…and here is where Lou Reed’s restlessness, or perhaps more accurately, his need for total control, take its ultimate toll.

Close listeners can hear quite vividly that Reed no longer had a direct connection with his own band. It seems as though he was almost working outside of himself, fully convinced that he was moving on and had little reason to continue as a ‘bandmember’, except perhaps to drop a few songs that would engage listeners enough to follow him wherever he felt like going.

Only the band’s fourth album, “Loaded” features only two of The Velvet Underground’s original members, and it is certainly not a fully realized album. What matters, though, is that you almost feel the motion from where the band ‘was’ to where Lou Reed was going.

Featured tracks include:

Who Loves the Sun

Sweet Jane

Rock and Roll

Cool It Down

New Age

Head Held High

Lonesome Cowboy Bill

I Found a Reason

Train Around the Bend

Oh! Sweet Nuthin’