Live in Italy (Lou Reed album)

Live in Italy
Live album by
Lou Reed
ReleasedJanuary 1984
RecordedSeptember 7, 1983, Verona
September 10, 1983, Rome
GenreRock
Length75:19
LabelRCA Records
Lou Reed chronology
Legendary Hearts
(1983) 		Live in Italy
(1984) 		New Sensations
(1984)
Lou Reed chronology
Different Times: Lou Reed in the '70s
(1996) 		Live in Concert
(1996; reissue) 		Ecstasy
(2000)

Live In Italy is an album by Lou Reed recorded live over two nights in September 1983 (on the 7th in Verona and on the 10th, at the ruins of Circus Maximus, in Rome) using the Rolling Stones Mobile Unit.[1] It was issued on vinyl only in Germany, the United Kingdom and Japan. At the time, Reed and his band were on a world tour to promote the album Legendary Hearts. A live video, A Night with Lou Reed, filmed at a New York concert, was also released to coincide with the album. The video omitted the songs "Betrayed", "Sally Can't Dance", "Average Guy" and "Some Kinda Love"/"Sister Ray" from the 10th show, while adding "Don't Talk to Me About Work", "Women", "Turn Out the Light" and "New Age" from the 7th.

In 1996, the album was reissued under the title Live in Concert.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Chicago Tribune[3]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[4]
The Village VoiceB+[5]

From contemporary reviews, the NME wondered why the majority of the songs came from Reed's Velvet Underground years, asking if it was, "because in Robert Quine, Lou Reed has at last found another simpatico guitarist, and he's just delighted to spar with him on "Sister Ray" and all those other great old songs which, frustratingly, just haven't been played right for years?"[6] Ken Tucker of The Philadelphia Inquirer gave Live in Italy a five out of five star rating, declaring it "a wonderful encapsulation of Reed's career" finding Reed's vocals "tart and witty" and that "his phrasing loses very little subtlety in this huge-arena context."[4]Tucker also praised Robert Quine who "delivers some of the finest, roughest, most caustic rock guitar playing I've ever heard."[4]

Track listing

All songs written by Lou Reed except as indicated.

Side one

  1. "Sweet Jane" (3:46)
  2. "I'm Waiting for My Man" (4:00)
  3. "Martial Law" (4:06)
  4. "Satellite of Love" (5:06)

Side two

  1. "Kill Your Sons" (5:35)
  2. "Betrayed" (3:05)
  3. "Sally Can't Dance" (3:24)
  4. "Waves of Fear" (3:16)
  5. "Average Guy" (2:54)

Side three

  1. "White Light/White Heat" (3:10)
  2. "Some Kinda Love / Sister Ray" (Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker) (15:30)

Side four

  1. "Walk on the Wild Side" (4:28)
  2. "Heroin" (8:34)
  3. "Rock & Roll" (6:10)

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[7]

Production

  • Pietro Di Silvestro – artwork
  • Rossella Antonelli[8] – cover artwork
  • Fabio Berruti – Artwork, Graphic Design
  • Piero Nannucci[9] – mastering and cutting engineering, RCA Studios, Rome
  • Guido Harari[10] – Photography
  • Luciano Viti[11] – photography
  • Antonio La Rosa[12] – remastering[13]
  • Toshikazu Ohtaka[14] – liner notes[15]
  • Carlo Basile[16] – executive coordinator, RCA Italiana[1]

References

  1. ^ a b Discogs - Live in Italy 2012-07-24th reissue CD Italy
  2. ^ Live in Italy at AllMusic
  3. ^ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  4. ^ a b c Tucker, Ken (March 30, 1984). "Albums". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 26. Retrieved May 26, 2020.
  5. ^ Christgau, Robert (April 24, 1984). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  6. ^ Mat Snow. "Lou Reed: Live in Italy". Rock's Backpages.(Subscription required.)
  7. ^ Live in Italy liner notes. RCA Records. 1983.
  8. ^ Discogs – Rossella Antonelli profile and discography
  9. ^ Discogs – Piero Mannucci profile and discography
  10. ^ Discogs – Guido Harari profile and discography
  11. ^ Discogs – Luciano Viti profile and discography
  12. ^ Dicogs – Antonio La Rosa profile and discography
  13. ^ Discogs – Live in Italy 2001 CD Europe
  14. ^ Discogs – Toshikazu Ohtaka profile and discography
  15. ^ Discogs – Live in Italy 2006–09–20th reissue CD Japan
  16. ^ Discogs – Carlo Basile profile and discography