After Lou Reed disbanded his seminal experimental art-rock band the Velvet Underground, he decided that a solo career was the way to go. Now, I know of more than a few people who would disagree with him on that matter.

Sure, 1972's Transformer is a glam-rock classic, but what about his other stuff? Well, it's largely hit- and- miss (and mostly miss). But Berlin is an exception. At the time of its release, fans and critics were expecting something like Transformer-- upbeat, catchy, groovy. What they got was a package of 10 spiteful, depressing tracks about poverty, drug- abuse and suicide. It wasn't well- received.

In retrospect, of course, Berlin is probably one of Reed's best pieces of work. Reed's general attitude throughout the record is one of having lost hope-- "there's no way to win, and I don't give a fuck." And it's an attitude that's been copped by numerous bands on some of their classic works.

Reed's lyrical insights express things we've all felt before: On one track he sings that "Men of Good Fortune/ Very often can't do a thing/ While men of poor beginnings/ Often can do anything." On "The Bed," Reed sings, "This is the place we used to live/ I paid for it with love and blood." "Sad Song" reveals, "She seemed very regal to me/ Just goes to show how wrong you can be." It's these words that connect Reed with humanity.

Concept albums were all the rage in the 1970s and this ranks up there with the best of them. But as with most records that are ahead of their time, Berlin was generally underrated, and simply hasn't been given another chance to prove itself.

-Ryan Schreiber