You wouldn't think of rhythm and blues or soul stylings to necessarily show up on a typical Lou Reed record, but the real question should be - is there such a thing as a typical Lou Reed record? The other reviewer's notwithstanding, I would rate this to be one of Lou's finest efforts. And it's greatness may be for the same reasons that Lou himself laments it's failure. He claims he was hardly trying and gave up all control over the production. In rare cases a great artist going through the motions can produce imaginative and powerful music. Such is the case here.

Highlighting Steve Katz's production and teamed with the same set of muscians from "Berlin" and "Rock'n'roll Animal" creates a decadent scene containing some of the most memorable characterizations of any of 70's era Reed records. Powerful and lush Horn arrangements awash in soulful guitars. Lounge style Piano and solid backbeats illuminating the upfront vocals sung this time, not spoken by a mellow yet disillussioned Reed. Brimming with certain conviction and melancholy, Reed is the drunk, drugged and depressed blonde nightclub rockstar. He wearily describes shattered lives and relationships (Billy, Baby Face) broken dreams (Ennui) effects of electric shock therapy (Kill your sons) debauchery (Ride Sally Ride) and even a girl "in the trunk of a ford" which abuses a top-ten disco beat to slyly yet humorously tell the listener why "Sally Can't Dance". The aforementioned "Billy" powerfully closes the album and takes a completely different musical path but is quite possibly one of Lou's 10 greatest songs. Borrowing heavily from Bob Dylan, it is heartbreaking, ironic and unforgettable with a sax lead that dominates. It meanders and cascades for a wonderful 5 minutes much like someone lost walking down the road, soaring and dipping with the best of any blues horn arrangement you will ever hear. Likewise with "ennui" that uses the slide guitar for much the same effect while still equally as gutwrenching and powerful.

Most of Sally Can't Dance's detractors cite the ambivalence on Reed's part along with the sellout "Soul" style production as reasons for the failure of this record. I feel, however that the sound strikes a perfect background for the time in which this record was made and the dis-quieting anger and frustration prevelant throughout. It's as if the dirt and filth from the mid-seventies New York street corner got a soul jam going on and Reed was there, as always to capture it in all it's beautiful ugliness and perversity.

An almost masterpiece, as well as an underrated gem that requires repeated listenings to hear the subtleties and emotion that boils below the surface. Not quite as in-your-face as most Lou Reed music, but just as disturbing and powerful.

so this is regarded, by general critical consensus, as the absolute nadir of reed's albums; reed decried it himself; and why? well, he probably didn't like the fact that he relinquished all control in the studio to his producer, but he'd done the same with 'transformer' and 'berlin'; and there's also the fact that this album was such an open commercial move; reed allegedly promised his record company he would give them two commercial albums if they let him do 'berlin', so the first of the two was 'rock'n'roll animal' and 'sally' was the second; but 'transformer' was an equally calculated commercial move, just as radio-friendly; this album is loads of fun, musically very accessible, a slickly produced pop/rock effort, with r/n touches here and there, but it's by no means a soul or disco album; it's difficult to dance to the title track or 'n.y. stars' but you can actually skake to 'animal language' whatever that one's about; reed said this album was 'cheap and nasty... produced in the slimiest way possible'; so what? i like it for that, it's enjoyable, trashy and no less good because of it; what astonishes is reed's demeanour, he's unbelievably critical of the characters he sings about, actually his usual cast; whereas on 'transformer' he celebrated them lovingly, here he disparages them viciously; the key line is 'isn't it nice/when your heart is made out of ice'; well, he hates himself and his audience too, here more than elsewhere, and this album may have been what the public wanted from the junkie 'fagot mimic machine', but none of this matters, i just love it; the highlights are 'ride sally ride', 'animal language', 'n.y. stars', and the title track; lyrically it's as good as anything by reed, with special praise to 'billy', 'kill your sons' and 'n.y. stars'; also, his voice, which i think is beautiful when he actually sings the words, in my opinion sounds great, brought to the fore in the mix and greatly multitracked on 'n.y. stars' and 'baby face'; btw, the opening riff of the former was lifted by bowie for 'stay' on 1976's 'station to station' album; actually, a more appropriate album title would have been 'ennui'; the added single version of 'sally can't dance' features a different, more deadpan vocal track, and is also a different mix than the album version

This is quite a fun album in a way. What artist other than Lou Reed would meow like a cat on one track and on another give intimate details about his own teenage experiences with electro-shock treatment? This is certainly an interesting album and is definitely worth a few listens. This album is way out there in terms of content and it has a tendency to wander off course in various different directions, seemingly at random. Since this is a Lou Reed album, most of the directions that he wanders off in are quite interesting, but it gives the listener an extreme feeling of disorientation, as if the musicians really weren't sure what they wanted to do and wrote the album on a serious of very confused mood-swings depending on what drugs they were on in the studio that day. While it's definitely one of Reed's less focused albums, the material that does work is extremely powerful.

A unique feature of Lou Reed's music is that it changes wildly over time. Someone who doesn't like his earlier work may not even recognize his material from five years later. Sally Can't Dance is a huge departure from his Velvet Underground days, utilizing a cheeky horn section and clear, undistorted guitar sounds. Musically, it's probably the easiest album for someone unfamiliar with Reed's background to get into, but it's not quite as rewarding as his Berlin or Magic And Loss recordings. Still it's a great sounding album with great riffs and Lou's trademark wit.

RCA finally got Lou Reed's unnoticed underdog Sally Can't Dance album right this time on CD. This album when released in 1974 slipped right off the shelves and into the underbelly of New York`s lower eastside in a flash. This is the 2nd time around on CD for this album. But this time it has been properly digitally remastered (not like the first CD issue) and includes 2 bonus tracks. The 2 bonus tracks "Sally Can't Dance" single version and "Good Taste" Unreleased) will hopefully give it a longer shelf than the original album or first CD issue. "Good Taste" is a melancholy tune that sounds like a possible left over from his Berlin album. A nice inclusion here. The sound is 100% improved and makes Lou's voice and music even more chilling. The booklet is full of info on the making of this album and the inside back CD cover is the album cover art of Lou. Try these tunes on for size... "Kill Your Sons," "Animal Language" and "Billy" for starters. A.

More often than not I disagree with the critics' assessment of Lou Reed albums. There are some great melodic songs here, like the poignant Billy that tells the story of a childhood friend, the fierce Kill Your Sons (an autobiographical narrative of psychiatric shock treatment), the title track with its nervous but gripping rhythm, and New York Stars which is reminiscent of tracks like New York Conversation and Vicious from Transformer. Just like on the latter album, an atmosphere of decadence pervades the work. Sure, the attitude is cheap, nasty and cynical (except on Billy) but it works in the context and Lou uses his best singing voice here for a change. The arrangements are fine and the music is very accessible overall. Those who like albums like Transformer and Berlin should find enough to appreciate on Sally Can't Dance.