Classic & Current Contemporary Non-Schlock-Rock Metropolitan Music

Transformer (1972) - Lou Reed

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Did you see the live performance by Lou Reed on VH1-Classics last night? It amazes me to this day how incredibly cool this dude is. It's great to see someone who had such a big influence on my life a long time ago is still relevant. I must admit, however, I don't know when that concert was recorded but he didn't have the funny mullet so I am thinking it was fairly recent.

The first time I heard of Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground was when my mom bought me a book called The Rock Scene by Richard Robinson and Andy Zwerling (1971 Pyramid). I still have this book, which taught me about Iggy Pop, the MC5, and a lot of other important bands of the time that weren't being played on the radio.

There's a set of black and white pictures in the middle of the book that include a shot of Lou Reed. Even though I didn't know his music at the time, just from what I read, I knew he must be very cool.

I'll always remember the very first time I heard "Walk on the Wild Side." I was at the beach right after getting out of eighth grade. (No radio stations in Winston-Salem were going to play this at the time!) I thought, "Wow, what a cool song." I made the connection between the song on the radio and the guy I had read about in that book. Then I found out David Bowie had a hand in it. So I went down to Reznick's at Thruway Shopping Center and bought Transformer (along with a Spirit compilation with the first record and Clear).

The Weekend Wizard, who did Deaconlight on Friday nights back in the late 70s, found a stray cat and named it Vicious after the Lou Reed song.

I still love Transformer and consider it one of the very very best records of all time.

-- 1 October 2005 (DD)

Transformer Original Album Tracks

1. Vicious
2. Andy's Chest
3. Perfect Day
4. Hangin' 'Round
5. Walk on the Wild Side
6. Make Up
7. Satellite of Love
8. Wagon Wheel
9. New York Telephone Conversation
10. I'm So Free
11. Goodnight Ladies

Vintage Playlists with Lou Reed - Transformer Songs

• Sunday Deaconlight - 22 November 1981

More Lou Reed at Deaconlight.com

• Lou Reed - Transformer (1972)
  Record Commentary
• Lou Reed - Rock N Roll Animal [Live] (1974)
  Album Notes
• Lou Reed - Live: Take No Prisoners (1978)
  Album Notes