This live album was in a stack of old records I was given a while back. I finally listened to it and while Reed is, as always, a mixed bag, his band is phenomenal, particularly guitarists Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter, who shine in the unending instrumental “Intro”—frankly the best part of the proceedings. Critic Robert Christgau liked the album except for “Intro,” which he found to be showboat-y, and Paul Morley thought the entire album was an abomination for turning Reed’s oeuvre into straight-ahead rock songs, but truth be told, the band did Reed a favor. Like so many other damaged rock gods (Brian Wilson comes to mind), Reed is clearly the weakest link in this band and someone had the good sense to surround him with A++ players to carry the ball if/when needed. Hell, I’ve never been a fan of the big wanky guitar solo; I love guitar histrionics as much as the next GenX-er, but if you can’t say what you need to say in under 90 seconds, shut up already. “Intro,” however, is a glorious exception.
