The Vinyl Brew: Lou Reed - Transformer

 Shiny Day Brewers,

Today let’s sit down with one of the most influential artists of all time. Whether it is his Velvet Underground days or his solo career it is hard to deny the effect he has had on the music industry. This week we are going to sit down with the album that gave him arguably his most famous and successful track. We are of course talking about the late great Lou Reed and for our listening pleasure Transformer.

Released in November of 1972 Transformer has a circle of people involved in it’s production that reads like a who’s who of the seventies. Not only does it have the incredible writing and vocal talent of Lou Reed it is also produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, both appearing as guitarists and backing vocalist on the album. The production engineer Ken Scotts CV reads like a list of the greatest ever recording artists of all time with the likes of The Beatles, Elton John and Pink Floyd all taking advantage of his talents. As if that wasn’t enough name dropping, apparently Lou Reed was asked by Andy Warhol to write a song about someone vicious hence the opening track on the album.

Reed had some success with his debut solo album, but that success had petered out, much to the disappointment of superstar fans Bowie and Ronson. The duo took it upon themselves to use their own fame to give Reed the push they thought he needed and so set out to produce Transformer. Ronson played a major role in the production of the album not only as producer but also as the primary session musician as well as arranger. Everything about the album has become iconic, from its influence on the glam rock scene to its cover; a photo taken by Mick Rock which accidentally became over-exposed. Lou Reed loved the shot when Rock showed it to him, and he then had to try 12 times to reproduce the accident for the large-scale print for the album cover.

Transformer probably contains 3 of Reeds biggest and most identifiable tracks. With an underlying theme on the topics of sexual orientation, drug use, prostitution, and gender identity which were at the time very controversial topics. So much so that the album was edited and even banned in several countries. All of this helped portray Reed as a founding father of the glam rock scene and sound. For me Reed was definitely an artist I stumbled upon later on in my musical journey and that I regret not knowing for longer. He had an instantly recognisable voice that although talking about all the troubles of the world, always seemed so relaxed and relatable.

Worthy of all his success, as we come to the end of our chat and have to pick our outro, I feel nothing showcases his ease with heavy material better than probably his biggest hit so lets head back to “Walk on the Wild Side” and let Mr. Reed take us for a walk.

“Holly came from Miami, F.L.A.
Hitch-hiked her way across the U.S.A.
Plucked her eyebrows on the way
Shaved her legs and then he was a she”

Till our next Brew,
T

Next Sunday's brew is Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures. Why not add this gem to your collection so we can listen together next week!