Search - Lou Reed :: Transformer

Transformer, Lou Reed's second post-Velvet Underground album, was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson (Bowie's guitarist) in 1972. It features such classics as "Vicious" and "Walk on the Wild Side," as well as a boppin', subdued version of "Andy's Chest," which the Velvet Underground had already recorded. The CD's consistently goofy and great back-up vocals are courtesy of Bowie and Ronson. Brace yourself for Lou's usual cast of characters: transvestites, junkies, weirdoes, Holly, Candy, Little Joe, Sugar, Jacki--even Harry, Mark, and John, who stop by to say hi in the middle of "Satellite of Love." "Goodnight Ladies" features a rockin' tuba downbeat, and a baritone sax that'll wail you away to la-la land. Other than that, it's Reed's raw guitar and rah-rah lyrics, like, "The tinsel light of starbreak/Is all that's left to applaud my heartbreak/And at 11 o'clock I watch the network news." --Dan Leone