returning thanks for st. lou...

It was just six years ago that St. Lou Reed left this realm - and I've been missing him mightily. Tonight, at our gig in Millerton, NY, I'll do my take of "Sweet Jane" in his honor. Most of the time Reed played it ruff - it is pure punk on most recordings - and Mott the Hoople's version produced by David Bowie from 1972- my first taste of "Jane" - still shapes how I hear it at the start. 
There is, however, another take from 1969 where Reed and his mates in the Velvet Underground go downbeat - and that's where I draw my inspiration. Not only is there an aching tenderness to this version, but Reed's original bridge is included - something I didn't know about until the Cowboy Junkie's released it on The Trinity Sessions in 1988.

Apparently the "Matrix" version was how "Jane" had been originally recorded by the Velvets but the bridge and additional lyrics were edited out for the album "Loaded." I absolutely go to pieces when Reed sings:

Some people like to go out dancing
Other people like us we got to work
And there's even some evil mofos
Who'll tell you that life is made from dirt
That women never really faint
And  villains always blink their eyes
And children are the only ones who blush
And life is just to die
But anyone who's ever had a heart
Wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who's ever played a part
Wouldn't turn around and hate it
Anyone who's ever had a dream
Anyone who's ever played a part
Anyone who's ever been lonely
Anyone who's been split apart

There's nothing sentimental about St. Lou - he walked on the wild side - and just barely got out in time to tell us about the grit, pain, and beauty of what it means to live with our brokenness. Not everybody can take his voice. He once said he developed a style of talk/singing so that anyone regardless of ability could do his songs. For years he was pretty messed up in a ton of ways. Truly one of those who only come out at night. Mikal Gilmore, rock critic extraordinaire, wrote in Rolling Stone:

Lou Reed doesn't just write about squalid characters, he allows them to leer and breathe in their own voices, and he colors familiar landscapes through their own eyes. In the process, Reed has created a body of music that comes as close to disclosing the parameters of human loss and recovery as we're likely to find. That qualifies him, in my opinion, as one of the few real heroes rock & roll has raised.

But by the 1980's he had regrouped, cleaned up, and reoriented himself with his art that became increasingly insightful. My other absolute favorite is his 1989 masterpiece, New York, that continues to be the finest social commentary rock and roll album of any era. Here's the whole freakin' thing live...

Take a listen to any part of it - or give yourself and hour for the whole ride - you won't regret it. His "Busload of Faith" gave my own spirituality some focus as did "Last Great American Whale" and "Dirty Boulevard." His follow-up, Magic and Loss from 1992, is another winner - especially "What's Good." He was a hard living, hard loving SOB who I came to love despite our all all too obvious differences. He helped me start to own my shadow and give expression to the ways my wounds are woven into the core of my soul. Tonight, we'll rock on and give thanks to St. Lou as well as another maestro. Robert Hunter. If you're in the area, stop by 52 Main in Millerton, NY after 9 pm and join us.