“Street Hassle”, Lou Reed

This way: Street Hassle

What a great triumph this song is. It really is a crowning achievement for Lou Reed. Always a master of tales from the street, this one is so vivid and alluring. Street Hassle is the eighth solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in February 1978 by Arista Records. Richard Robinson and Reed produced the album. It is the first commercially released pop album to employ binaural recording technology. Street Hassle combines live concert tapes (with overdubs) and studio recordings. 

The song is divided into 3 parts: A. “Waltzing Matilda” - 3:20, B. “Street Hassle” - 3:31, C. “Slipaway” - 4:02 

“So the first thing that they see, that allows them the right to be, why they follow it, you know, it's called bad luck”

Bruce Springsteen contributed uncredited spoken vocals during the “Slipaway” section of “Street Hassle”, alluding to his own Born to Run album in the final line “Tramps like us, we were born to pay”. At the time, the singer was enduring a three-year forced hiatus from releasing any of his own work due to legal disputes with his former manager. Springsteen was not credited for his performance in the liner notes to Street Hassle, possibly due to his ongoing legal battles.  

[Spotify] Street Hassle