By 1974, Lou Reed’s fan base had grown far beyond the few who followed him while in the Velvet Underground. 

The album “Transformer” attracted an entirely new audience, and the elaborate production qualities of “Berlin” were light years removed from those early days. New fans were clamoring for more, but Reed certainly didn’t want to lose his edge and go mainstream, so he decided to record a live album with the musicians who supported him on “Berlin.” The results were stunning. Four of the five songs appearing on “Rock and Roll Animal” were vintage Velvet Underground songs. 

Old fans were horrified, but new fans found the live recordings to be spectacular, with rich, cutting arrangements that contemporized the VU catalog. Somehow, Lou Reed managed to straddle the line that connected his past with the present. To this day, “Rock and Roll Animal” is considered as one of the best live albums of all time. We feature the entire album, less one track, in order to make room for one song from “Lou Reed Live”, a second (and less effective) live album that was recorded at the exact same show as “Rock and Roll Animal”, released approximately one year later.

Tracks include:

Intro/Sweet Jane

Heroin

White Light, White Heat

Rock and Roll

Sad Day