Sally Can't Dance [Remaster] (CD - 1974)

Personnel: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); Danny Weis (guitar, background vocals); Paul Fleisher (saxophone); David Taylor, Lou Marini, Trevor Koehler, Jon Faddis, Alan Rubin, Alex Foster (horns); Steve Katz (harmonica); Michael Farfina (keyboards); Prakash John (bass, background vocals); Doug Yule (bass); Richie Dharma, Whitey Glan (drums); Michael Wendroff, Joanne Vent (background vocals).

Producers: Steve Katz, Lou Reed.

Reissue producer: Paul Williams.

Recorded at Electric Lady, New York, New York between March & April 1974.

Includes liner notes by Michael Hill.

Digitally remastered by Bob Ludwig (Gateway Studios).

Personnel: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards); Danny Weis (vocals, guitar, tambourine, background vocals); Michael Wendroff, Joanne Vent, Prakash John (vocals, background vocals); Steve Katz (harmonica); Paul Fleisher (saxophone); Jon Faddis, Alan Rubin, Alex Foster, Lou Marini, David Taylor , Trevor Koehler (horns); Michael Fonfara (keyboards, background vocals); Ritchie Dharma, Whitey Glan (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Bob Ludwig.

Liner Note Author: Michael Hill.

Recording information: Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY (03/18/1974-04/26/1974).

Photographer: Mick Rock .

On the live album Rock N Roll Animal, Lou Reed showed he'd learned how to give his audience what they wanted, and do it well. Sally Can't Dance, on the other hand, was the polar opposite, a remarkably cynical album that pandered to the lowest common denominator of the market that had bought Transformer and Rock N Roll Animal, and didn't even do it with much flair. Reed's performances here are limited to vocals, except for some sloppy acoustic guitar on one track (this from the man who helped reinvent electric guitar with the Velvet Underground), and the sodden, overblown arrangements sink most of these tunes before they get past the first chorus; much of the time, Reed sounds like an afterthought on his own album. And while Reed's best songwriting ranks with the best rock of his generation, Sally Can't Dance is cluttered with throwaways that reach for the boho decadence of Transformer and come up empty (with special recognition going to the bizarre and truly puzzling "Animal Language"). Side two does offer two worthwhile songs: "Kill Your Sons," a powerful and deeply personal remembrance of Reed's bouts with shock treatment and brutal psychotherapy, which he would revisit in a much stronger performance on 1984's Live in Italy, and "Billy," a witty and surprisingly poignant remembrance of an old friend and how their paths in life diverged. But otherwise, Sally Can't Dance has the distinction of being the worst studio album of Reed's career; Metal Machine Music may have been a lot more annoying, but at least he was trying on that one. ~ Mark Deming

Following the self-conscious artiness of Berlin, Sally Can't Dance was Lou Reed's blatant stab at commercial success, featuring beefed-up guitar riffs, horn charts, and the occasional slick melody. The move paid off -- it was his only album to reach the Top 10 -- but it's an inconsistent record, complete with lackluster material, terrific rockers ("Sally Can't Dance" and "Kill Your Sons"), and one of Reed's best ballads, "Billy." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine minimize