reverie Gone Astray)” – 3:20
“Gassed and Stoked (Loss)” – 4:18
“Power and Glory Part II (Magic – Transformation)” – 2:57
“Magic and Loss (The Summation)” – 6:39

Set the Twilight Reeling (1996)

Set the Twilight Reeling brought Lou Reed back to a more direct rock-and-roll setting after the formal structure of Magic and Loss. Reed produced the album and handled much of the instrumental work, with Tony Smith and other collaborators supporting him. “Egg Cream” looks back at New York childhood memory, while “NYC Man,” “Trade In,” and the title track mix humor, romance, and self-examination. The record also reflects Reed’s relationship with Laurie Anderson, who appears on the album. Its guitar-heavy sound makes it one of the warmer and more immediate releases from Reed’s later career.

CD Track Listing:

“Egg Cream” – 3:57
“NYC Man” – 4:56
“Finish Line” – 3:24
“Trade In” – 4:59
“Hang On to Your Emotions” – 3:46
“Sex With Your Parents (Motherfucker), Part II” – 3:37
“Hookywooky” – 4:19
“The Proposition” – 3:27
“Adventurer” – 4:18
“Riptide” – 7:47
“Set the Twilight Reeling” – 5:04

Ecstasy (2000)

Ecstasy is one of Lou Reed’s longest and most intense late-career studio albums. Reed and Hal Willner produced the record, with Fernando Saunders, Tony Smith, Mike Rathke, and Paul Shapiro among the principal musicians. The songs examine desire, jealousy, aging, obsession, domestic tension, and emotional damage without softening Reed’s language. “Paranoia Key of E,” “Ecstasy,” “Rock Minuet,” and the eighteen-minute “Like a Possum” show how far the album moves between tight rock songs and extended experimentation. The record did not become a major commercial hit, but it remains one of Reed’s most substantial works from the 2000s.

CD Track Listing:

“Paranoia Key of E” – 4:28
“Mystic Child” – 5:01
“Mad” – 4:29
“Ecstasy” – 4:25
“Modern Dance” – 4:09
“Tatters” – 5:56
“Future Farmers of America” – 3:01
“Turning Time Around” – 4:21
“White Prism” – 4:00
“Rock Minuet” – 6:55
“Baton Rouge” – 4:54
“Like a Possum” – 18:03
“Rouge” – 1:00
“Big Sky” – 6:32

The Raven (2003)

The Raven grew out of Lou Reed’s theatrical engagement with the writings of Edgar Allan Poe. Reed and Hal Willner produced a project that combines rock songs, spoken word, literary adaptation, and dramatic performance. Guests include Willem Dafoe, Steve Buscemi, Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Anohni, Ornette Coleman, and others. Reed also revisited older songs such as “Perfect Day” and “The Bed” inside the Poe-inspired framework. The result is one of the most theatrical and demanding albums in his catalog, built less like a conventional rock release than a staged work translated into sound.

CD Track Listing:

Disc 1: Act 1

“The Conqueror Worm” – 2:17
“Overture” – 1:06
“Old Poe” – 0:40
“Prologue (Ligiea)” – 4:49
“Edgar Allan Poe” – 3:20
“The Valley of Unrest” – 2:27
“Call on Me” – 2:08
“The City in the Sea / Shadow” – 4:15
“A Thousand Departed Friends” – 4:55
“Change” – 2:19
“The Fall of the House of Usher” – 8:44
“The Bed” – 3:32
“Perfect Day” – 3:28
“The Raven” – 6:30
“Balloon” – 1:01

Disc 2: Act 2

“Broadway Song” – 3:13
“The Tell-Tale Heart, Part 1” – 2:24
“Blind Rage” – 3:27
“The Tell-Tale Heart, Part 2” – 1:43
“Burning Embers” – 3:21
“Imp of the Perverse” – 3:12
“Vanishing Act” – 5:23
“The Cask” – 6:41
“Guilty (Spoken)” – 2:46
“Guilty (Song)” – 4:55
“A Wild Being From Birth” – 5:35
“I Wanna Know (The Pit and the Pendulum)” – 6:59
“Science of the Mind” – 1:36
“Annabel Lee / The Bells” – 1:42
“Hop Frog” – 1:47
“Every Frog Has His Day” – 1:06
“Tripitena’s Speech” – 2:19
“Who Am I? (Tripitena’s Song)” – 4:31
“Courtly Orangutans” – 1:41
“Fire Music” – 2:44
“Guardian Angel” – 6:52

Hudson River Wind Meditations (2007)

Hudson River Wind Meditations was Lou Reed’s final solo studio album and a complete departure from conventional song-based rock. Created as music for meditation, tai chi, and focused breathing, the record consists of long instrumental electronic pieces built from drones and slowly changing textures. Reed designed the music to function as an environment rather than as a collection of songs with verses and choruses. “Move Your Heart” and “Find Your Note” occupy most of the album, followed by two shorter pieces. The album later became the second release in the Lou Reed Archive Series when Light in the Attic issued a remastered edition in partnership with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive.

CD Track Listing:

“Move Your Heart” – 28:56
“Find Your Note” – 31:35
“Hudson River Wind (Blend the Ambiance)” – 1:51
“Wind Coda” – 5:23

Lulu (2011)

Lulu brought Lou Reed together with Metallica for the final studio album released during his lifetime. The project drew on Frank Wedekind’s Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box, with Reed adapting material he had originally developed for a theatrical production. Metallica supplied the heavy instrumental framework while Reed delivered lyrics in a spoken and sung style that often ignores conventional rock phrasing. “The View,” “Iced Honey,” and the long closing “Junior Dad” show the collaboration at its most confrontational and atmospheric. The album sharply divided listeners, but its refusal to compromise fits the experimental instincts that ran through Reed’s entire career.

CD Track Listing:

“Brandenburg Gate” – 4:19
“The View” – 5:17
“Pumping Blood” – 7:24
“Mistress Dread” – 6:52
“Iced Honey” – 4:36
“Cheat on Me” – 11:26
“Frustration” – 8:34
“Little Dog” – 8:01
“Dragon” – 11:08
“Junior Dad” – 19:28

LOU REED LIVE ALBUMS

Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal (1974)

Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal was recorded at Howard Stein’s Academy of Music in New York on December 21, 1973. Lou Reed was backed by a powerful band featuring Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner on guitars, Prakash John on bass, Ray Colcord on keyboards, and Whitey Glan on drums. The arrangements turn Velvet Underground songs such as “Sweet Jane,” “Heroin,” and “Rock & Roll” into large-scale hard-rock performances. The album reached a much wider audience than Berlin and became one of Reed’s best-known live releases. Steve Hunter’s extended introduction to “Sweet Jane” remains one of the defining moments of Reed’s concert catalog.

Track Listing:

Intro / “Sweet Jane” – 7:57
“Heroin” – 13:16
“White Light/White Heat” – 5:11
“Lady Day” – 4:00
“Rock ‘n’ Roll” – 10:08

Lou Reed Live (1975)

Lou Reed Live draws from the same December 1973 Academy of Music performances that produced Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal. The album collects additional material from those concerts rather than repeating the earlier live LP. Reed’s band again features Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner, whose twin-guitar sound gives these songs a much heavier profile than their studio versions. “Walk on the Wild Side,” “Vicious,” “Satellite of Love,” and the extended “Oh, Jim” show a different side of the same concert run. Although it arrived later and has always lived in the shadow of Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal, it is an essential companion to that album.

Track Listing:

“Walk on the Wild Side” – 5:59
“I’m Waiting for the Man” – 5:59
“Vicious” – 4:53
“Satellite of Love” – 3:40
“Oh, Jim” – 10:39
“Sad Song” – 7:30

Live: Take No Prisoners (1978)

Live: Take No Prisoners captures Lou Reed at the Bottom Line in New York in 1978. Rather than simply racing through the songs, Reed turns the show into a running conversation filled with jokes, arguments, cultural commentary, and long introductions. The performances stretch songs such as “Sweet Jane,” “I’m Waiting for My Man,” and “Walk on the Wild Side” far beyond their familiar studio lengths. The album is as much a document of Reed’s stage personality as it is a conventional live record. For listeners who want the confrontational, funny, and unpredictable side of Lou Reed in concert, this is one of the essential releases.

Track Listing:

“Sweet Jane” – 10:44
“I Wanna Be Black” – 6:29
“Satellite of Love” – 7:07
“Pale Blue Eyes” – 7:37
“Berlin” – 6:14
“I’m Waiting for My Man” – 13:59
“Coney Island Baby” – 8:39
“Street Hassle” – 13:16
“Walk on the Wild Side” – 16:54
“Leave Me Alone” – 7:28

Live in Italy (1984)

Live in Italy documents Lou Reed’s 1983 tour with one of his strongest 1980s bands. Robert Quine’s guitar, Fernando Saunders’ bass and vocals, and Fred Maher’s drums give the performances a lean and aggressive sound. The set moves freely between Velvet Underground material and Reed’s solo catalog, including songs from The Blue Mask and Legendary Hearts. A long “Some Kinda Love/Sister Ray” medley provides the album’s biggest stretch of improvisation. The record is especially valuable because it captures the Reed and Quine guitar partnership in a live setting before that collaboration ended.

Track Listing:

“Sweet Jane” – 4:04
“I’m Waiting for My Man” – 3:48
“Martial Law” – 4:08
“Satellite of Love” – 6:45
“Kill Your Sons” – 5:43
“Betrayed” – 3:05
“Sally Can’t Dance” – 3:32
“Waves of Fear” – 3:17
“Average Guy” – 2:46
“White Light/White Heat” – 3:21
“Some Kinda Love/Sister Ray” – 15:30
“Walk on the Wild Side” – 4:30
“Heroin” – 8:28
“Rock & Roll” – 6:01

Perfect Night: Live in London (1998)

Perfect Night: Live in London was recorded at the Royal Festival Hall during the 1997 Meltdown Festival. Reed used a semi-acoustic setting that gives familiar songs a softer surface without removing their tension. Mike Rathke, Fernando Saunders, and Tony Smith support Reed through material spanning The Velvet Underground, Berlin, New York, and Set the Twilight Reeling. The set includes less obvious selections such as “Talking Book,” “Into the Divine,” and “Why Do You Talk” alongside standards like “Perfect Day” and “Dirty Blvd.” Reed’s acoustic guitar gives the concert a noticeably different texture from his heavier live records. The album offers one of the clearest examples of Reed reworking his catalog without treating the older songs as museum pieces.

Track Listing:

“I’ll Be Your Mirror” – 3:16
“Perfect Day” – 3:46
“The Kids” – 4:26
“Vicious” – 5:40
“Busload of Faith” – 4:27
“Kicks” – 4:16
“Talking Book” – 3:43
“Into the Divine” – 3:34
“Coney Island Baby” – 6:11
“New Sensations” – 6:07
“Why Do You Talk” – 2:38
“Riptide” – 4:13
“Original Wrapper” – 4:49
“Sex With Your Parents” – 2:56
“Dirty Blvd.” – 6:06

American Poet (2001)

American Poet presents a December 26, 1972 radio performance recorded at Ultra-Sonic Recording Studios in Hempstead, New York. Reed performs with the Tots during the period immediately after Transformer, giving the album a direct link to the beginning of his solo touring career. The set mixes Velvet Underground songs with early solo material and includes an interview segment in the middle. “Heroin,” “Satellite of Love,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and “Berlin” show how quickly Reed was reshaping his songs for the stage. Long circulated in unofficial form, the concert finally received a commercial release in 2001.

Track Listing:

“White Light/White Heat” – 4:04
“Vicious” – 3:13
“I’m Waiting for My Man” – 7:14
“Walk It Talk It” – 4:04
“Sweet Jane” – 4:38
Interview – 5:01
“Heroin” – 8:34
“Satellite of Love” – 3:28
“Walk on the Wild Side” – 5:55
“I’m So Free” – 3:52
“Berlin” – 6:00
“Rock & Roll” – 5:14

Le Bataclan ’72 (2004)

Le Bataclan ’72 documents the January 29, 1972 Paris reunion of Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nico. The stripped-down concert predates Reed’s major solo breakthrough and places Velvet Underground material beside songs from the artists’ early solo work. Reed sings and plays acoustic guitar, Cale moves between piano, viola, guitar, and voice, and Nico contributes vocals and harmonium. The set includes “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Heroin,” “Femme Fatale,” “Frozen Warnings,” and “All Tomorrow’s Parties.” The intimacy of the room keeps the performance far from the arena-rock scale Reed would adopt only a few years later. Although the performance circulated for years before its commercial release, it remains a rare document of the three musicians sharing a stage after the original Velvet Underground period.

Track Listing:

“Waiting for the Man” – 5:44
“Berlin” – 5:31
“Black Angel’s Death Song” – 4:40
“Wild Child” – 5:41
“Heroin” – 7:36
“Ghost Story” – 3:22
“The Biggest, Loudest, Hairiest Group of All” – 4:07
“Empty Bottles” – 3:16
“Femme Fatale” – 3:21
“No One Is There” – 6:22
“Frozen Warnings” – 5:23
“Janitor of Lunacy” – 5:10
“I’ll Be Your Mirror” – 4:04
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” – 3:12
“Pale Blue Eyes” – 2:06
“Candy Says” – 1:44

Animal Serenade (2004)

Animal Serenade is a two-disc live album recorded during Lou Reed’s 2003 tour. Reed is joined by Fernando Saunders, Mike Rathke, Jane Scarpantoni, and other musicians in arrangements that often emphasize space, strings, and dynamics over a conventional rock attack. The set reaches from Velvet Underground songs through Berlin, New York, Ecstasy, and The Raven. Anohni appears on “Candy Says,” giving one of the album’s most striking guest performances. The breadth of the set makes Animal Serenade one of the strongest late-career summaries of Reed’s songbook.

Track Listing:

“Advice” – 2:07
“Smalltown” – 6:04
“Tell It to Your Heart” – 6:03
“Men of Good Fortune” – 4:27
“How Do You Think It Feels” – 8:10
“Vanishing Act” – 5:31
“Ecstasy” – 7:09
“The Day John Kennedy Died” – 4:04
“Street Hassle” – 7:00
“The Bed” – 5:16
“Revien Cherie” – 7:12
“Venus in Furs” – 10:03
“Dirty Blvd.” – 6:54
“Sunday Morning” – 5:04
“All Tomorrow’s Parties” – 6:18
“Call on Me” – 2:45
“The Raven” – 9:33
“Set the Twilight Reeling” – 9:08
“Candy Says” – 6:04
“Heroin” – 9:11

Metal Machine Music: Live at the Berlin Opera House (2007)

Metal Machine Music: Live at the Berlin Opera House reimagines Reed’s 1975 noise album as a scored ensemble performance. The German group Zeitkratzer worked from transcriptions and arrangements by Ulrich Krieger, replacing much of the original electric-guitar feedback with acoustic and amplified orchestral textures. Reed participated in the project and appears on guitar. The performance breaks the work into three extended sections rather than reproducing the four-side structure of the original LP. It demonstrates how far Metal Machine Music had moved from being treated as a provocation to being approached as a composition that could be interpreted by other musicians.

Track Listing:

“Metal Machine Music” – 16:28
“Metal Machine Music” – 16:28
“Metal Machine Music” – 17:47

The Stone: Issue Three (2008)

The Stone: Issue Three captures an improvised performance by Lou Reed, Laurie Anderson, and John Zorn at The Stone in New York City. The recording was made on January 10, 2008, with Reed on electric guitar, Anderson on violin and electronics, and Zorn on alto saxophone. Rather than presenting conventional songs, the album is divided into three extended improvisations built from texture, noise, melody, and spontaneous interaction. Tzadik released the limited-edition recording in 2008, with proceeds supporting The Stone. The album documents Reed’s continued interest in experimental performance well beyond the boundaries of his rock catalog.

Track Listing:

“Part 1” – 22:40
“Part 2” – 13:04
“Part 3” – 12:37

The Creation of the Universe (2008)

The Creation of the Universe is the live album by Lou Reed’s Metal Machine Trio with Ulrich Krieger and Sarth Calhoun. The recordings come from the trio’s first concerts at REDCAT in Los Angeles in October 2008. Reed plays guitar and electronics, Krieger contributes tenor saxophone and live electronics, and Calhoun uses Continuum fingerboard and live processing. The two long pieces are freely improvised and connect Reed’s interest in feedback and drone music with electronic processing and ensemble improvisation. Released through Reed’s own Sister Ray operation, the album extended the experimental ideas of Metal Machine Music into a new live group setting.

Track Listing:

“Night 1” – 54:57
“Night 2” – 55:49

Berlin: Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse (2008)

Berlin: Live at St. Ann’s Warehouse documents Lou Reed’s return to the complete Berlin song cycle more than three decades after the studio album. The production was staged in Brooklyn with a large ensemble and visual direction connected to Julian Schnabel’s concert film. Reed performs the original album in sequence before adding “Candy Says,” “Rock Minuet,” and “Sweet Jane” as encores. The expanded arrangements give the material the theatrical scale that the 1973 studio production always suggested. The live album stands as one of the most substantial late-career reconsiderations of Reed’s earlier work.

Track Listing:

Intro – 1:51
“Berlin” – 2:34
“Lady Day” – 4:12
“Men of Good Fortune” – 6:35
“Caroline Says, Pt. 1” – 4:31
“How Do You Think It Feels” – 5:37
“Oh, Jim” – 8:16
“Caroline Says, Pt. 2” – 4:33
“The Kids” – 8:08
“The Bed” – 5:58
“Sad Song” – 8:21
“Candy Says” – 6:04
“Rock Minuet” – 7:18
“Sweet Jane” – 5:31

Live at Alice Tully Hall (January 27, 1973 – 2nd Show) (2020)

Live at Alice Tully Hall (January 27, 1973 – 2nd Show) opened another early chapter of Lou Reed’s concert history when RCA and Legacy issued the recording from the archive. The performance captures Reed with the Tots only months after the release of Transformer. Velvet Underground songs dominate much of the set, but the show also includes “Vicious,” “Satellite of Love,” “Walk on the Wild Side,” and other early solo material. The closing “Sister Ray” runs nearly eleven minutes and gives the concert a raw ending very different from Reed’s later arena-band period. The release is valuable because it presents an official full-length document of Reed onstage at the beginning of his 1970s solo career.

Track Listing:

“White Light/White Heat” – 3:53
“Wagon Wheel” – 4:22
“I’m Waiting for the Man” – 8:09
“Walk and Talk It” – 4:01
“Sweet Jane” – 5:25
“New Age” – 5:30
“Vicious” – 3:33
“I Can’t Stand It” – 4:01
“Satellite of Love” – 3:46
“Heroin” – 9:20
“I’m So Free” – 3:53
“Walk On the Wild Side” – 6:51
“Rock and Roll” – 7:28
“Sister Ray” – 10:58

LOU REED ARCHIVAL RELEASES

I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos (2022)

I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos collects seventeen demo recordings made as Lou Reed prepared for his first solo album. The material includes early versions of songs that later appeared on Lou Reed, Transformer, Berlin, Sally Can’t Dance, and Coney Island Baby. Reed’s voice and guitar are heard in a much more exposed setting than on the finished studio records. RCA and Legacy released the collection in 2022 after the recordings had remained largely unavailable for decades. The album provides a valuable bridge between Reed’s departure from The Velvet Underground and the beginning of his formal solo catalog.

Track Listing:

“Perfect Day (Demo – Takes 1 & 2)” – 4:03
“I’m So Free (Demo)” – 2:08
“Wild Child (Demo)” – 4:18
“I’m Sticking with You (Demo – Take 2)” – 1:51
“Lisa Says (Demo)” – 5:20
“Going Down (Demo – Take 2)” – 2:27
“I Love You (Demo)” – 2:10
“New York Telephone Conversation (Demo)” – 1:39
“She’s My Best Friend (Demo)” – 2:42
“Kill Your Sons (Demo)” – 4:44
“Berlin (Demo)” – 4:34
“Ocean (Demo – Takes 1 & 2)” – 5:04
“Ride Into the Sun (Demo – Take 2)” – 2:28
“Hangin’ Around (Demo – Take 2)” – 3:56
“Love Makes You Feel (Demo – Take 2)” – 3:04
“I Can’t Stand It (Demo)” – 2:32
“Walk It And Talk It (Demo)” – 3:04

Words & Music, May 1965 (2022)

Words & Music, May 1965 launched the Lou Reed Archive Series in partnership with Laurie Anderson and Light in the Attic. The collection centers on a tape Reed made with John Cale in May 1965 and mailed to himself as a form of copyright documentation. It contains the earliest known recordings of “I’m Waiting for the Man,” “Heroin,” and “Pale Blue Eyes” alongside songs that had never previously been released. The expanded CD edition also reaches back to recordings Reed made between 1958 and 1964. Heard together, the material documents Reed’s songwriting immediately before the formation and breakthrough of The Velvet Underground.

Track Listing:

“I’m Waiting for the Man – May 1965 Demo” – 4:43
“Men of Good Fortune – May 1965 Demo” – 4:37
“Heroin – May 1965 Demo” – 3:55
“Too Late – May 1965 Demo” – 3:12
“Buttercup Song – May 1965 Demo” – 4:40
“Walk Alone – May 1965 Demo” – 2:56
“Buzz Buzz Buzz – May 1965 Demo” – 2:50
“Pale Blue Eyes – May 1965 Demo” – 5:02
“Stockpile – May 1965 Demo” – 2:35
“Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams – May 1965 Demo” – 8:14
“I’m Waiting for the Man – May 1965 Alternate Version” – 2:06
“Gee Whiz – 1958 Rehearsal” – 1:50
“Baby, Let Me Follow You Down – 1963/64 Home Recording” – 1:42
“Michael, Row the Boat Ashore – 1963/64 Home Recording” – 1:25
“Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right (Partial) – 1963/64 Home Recording” – 1:12
“W & X, Y, Z Blues – 1963/64 Home Recording” – 1:19
“Lou’s 12-Bar Instrumental – 1963/64 Home Recording” – 0:32

Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 (2024)

Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 is the first official anthology devoted to Reed’s work as a staff songwriter for Pickwick Records. The collection places Reed’s name behind a wide range of garage rock, girl-group pop, soul, novelty records, and sound-alike material created before The Velvet Underground. It includes The Primitives’ “The Ostrich,” The Beachnuts’ “Cycle Annie,” and previously unreleased material such as “Sad Lonely Orphan Boy.” Light in the Attic produced the release with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive as the third title in the archive series. The twenty-five tracks show how quickly Reed could move between commercial assignments and stranger ideas. The album broadens Reed’s recorded history by documenting the professional songwriting work he was doing immediately before his best-known 1960s recordings.

Track Listing:

The Primitives – “The Ostrich” – 2:32
The Beachnuts – “Cycle Annie” – 2:21
The Hi-Lifes – “I’m Gonna Fight” – 2:10
The Hi-Lifes – “Soul City” – 2:19
Ronnie Dickerson – “Oh No Don’t Do It” – 2:24
Ronnie Dickerson – “Love Can Make You Cry” – 2:21
The Hollywoods – “Teardrop In The Sand” – 2:48
The Roughnecks – “You’re Driving Me Insane” – 2:22
The Primitives – “Sneaky Pete” – 2:11
Terry Philips – “Wild One” – 2:14
Spongy And The Dolls – “Really – Really – Really – Really – Really – Really Love” – 2:10
The Foxes – “Soul City” – 2:25
The J Brothers – “Ya Running But I’ll Getcha” – 2:10
Beverley Ann – “We Got Trouble” – 2:53
The All Night Workers – “Why Don’t You Smile” – 2:28
Jeannie Larimore – “Johnny Won’t Surf No More” – 2:12
Robertha Williams – “Tell Mamma Not to Cry” – 2:19
Robertha Williams – “Maybe Tomorrow” – 2:19
Terry Philips – “Flowers For The Lady” – 2:30
Terry Philips – “This Rose” – 2:12
The Surfsiders – “Surfin'” – 1:57
The Surfsiders – “Little Deuce Coupe” – 1:44
The Beachnuts – “Sad Lonely Orphan Boy” – 2:23
The Beachnuts – “I’ve Got a Tiger in My Tank” – 2:11
Ronnie Dickerson – “What About Me” – 2:13

Updated September 16, 2026.

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