Transformer (Lou Reed album)

As with its predecessor Lou Reed, Transformer contains songs Reed composed while in the Velvet Underground (here, four out of eleven). "Andy's Chest" was first recorded by the band in 1969 and "Satellite of Love" demoed in 1970; these versions were released on VU and Peel Slowly and See, respectively. For Transformer, the original up-tempo pace of these songs was slowed down.

"New York Telephone Conversation" and "Goodnight Ladies"{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1970/perf70.html |title=The Velvet Underground - Live performances and rehearsals - 1970 |publisher=Olivier.landemaine.free.fr |access-date=August 9, 2013}} were played live during the band's summer 1970 residency at Max's Kansas City; the latter takes its title refrain from the last line of the second section ("A Game of Chess") of T. S. Eliot's modernist poem, The Waste Land: "Good night, ladies, good night, sweet ladies, good night, good night", which is itself a quote from Ophelia in Hamlet.

As in Reed's Velvet Underground days, the connection to artist Andy Warhol remained strong. According to Reed, Warhol told him he should write a song about someone vicious. When Reed asked what he meant by vicious, Warhol replied, "Oh, you know, like I hit you with a flower",{{cite book|title=Pop Poetics|first=Andy|last=Fitch|year=2012|publisher=Dalkey Archive Press |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=h9xWakxgmjAC&pg=PT124 |isbn=978-1-56478-766-8}} resulting in the song "Vicious". Reed wrote in his book, Between Thought and Expression, about his single "Walk on the Wild Side": "They were going to make a musical out of Nelson Algren's book A Walk on the Wild Side. When they dropped the project I took my song and changed the book's characters into people I knew from Warhol's factory. I don’t like to waste things."{{cite journal |last1=Feffer |first1=Steve |title=Despite All the Amputations, You Could Dance to the Rock and Roll Station: Staging Authenticity in Hedwig and the Angry Inch |journal=Journal of Popular Music Studies |date=September 2007 |volume=19 |issue=3 |page=243 |doi=10.1111/j.1533-1598.2007.00126.x}}

Transformer was produced by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, both of whom had been strongly influenced by Reed's work with the Velvet Underground. Bowie had obliquely referenced the Velvet Underground in the cover notes for his album Hunky Dory and regularly performed both "White Light/White Heat" and "I'm Waiting for the Man" in concerts and on the BBC during 1971–1973. He even began recording "White Light/White Heat" for inclusion on Pin Ups,{{Citation needed|date=May 2010}} but it was never completed; Ronson ended up using the backing track for his solo album Play Don't Worry in 1974.

Mick Ronson (who was at the time the lead guitarist with Bowie's band, the Spiders from Mars) played a major role in the recording of the album at Trident Studios, London,{{Cite web |url=https://www.neatorama.com/2012/09/17/The-Story-Behind-Lou-Reeds-Walk-on-the-Wild-Side/ |date=September 17, 2012 |title=The Story Behind Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side"|website=Neatorama }} serving as the co-producer and primary session musician (contributing guitar, piano, recorder and backing vocals), as well as arranger, contributing the string arrangement for "Perfect Day". Reed lauded Ronson's contribution in the Transformer episode of the documentary series Classic Albums, praising the beauty of his work and keeping down the vocal to highlight the strings. The songs on the album are now among Reed's best-known works, including "Walk on the Wild Side", "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love", and the album's commercial success elevated him from cult status to become an international star.

File:Lou Reed Iggy Pop Mick Rock plaque at The Scala 275 Pentonville Road London N1 9NL.jpg at 275 Pentonville Road, London, marking the gigs of 14 and 15 July 1972 at which the Stooges and Reed played; a photograph by Mick Rock from one of these shows appears on the cover of Transformer.]]

The cover art was from a Mick Rock photograph that inadvertently became over-exposed as he was printing it in the darkroom. Rock noticed the flaw but decided he liked the fortuitous effect enough to submit the image for the album cover.{{cite web|last=Pryor |first=Fiona |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6613107.stm |title=Entertainment – Photographer lives the Rock dream |publisher=BBC News |date=May 10, 2007 |access-date=August 9, 2013}}

According to Rock, "When I showed Lou the contact sheets, he zeroed in on the transformer shot. I made the print myself – as I usually did in those days. The first test I made fell out of focus in the exposure. Lou loved the result. It took me twelve attempts to reproduce this accident for the final larger print for the album cover".https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=397633541718418&set=a.219133926235048 {{User-generated source|certain=yes|date=March 2022}}

Karl Stoecker (who also shot the first three Roxy Music album covers) took the back cover photo of a woman and a man. The woman is 1960s London supermodel Gala Mitchell. The man is portrayed by Ernie Thormahlen (a friend of Reed). The man appears to have a noticeable erection,{{cite magazine|author=Nick Tosches |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/transformer-89126/ |title=Transformer – Album Reviews |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=January 4, 1973 |access-date=September 24, 2022}} although Reed has said this was actually a banana which Thormahlen had stuffed down his jeans before the photo shoot.

The first single from the album, "Walk on the Wild Side", became an international success, despite its controversial subject matter. The song's lyrics mention transgender issues, sex acts, and drugs, leading it to be edited in some countries and banned in others.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/03/fashion/The-Real-Life-Stories-Told-by-Lou-Reed-in-Walk-on-the-Wild-Side.html|title=The Real-Life Stories Told in 'Walk on the Wild Side'|last=Trebay|first=Guy|date=November 1, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=April 29, 2018|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}} It is now generally regarded by fans and critics as Reed's signature tune. "Satellite of Love" was issued as the second single in February 1973. In 2002, a 30th anniversary edition of the album was released; in addition to demos of "Hangin' Round" and "Perfect Day", it includes a hidden track featuring an advert for the album. Following Reed's death in October 2013, digital sales of Transformer, "Walk on the Wild Side", and "Perfect Day" all rose more than 300%, and "Walk on the Wild Side" cracked the new Billboard Rock Digital Songs chart at No. 38.{{cite news |url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/5770705/lou-reeds-album-sales-rise-607-following-death|title=Lou Reed's Album Sales Rise 607% Following Death |publisher= Billboard |access-date=January 25, 2014}}

{{Album ratings

| title = Retrospective professional ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web|last=Deming|first=Mark|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/transformer-mw0000191542|title=Transformer – Lou Reed|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=August 9, 2013}}

| rev2 = Blender

| rev2Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Young|first=Jon|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=587|title=Lou Reed: Transformer|magazine=Blender|access-date=March 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930184534/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=587|archive-date=September 30, 2007|url-status=dead}}

| rev3 = Chicago Tribune

| rev3Score = {{Rating|2|4}}{{cite news|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-12-9201040209-story.html|title=Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music|newspaper=Chicago Tribune|date=January 12, 1992|access-date=November 9, 2020}}

| rev4 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev4Score = B−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter=Lou Reed: Transformer|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=7620|access-date=August 9, 2013|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor and Fields|year=1981|isbn=0-89919-026-X}}

| rev5 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev5Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|chapter=Reed, Lou|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=Omnibus Press|edition=5th concise|year=2011|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}

| rev6 = Pitchfork

| rev6Score = 8.4/10{{cite web|last=Stephens|first=Matthew|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/6731-transformer/|title=Lou Reed: Transformer|website=Pitchfork|date=March 11, 2003|access-date=August 9, 2013}}

| rev7 = Rolling Stone

| rev7Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Sheffield|first=Rob|author-link=Rob Sheffield|title=Lou Reed: Transformer|magazine=Rolling Stone|issue=892|date=March 28, 2002|page=72}}

| rev8 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev8Score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor1-link=Nathan Brackett|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|editor2-link=Christian Hoard|chapter=Lou Reed|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|publisher=Simon & Schuster|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/684 684–85]}}

| rev9 = Spin

| rev9Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Marchese|first=David|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yvyxlaTDXMC&pg=PA67|title=Discography: Lou Reed|magazine=Spin|volume=24|issue=11|date=November 2009|access-date=January 13, 2017|page=67}}

| rev10 = Spin Alternative Record Guide

| rev10Score = 8/10{{cite book|last=Strauss|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Strauss|editor1-last=Weisbard|editor1-first=Eric|editor1-link=Eric Weisbard|editor2-last=Marks|editor2-first=Craig|chapter=Lou Reed|title=Spin Alternative Record Guide|title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide|publisher=Vintage Books|year=1995|isbn=0-679-75574-8|pages=325–27}}

}}

In a mixed review for Rolling Stone, Nick Tosches noted the songs "Satellite of Love", "Vicious", "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Hangin' 'Round" which he felt expressed a stimulating sexuality saying "Reed himself says he thinks the album's great. I don't think it's nearly as good as he's capable of doing. He seems to have the abilities to come up with some really dangerous, powerful music, stuff that people like Jagger and Bowie have only rubbed knees with." In a retrospective review for The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), Tom Hull remarked that Reed "wrote a bunch of clever new songs and tried to cash in on producer David Bowie's trendily androgynous glam rock, which worked well enough to break 'Walk on the Wild Side.'"

In 1997, Transformer was named the 44th greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted in the United Kingdom by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM.{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/50266.stm|title=The music of the millennium|publisher=BBC News|date=January 24, 1998|access-date=August 9, 2013}} In 2000, it was voted number 58 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums|publisher=Virgin Books|edition=3rd|year=2000|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=61}} Transformer is also ranked at number 55 on NME{{'}}s list of "Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2003, the album was ranked at number 194 on Rolling Stone{{'}}s list of the 500 greatest albums of all time,{{cite magazine|url=http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/transformer-lou-reed-19691231|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time: Transformer – Lou Reed|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=November 18, 2003|access-date=November 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220143017/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/transformer-lou-reed-19691231|archive-date=December 20, 2010|url-status=dead}} maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list, and is ranked 109 on the 2020 list.{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/lou-reed-transformer-162709/|title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=May 31, 2012|access-date=September 18, 2019}}{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-06-07|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}} It is also on Q magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever".

In 2018, 33⅓ published a book by musician Ezra Furman about Transformer.{{Citation

| last = Korber

| first = Kevin

| title = 33 1/3: Transformer: By Ezra Furman

| publisher = Spectrum Culture

| date = July 14, 2019

| url = https://spectrumculture.com/2019/07/14/33-1-3-transformer-by-ezra-furman-review/

| access-date = April 14, 2020}}

{{Track listing

| all_writing = Lou Reed.

| headline = Side one

| title1 = Vicious

| length1 = 2:55

| title2 = Andy's Chest

| length2 = 3:17

| title3 = Perfect Day

| length3 = 3:43

| title4 = Hangin' 'Round

| length4 = 3:39

| title5 = Walk on the Wild Side

| length5 = 4:12

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Side two

| total_length = 36:40

| title1 = Make Up

| length1 = 2:58

| title2 = Satellite of Love

| length2 = 3:40

| title3 = Wagon Wheel

| length3 = 3:19

| title4 = New York Telephone Conversation

| length4 = 1:31

| title5 = I'm So Free

| length5 = 3:07

| title6 = Goodnight Ladies

| length6 = 4:19

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = 30th Anniversary Edition Bonus Tracks

| title1 = Hangin' 'Round

| note1 = acoustic demo

| length1 = 3:58

| title2 = Perfect Day

| note2 = acoustic demo; includes a hidden track featuring an advert for the album

| length2 = 4:50

}}

Adapted from the Transformer liner notes.{{cite AV media notes|title=Transformer|others=Lou Reed|year=1972|publisher=RCA Records|type=CD booklet}}

Musicians

• Lou Reed – lead vocals; rhythm guitar
• Mick Ronson – lead guitar; piano; backing vocals; recorder; string arrangements
• David Bowie – backing vocals; keyboards; acoustic guitar on "Wagon Wheel", “Perfect Day” and "Walk on the Wild Side"
• Herbie Flowers – bass guitar; double bass; tuba on "Perfect Day", "Goodnight Ladies" and "Make Up"
• John Halsey – drums
• Trevor Bolder – trumpet
• Ronnie Ross – soprano saxophone on "Goodnight Ladies"; baritone saxophone on "Walk on the Wild Side"
• Thunderthighs – backing vocals
• Klaus Voormann – bass guitar on "Perfect Day", "Goodnight Ladies", "Satellite of Love" and "Make Up"
• Barry DeSouza – drums
• Ritchie Dharma – drums

Production

• David Bowie – producer
• Mick Ronson – producer
• Ken Scott – engineer

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Transformer|artist=Lou Reed|relyear=1972|certyear=1974|region=Australia|award=Gold|certref={{cite magazine|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-11-02.pdf|title=Cash Box Magazine|magazine=Cash Box|via=World Radio History|page=36|date=2 November 1974|access-date=15 November 2021}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Transformer|artist=Lou Reed|relyear=1972|certyear=2024|region=Denmark|award=Gold|id=13607|access-date=March 20, 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Transformer|artist=Lou Reed|relyear=1972|certyear=1972|region=France|award=Gold|certref="Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP (Bilan par Artiste)"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|title=Transformer|artist=Lou Reed|relyear=1972|certyear=2022|region=Italy|award=Platinum|id=10045}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=Transformer|artist=Lou Reed|award=Platinum|relyear=2003|certyear=2013|note=2003 release|id=11618-3569-2|salesamount=424,666|salesref={{cite news|url=http://www.musicweek.com/businessanalysis/read/official-charts-analysis-arcade-fire-lp-sells-45k-to-hit-no-1/056607|title=Official Charts Analysis: Arcade Fire LP sells 45k to hit No.1|last=Jones|first=Alan|date=November 4, 2013|work=Music Week|access-date=December 1, 2015}}|access-date=May 25, 2013}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=yes}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Discogs master|44278}}

{{Lou Reed}}

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Category:1972 albums

Category:Albums produced by David Bowie

Category:Albums produced by Mick Ronson

Category:Albums recorded at Trident Studios

Category:Albums with cover art by Mick Rock

Category:Glam rock albums by American artists

Category:LGBTQ-related albums

Category:Lou Reed albums

Category:RCA Records albums