Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology

Released in 1992, Between Thought and Expression sums up Lou Reed's career to the late '80s, featuring a generous look at the ups and downs of a career lived on the margins but ignoring 1989's classic New York. Though he's had the occasional hit single ("Walk on the Wild Side") and written many classics ("Heroin," "Sweet Jane," "Satellite of Love," "Coney Island Baby," "Kill Your Sons"), Reed has never been a mainstream artist. With The Velvet Underground and as a soloist, he's pursued an idiosyncratic path all over the musical map. His lyrics can be insightful or painfully blunt and flat. Here, "Vicious" is glam rock at its most brutal. "Caroline Says," "The Kids," and "Sad Song" represent the heart of his most critically revered album, Berlin. "Street Hassle" is an essential epic. "Metal Machine Music" is a pure prank or a stroke of genius. "The Blue Mask" and "Waves of Fear" make essential use of guitarist Robert Quine. "My Friend George" and "Doin' the Things That We Want To" are surprising odes of tenderness from the Long Island–to–NYC street punk.