Lou Reed and Metallica Release “Lulu”
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 25th Anniversary Concert saw an unlikely pairing in 2009, when Lou Reed performed with Metallica. After the performance, they began talking about a possible collaborative recording effort.
Nothing materialized until February of this year, when Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett announced that the band was going to start a new project in May, saying “[it is] not 100 percent a Metallica record. It’s a recording project, let’s put it that way.”
The album, Lulu, was completed in June, and released today in North America by Warner Bros., following yesterday’s release elsewhere.
Lulu was originally intended to be an album of Metallica’s new recordings of previously unreleased compositions and demos by Reed. Among the demos was a collection of songs Reed had written for plays written by German playwright Frank Wedekind. Wedekind’s plays “Earth Spirit” and “Pandora’s Box”, collectively known as the “Lulu Plays”, tell a story of a young abused dancer’s life and relationships. These plays, published in the early 1900’s, have been the inspiration for countless creative projects, including the 1929 silent film, Pandora’s Box as well as an opera.
This release comes on the heels of an announcement by Metallic bassist, Robert Trujillo, who said the band is working on their own new album.
Lulu Track List:
Disc: 1
- Brandenburg Gate
- The View
- Pumping Blood
- Mistress Dread
- Iced Honey
- Cheat On Me
Disc: 2
- Frustration
- Little Dog
- Dragon
- Junior Dad
All Yes Distinguished Rockers.
Upon first listen, my opinion of LULU is that it is an extraordinary, and quite listenable, modern rock tour-de-force among two giants of the genre- contrary to most of the negative rants out in the blogoshpere and press. Kudos to Metallica for composing an extraordinary sonic template for Lou – the lads certainly did their homework as the tracks evoke references to STREET HASSLE and early VU with John Cale. Yes, a few of the cuts could have been pruned – especially the drone passages —but this is a minor, minor critique. Lyrically, Lou is at the top of his game – wry, cinematic and vitriolic as ever. Kudos to Lou for summoning Metallica, no other band could have pushed him this hard.
Methinks the outrage from this collection mostly stems from mis-perception and old prejudices from both listener camps. To art rock/indie rock disciples of Lou, Patti, Television etc. the band Metallica represented all that was wrong with hard rock in the 1980/90s, especially by way of their juvenile behavior, which I too disdained. If Metallica were anonymous on this record, Lou fans would be singing hosannas to the Godfather of Punk.
To scores of metal heads and hard rock devotees, Lou Reed is among those critics darling alternative rock artists who cannot sing, nor play guitar. If Hetfield rendered all the vocals on this album and you drop in a few scorching Hammett solos, LULU would be heralded as a new chapter in heavy metal.
If the planet survives another twenty years, LULU will be looked upon as a master work, akin to many albums of my youth that were summarily dismissed, and now appreciated. And that’s a big if…..for the planet, that is!
TS