Transformer (album)

Last updated
Transformer
Loureedtransformer.jpeg
Studio album by
Lou Reed
ReleasedNovember 8, 1972 (1972-11-08)
RecordedAugust 1972
Studio Trident Studios, London, England
Genre Glam rock
Length36:40
Label RCA
Producer
Lou Reed chronology
Lou Reed
(1972)		Transformer
(1972)		 Berlin
(1973)
Singles from Transformer
  1. "Walk on the Wild Side/Perfect Day"
    Released: November 8, 1972
  2. "Satellite of Love"
    Released: February 1973
  3. "Vicious"
    Released: 1973

Transformer is the second solo studio album by American recording artist Lou Reed. The album is considered an influential landmark of the glam rock genre, anchored by Reed's most successful single, "Walk on the Wild Side", which touched on controversial topics of sexual orientation and drugs. Produced by David Bowie and arranged by Mick Ronson, the album was released in November 1972 by RCA Records. Though Reed's self-titled debut solo album had been unsuccessful, Bowie had been an early fan of Reed's former band The Velvet Underground, and used his own fame to promote Reed, who had not yet achieved mainstream success. [1] [2]

Lou Reed American musician, recording artist, singer-songwriter

Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was the lead guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and also had a solo career that spanned five decades. The Velvet Underground were not a commercial success during their existence, but are now regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music.

Glam rock is a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s performed by musicians who wore outrageous costumes, makeup, and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glam artists drew on diverse sources across music and throwaway pop culture, ranging from bubblegum pop and 1950s rock and roll to cabaret, science fiction, and complex art rock. The flamboyant clothing and visual styles of performers were often camp or androgynous, and have been described as playing with nontraditional gender roles. "Glitter rock" was another term used to refer to a more extreme version of glam.

Walk on the Wild Side (Lou Reed song) 1972 single by Lou Reed

"Walk on the Wild Side" is a song by Lou Reed from his second solo album, Transformer (1972). It was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, and released as a double A-side with "Perfect Day". The song received wide radio coverage, despite its touching on taboo topics such as transsexual people, drugs, male prostitution, and oral sex. In the United States, RCA released the single using an edited version of the song without the reference to oral sex. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 223 in its list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.

Contents

Conception

Background

As with its predecessor Lou Reed , Transformer contains songs Reed composed while in the Velvet Underground (here, four out of ten). "Andy's Chest" was first recorded by the band in 1969 and "Satellite of Love" demoed in 1970; these versions were released on VU and Peel Slowly and See, respectively. For Transformer, the original up-tempo pace of these songs was slowed down.

<i>Lou Reed</i> (album) 1972 studio album by Lou Reed

Lou Reed is the debut solo studio album by American musician Lou Reed, released in April 1972 by RCA Records, two years after he left the Velvet Underground. It was produced by Richard Robinson and Reed and features London session musicians as Reed's backing band, two of whom, Rick Wakeman and Steve Howe, were from the progressive rock band Yes. Wakeman recalled that during the recording sessions, "the lights had to be out so nobody could see." The album was recorded in Morgan Studios, London, between December 1971 and January 1972.

The Velvet Underground American rock band

The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in 1964 in New York City by singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. The band was initially active between 1965 and 1973, and was briefly managed by the pop artist Andy Warhol, serving as the house band at the Factory and Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable events from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, was released in 1967 to critical indifference and poor sales but has become critically acclaimed; in 2003, Rolling Stone called it the "most prophetic rock album ever made."

<i>VU</i> (album) 1985 compilation album by The Velvet Underground

VU is an outtakes compilation album by the Velvet Underground. It was released in February 1985 by Verve Records.

"New York Telephone Conversation" and "Goodnight Ladies" [3] are known to have been played live during the band's summer 1970 residency at Max's Kansas City; the latter takes its title refrain from the last line of the second section ("A Game of Chess") of T. S. Eliot's modernist poem, The Waste Land : "Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night.", which is itself a quote from Ophelia in Hamlet .

Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in December 1965, and closed in 1981.

T. S. Eliot English author

Thomas Stearns Eliot,, "one of the twentieth century's major poets" was also an essayist, publisher, playwright, and literary and social critic. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in the United States, to a prominent Boston Brahmin family, he moved to England in 1914 at the age of 25, settling, working, and marrying there. He became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39, renouncing his American passport.

Modernism movement of art, culture and philosophy

Modernism is a philosophical movement that, along with cultural trends and changes, arose from wide-scale and far-reaching transformations in Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Among the factors that shaped modernism were the development of modern industrial societies and the rapid growth of cities, followed then by reactions of horror to World War I. Modernism also rejected the certainty of Enlightenment thinking, and many modernists rejected religious belief.

As in Reed's Velvet Underground days, the connection to artist Andy Warhol remained strong. According to Reed, Warhol told him he should write a song about someone vicious. When Reed asked what he meant by vicious, Warhol replied, "Oh, you know, like I hit you with a flower", [4] resulting in the song "Vicious".

Andy Warhol American artist

Andy Warhol was an American artist, director and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationship between artistic expression, celebrity culture, and advertising that flourished by the 1960s, and span a variety of media, including painting, silkscreening, photography, film, and sculpture. Some of his best known works include the silkscreen paintings Campbell's Soup Cans (1962) and Marilyn Diptych (1962), the experimental film Chelsea Girls (1966), and the multimedia events known as the Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1966–67).

Vicious (Lou Reed song) song by Lou Reed

"Vicious" is a song written by Lou Reed, released as a single in 1973 and originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album.

Production

Transformer was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, both of whom had been strongly influenced by Reed's work with the Velvet Underground. Bowie had obliquely referenced the Velvet Underground in the cover notes for his album Hunky Dory and regularly performed both "White Light/White Heat" and "I'm Waiting for the Man" in concerts and on the BBC during 1971–1973. He even began recording "White Light/White Heat" for inclusion on Pin Ups [ citation needed ], but it was never completed; Ronson ended up using the backing track for his solo album Play Don't Worry in 1974.

David Bowie British musician, actor, record producer and arranger

David Robert Jones, known professionally as David Bowie, was an English singer, songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in the music industry and is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, acclaimed by critics and musicians, particularly for his innovative work during the 1970s. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, with his music and stagecraft having a significant impact on popular music. During his lifetime, his record sales, estimated at 140 million albums worldwide, made him one of the world's best-selling music artists. In the UK, he was awarded ten platinum album certifications, eleven gold and eight silver, and released eleven number-one albums. In the US, he received five platinum and nine gold certifications. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

Mick Ronson English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and record producer

Michael Ronson was an English guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, arranger, and producer. He achieved critical and commercial success working with David Bowie as one of the Spiders from Mars. He was a session musician—who recorded with Bowie followed by several albums with Ian Hunter, also Morrissey—as well as a sideman in touring bands with Van Morrison and Bob Dylan.

<i>Hunky Dory</i> 1971 studio album by David Bowie

Hunky Dory is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released on 17 December 1971 by RCA Records. It was his first release through RCA, which would be his label for the next decade. Hunky Dory has been described by AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine as having "a kaleidoscopic array of pop styles, tied together only by Bowie's sense of vision: a sweeping, cinematic mélange of high and low art, ambiguous sexuality, kitsch, and class".

Mick Ronson (who was at the time the lead guitarist with Bowie's band, the Spiders from Mars) played a major role in the recording of the album at Trident Studios, serving as the co-producer and primary session musician (contributing guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals), as well as arranger, notably contributing the string arrangement for "Perfect Day". Reed lauded Ronson's contribution in the Transformer episode of the documentary series Classic Albums , praising the beauty of his work and keeping down the vocal to highlight the strings. The songs on the album are now among Reed's best-known works, including "Walk on the Wild Side", "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love", and the album's commercial success elevated him from cult status to become an international star.

The Spiders from Mars were rock singer David Bowie's backing band in the early 1970s, and initially consisted of Mick Ronson on guitars, Trevor Bolder on bass guitar, and Mick Woodmansey on drums.

Trident Studios recording studio

Trident Studios was a British recording facility, located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district between 1968 and 1981. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield, a drummer of former 1960s group the Hunters, and his brother Barry.

"Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972. It was originally featured on Transformer, Reed's second post-Velvet Underground solo album, and as a double A-side with his major hit, "Walk on the Wild Side". Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting and after a star-studded version was released as a BBC charity single in 1997, reaching number one in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and Norway. Reed re-recorded the song for his 2003 album The Raven.

Artwork

The cover art was from a Mick Rock photograph that inadvertently became over-exposed as he was printing it in the darkroom. Rock noticed the flaw but decided he liked the fortuitous effect enough to submit the image for the album cover. [5] Karl Stoecker (who also shot the first three Roxy Music album covers) took the back cover photo of a woman and a man. The man is portrayed by Ernie Thormahlen (a friend of Reed) and appears to have a noticeable erection, [6] , although Reed has said this was actually a banana which Thormahlen had stuffed down his jeans before the photo shoot.

Release

The first single from the album, "Walk on the Wild Side", became an international success, despite its controversial subject matter. The song's lyrics mention transgender issues, sex acts, and drugs, causing it to be edited in some countries and banned in others. [2] It is now generally regarded by fans and critics as Reed's signature tune. "Satellite of Love" was issued as the second single in February 1973. In 2002, a 30th anniversary edition of the album was released; in addition to demos of "Hangin' Round" and "Perfect Day", it includes a hidden track featuring an advert for the album. Following Reed's death in October 2013, digital sales of Transformer, "Walk on the Wild Side", and "Perfect Day" all rose more than 300%, and "Walk on the Wild Side" cracked the new Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart at No. 38. [7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [8]
Blender Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Christgau's Record Guide B− [11]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Pitchfork 8.4/10 [1]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [14]
Spin Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [15]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 8/10 [16]

In a mixed review for Rolling Stone magazine, Nick Tosches highlighted four "quality" songs, including "Hangin' 'Round" and "Satellite of Love", which he felt express a stimulating sexuality, but dismissed most of the album as "artsyfartsy kind of homo stuff" that lacks assertiveness. [17] In a retrospective review for The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Tom Hull wrote that Reed "wrote a bunch of clever new songs and tried to cash in on producer David Bowie's trendily androgynous glam rock, which worked well enough to break 'Walk on the Wild Side.'" [14]

In 1997, Transformer was named the 44th greatest album of all time in a 'Music of the Millennium [18] poll conducted in the United Kingdom by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. Transformer is also ranked No. 55 on NME 's list of "Greatest Albums of All Time." In 2003, the album was ranked number 194 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. [19] It is also on Q magazine's list of "100 Greatest Albums Ever".

Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Vicious"2:55
2."Andy's Chest"3:17
3."Perfect Day"3:43
4."Hangin' 'Round"3:39
5."Walk on the Wild Side"4:12
Side two
No.TitleLength
6."Make Up"2:58
7."Satellite of Love"3:40
8."Wagon Wheel"3:19
9."New York Telephone Conversation"1:31
10."I'm So Free"3:07
11."Goodnight Ladies"4:19
Total length:36:40

Personnel

Adapted from the Transformer liner notes. [20]

Additional personnel

Production

Chart performance

Weekly charts

ChartPeak
Position
Billboard 200 29
UK Albums Chart 13

Sales and certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA) [21] Gold35,000^
France (SNEP) [22] Gold100,000*
Italy (FIMI) [23] Gold50,000*
United Kingdom (BPI) [24] Platinum424,666 [25]

^shipments figures based on certification alone

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References

  1. 1 2 Stephens, Matthew (March 11, 2003). "Lou Reed: Transformer". Pitchfork . Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Trebay, Guy (2013-11-01). "The Real-Life Stories Told in 'Walk on the Wild Side'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  3. ↑ "The Velvet Underground - Live performances and rehearsals - 1970". Olivier.landemaine.free.fr. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  4. ↑ Fitch, Andy (2012). Pop Poetics. ISBN   978-1-56478-766-8.
  5. ↑ Pryor, Fiona (2007-05-10). "Entertainment | Photographer lives the Rock dream". BBC News. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  6. ↑ Nick Tosches (1973-01-04). "Transformer | Album Reviews". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
  7. ↑ "Lou Reed's Album Sales Rise 607% Following Death | Billboard". billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-01-25.
  8. ↑ Deming, Mark. "Transformer – Lou Reed". AllMusic . Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ Young, Jon. "Lou Reed: Transformer". Blender . Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved March 31, 2017.
  10. ↑ Kot, Greg (January 12, 1992). "Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-breaking Music". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved July 29, 2013.
  11. ↑ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Lou Reed: Transformer". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the '70s. Ticknor and Fields. ISBN   0-89919-026-X . Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  12. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   0-85712-595-8.
  13. ↑ "Lou Reed: Transformer". Rolling Stone : 72. March 28, 2002.
  14. 1 2 Hull, Tom (2004). "Lou Reed". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian. The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 684–85. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  15. ↑ Marchese, David (November 2009). "Discography: Lou Reed". Spin . New York. 24 (11): 67. Retrieved January 13, 2017.
  16. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). Spin Alternative Record Guide . Vintage Books. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  17. ↑ Tosches, Nick (January 4, 1973). "Transformer". Rolling Stone . New York. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  18. ↑ "UK | The music of the millennium". BBC News. 1998-01-24. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  19. ↑ "News". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
  20. ↑ Transformer (CD booklet). Lou Reed. RCA Records. 1972.
  21. ↑ ^ http://www.ariacharts.com.au/chart/catalogue-albums
  22. ↑ "Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP (Bilan par Artiste)"
  23. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Lou Reed – Transformer" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  24. ↑ "British album certifications – Lou Reed – Transformer". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 25 May 2013.Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Transformer in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  25. ↑ Jones, Alan (November 4, 2013). "Official Charts Analysis: Arcade Fire LP sells 45k to hit No.1". Music Week . Retrieved December 1, 2015.
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