Legacy Recordings/Sony Music EntertainmentThe new Lou Reed box set The RCA & Arista Album Collection, which gathers remastered versions of the live and studio albums that the late influential artist put out from 1972 through 1986, gets its release on CD today.
The collection features 16 albums, all of which were remastered under Reed’s personal supervision at New York’s Masterdisk in June and July of 2013. It was Lou’s final project before his passing at age 71 on October 27, 2013.
The box set includes such classic Reed releases as 1972’s Transformer, 1973’s Berlin, the gold-certified 1974 live album Rock n Roll Animal and the 1975 experimental instrumental effort Metal Machine Music. Each disc is housed in a sleeve replicating the original album’s artwork. The collection also contains an 80-page hardbound book featuring memorabilia from Reed’s personal archives, rarely seen photos and artwork, interviews and in-depth liner notes; five glossy 8-by-10-inch prints; and a facsimile of a rare promotional poster.
In celebration of the box set, an invite-only release party was held in New York City this week that was hosted by Reed’s widow, avant-garde artist Laurie Anderson. During the event, Nona Hendryx and John Spencer performed a few of Reed’s songs, Orange Is the New Black actress Natasha Lyonne and music producer Hal Willner recited some of Lou’s lyrics, and famed photographer Mick Rock shared recollections about the late rock legend.
A vinyl version Lou Reed — The RCA & Arista Album Collection will be released on November 18.
Here’s the full list of albums included in the box set:
Lou Reed (April 1972)
Transformer (November 1972)
Berlin (July 1973)
Rock n Roll Animal (February 1974)
Sally Can’t Dance (August 1974)
Metal Machine Music (July 1975)
Coney Island Baby (December 1975)
Rock and Roll Heart (October 1976)
Street Hassle (February 1978)
Lou Reed Live: Take No Prisoners (November 1978, two CDs)
The Bells (April 1979)
Growing Up in Public (April 1980)
The Blue Mask (February 1982)
Legendary Hearts (March 1983)
New Sensations (April 1984)
Mistrial (June 1986)
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