On this week's episode, we look at the second LP by Lou Reed: Transformer. After a disappointing debut solo LP (both critically and commercially), Reed’s solo career was destined to be somewhat short-lived. However, interest to produce his next album by one of the hottest musical acts at the time (David Bowie) prompted Reed’s label to give it another go. Aided by his right-hand man, Mick Ronson, Bowie and Ronson understood perfectly what Reed is trying to accomplish. Reed’s vocals have rarely sounded better than they do here and are a perfect vehicle for his sympathetic descriptions of subjects atypical of most mainstream artists of the time: junkies, homosexuality, prostitution, and even attempted assassinations. Backed by some of the most creative session players in the UK, Transformer is an album of odd juxtapositions. Whether it’s achingly beautifully string arrangements, the intense crunch of power chords, cabaret-style numbers, or jaunty Dixieland-style tunes, somehow the music always seems to provide the perfect foundation for Reed’s gritty and unconventional storytelling.
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