Rock and Roll Heart

This is part of Buddha Records' Original Masters series. This sequel to CONEY ISLAND BABY finds Lou Reed in an equally mellow mood. The songs are mostly gentle, jazzy things, heavy on acoustic guitar, electric piano, and sax. There are exceptions, of course. "Banging on My Drum," whose title is fully half of the song's lyric, is a three-chord rocker with Lou gone electric. Had the drumming been a little less conventional, this one could have passed for a Velvet Underground outtake. Also noteworthy are "Chooser and the Chosen One," an odd sort of R&B instrumental; "Follow the Leader," which appears to be Reed's version of '70s funk; and "Sheltered Life," in which Reed sings "I've never done drugs"-and, presumably, his nose does not grow.