Lou Reed - I'm So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos (2022) [Hi-Res]

On October 27th, 1971, Lou Reed walked into the first recording session of his solo career. "I’m So Free: The 1971 RCA Demos" is a collection of those rare recordings. This is Reed as few have ever heard him: the songwriter at work, pure and alone, before the noise, swagger and legend. Released on vinyl for the first time, the 13 tracks on this LP are an unprecedented addition to Reed's rock & roll life on record. His next four decades – more than 30 studio and concert albums of lyric challenge, incendiary guitar and iron-willed vision until his death in October, 2013 – start here. The final iteration of these demos can be found across Reed’s discography including Lou Reed, Transformer, Berlin, and Sally Can't Dance.

Captured on the eve of becoming a 70s rock star, Lou can be heard flexing his considerable songwriting muscle and reinventing his musical career after leaving the Velvet Underground, one of the greatest and most influential bands in rock history.

In 1970, Lou found himself a penniless, strung-out wreck nursing a career on the wane. He famously took a break from the music biz to work in his father’s tax accounting firm as a typist in Long Island. A year later, RCA signed him to a solo contract and sent him to London to record his debut solo LP, accompanied by top-flight session musicians including guitarist Steve Howe, and Rick Wakeman who were both about to join Yes.

Lou Reed

Digitally remastered