Rock and Roll Heart was Lou Reed's first album for Arista Records, and one senses that he wanted to come up with something saleable for his new sponsors.
Uptempo numbers with pop hooks dominate the set, the 12 songs zip by in an efficient 38 minutes, and instead of Reed's trademark meditations on the dark side of life, the lyrics are (for the most part) lean bursts of verse and chorus, in which the artist sings the praises of good times in general and rock & roll in particular (then again, on "I Believe in Love," Reed pledges his allegiance to both "good time music" and "the iron cross," a bit of perversity to remind us whose album this is).
But if Rock and Roll Heart sounds like "Lou Reed Lite," there are more than a few flashes of Reed's inarguable talent.
His band is in fine form (especially Marty Fogel on sax and Michael Fonfara on keyboards).
"Banging on My Drum" is a crunchy rocker that recalls his work with the Velvet Underground; "A Sheltered Life" is an amusing bit of VU archeology (the Velvets demoed the song, but this marked its first appearance on record); and the closer, "Temporary Thing," is a bitter, haunting narrative that foreshadows Reed's next album, the harrowing masterpiece Street Hassle.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Believe in LoveLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:46 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | Banging on My DrumLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:11 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Follow the LeaderLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:13 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | You Wear It So WellLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Ladies PayLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 04:22 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Chooser and the Chosen OneLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:47 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Senselessly CruelLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:08 | 4 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Claim to FameLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Vicious CircleLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | A Sheltered LifeLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 02:20 | 5 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Temporary ThingLou Reed | Lou Reed | Play | 05:13 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Rock And Roll Heart | Lou Reed | Play | 03:06 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 37 mins | 86 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arlessa Barnes | Project Coordinator |
| 2 | Brad Conger | Reissue Art Director |
| 3 | Glenn Delgado | Project Coordinator |
| 4 | Christina DeSimone | Project Coordinator |
| 5 | Robin Diamond | Project Coordinator |
| 6 | Elliott Federman | Mastering |
| 7 | Joanne Feltman | Archivist |
| 8 | Marty Fogel | Saxophone |
| 9 | Michael Fonfara | ARP Synthesizer, Clavinet, Keyboards, Organ, Piano |
| 10 | Felicia Gearhart | Project Coordinator |
| 11 | Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Liner Notes |
| 12 | Laura Gregory | Project Coordinator |
| 13 | Julie Harris | Art Direction, Type Design |
| 14 | Mike Hartry | Digital Transfers |
| 15 | Jeremy Holiday | Project Coordinator |
| 16 | Garland Jeffreys | Guest Artist, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 17 | David Alan Kogut | Reissue Art Director |
| 18 | Glenn Korman | Archivist |
| 19 | Jay Krugman | Assistant Engineer, Mixing |
| 20 | Donna Malyzsko | Project Coordinator |
| 21 | Robin Manning | Project Coordinator |
| 22 | Brooke Nochomson | Project Coordinator |
| 23 | Ed Osborne | Project Coordinator |
| 24 | Larry Parra | Project Coordinator |
| 25 | Bruce Pollock | Project Coordinator |
| 26 | Lou Reed | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Mixing, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals, Vocals (Background) |
| 27 | Dana Renert | Project Coordinator |
| 28 | Steve Ridgeway | Art Direction, Type Design |
| 29 | Mick Rock | Cover Design, Photography |
| 30 | Rob Santos | Reissue Producer |
| 31 | Bill Stafford | Project Coordinator |
| 32 | Corky Stasiak | Engineer, Mixing |
| 33 | Steve Strauss | Project Coordinator |
| 34 | Michael Suchorsky | Drums |
| 35 | Tom Tierney | Editorial Assistant |
| 36 | Bruce Yaw | Bass |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |