If you were seeing
Lou Reed in concert, which songs would you rather hear him play -- "Sweet Jane," "White Light/White Heat," and "Rock & Roll," or "Vicious," "Oh, Jim," and "Sad Song"? Even the most loyal fan would probably concede that the former would make for a more exciting show than the latter, which is one of the reasons why this set of outtakes from the concerts recorded for
Rock N Roll Animal in 1974 isn't nearly as interesting as the first album. The duel-guitar attack of
Dick Wagner and
Steve Hunter is still impressive, and
Reed's vocals are in good form, but these performances were left on the cutting room floor the first time around for a reason -- they're simply not as good as the other stuff. If you loved
Rock N Roll Animal, you'll probably like this, but in all likelihood you won't feel cheated by not having it in your collection, either. ~ Mark Deming