Animal Serenade (2004)

Lou Reed concert albums have been plentiful but never as intimate as Animal Serenade, taped last June. Utilizing a small, drummerless band, the Lord of the Croak skips the usual greatest-hits suspects in favor of lesser-known jewels (''Ecstasy,'' an astonishing ''Vanishing Act'') and slips in rare performances of early Velvets mood pieces like ''Venus in Furs.'' The craggy charm of Reed's voice makes dead spots like his endless rendition of Poe's ''The Raven'' forgivable. As usual, his ego rages, but so, thankfully, does his guitar.