Okay, so as promised, here is my review of Lulu, the new collaboration between the rock singer/songwriter Lou Reed and the heavy metal band Metallica. It’s ended up being much longer than I intended, but there’s a lot to talk about here; the origins of the project, how it fits into their bodies of work, and why Metallica’s fans have reacted as they have. Hopefully my thoughts are interesting and enlightening.
(tl;dr: I love it, and I know most people hate it, and they’re wrong.)
So, let’s go. Join me over the fold, won’t you?
Risk and reward
Experimentation can be a dangerous business for an artist. Part of the business of art—whether the art is music, writing, painting, or anything else—is establishing a distinctive personal style. It can take years to find your voice, and longer to become comfortable enough with that voice to produce your best work.
So, when an artist decides to broaden his horizons and try something new, it can be very difficult to step outside the established boundaries of his work. There’s the risk of losing one’s distinctiveness—and, in addition, there’s the possibility of not being aware of what was lost. The risk is compounded when the artist has had some success and built an audience; very often, these people are resistant to any serious digression from what they’ve previously enjoyed.
I’ve been a fan of Metallica for at least 25 years. I first became aware of them from late-night college radio in the early 1980’s, and became a convert after seeing them live in 1986 (touring behind Master of Puppets). I’ve stuck with them faithfully ever since, including during the dark years of ReLoad and St. Anger. I’ve always admired their willingness to take risks and to try new things, even if I haven’t always cared for the results.
So, when I heard a few months ago that they’d made an album with Lou Reed, I was highly intrigued. I’ve been a fan of Reed’s for roughly the same length of time, ever since discovering the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat in 1985 (thanks to an article by Henry Rollins in Spin). While I still favor his work with the Velvets, he’s done a lot of good work since then, and even his most experimental stuff is always interesting; I’ve even listened to (and enjoyed!) Metal Machine Music multiple times.
I knew that this would be an odd pairing; Reed and Metallica come from very different musical traditions. But I had enjoyed their performance of “Sweet Jane” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert, and so I had high hopes for this. I knew it would be fascinating, if nothing else. This was borne out by the first snippet to be posted online. Along with most of the listeners, I found it surprising and not entirely successful, but I was unwilling to give it a blanket condemnation without hearing the whole thing.
On Monday, I discovered that the album, due to be released November 1, had been leaked online. So, of course, I ran to find it (knowing that I would be buying it nonetheless). And so I can finally report that Lulu is . . . a masterpiece.
This is not a popular opinion. Go to any page with information about the album, and you will find page after page after page of comments about how awful it is and what a horrible idea this collaboration was.
Nevertheless, I stand behind my statement. Lulu is a masterpiece. It’s one of the best things that either Lou Reed or Metallica has ever done.
What is Lulu?
The story originated in a pair of plays by the German playwright Frank Wedekind: Erdgeist (Earth Spirit, 1895) and Die Büchse der Pandora (Pandora’s Box, 1904). They tell the tale of Lulu, a femme fatale who rises in Berlin society through her romantic and sexual escapades, only to be later destroyed by them. Dark, violent, and unusually frank about sex, the plays were controversial at the time but are now seen as harbingers of German Expressionism. The plays were later adapted into a silent film, Pandora’s Box (1929), as well as an acclaimed opera by Alban Berg (Lulu, 1937). In April of this year, the avant-garde theatre director Robert Wilson premiered a new production of the Lulu plays with the Berliner Ensemble, featuring music and lyrics by Lou Reed.
18 months previously, Reed had been invited by Metallica to perform with them at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary Concert at Madison Square Garden. They performed two classic Velvet Underground songs, “Sweet Jane” and “White Light/White Heat”, and had such a good time that they decided immediately to record together. In the spring of 2011, after Metallica had finished their tour for the album Death Magnetic, they met with Reed to brainstorm.
The original proposal was for Reed and Metallica to work on some of Reed’s older recordings, to reimagine them and update their sound. However, having just completed work on Wilson’s version of Lulu, Reed suggested instead that they record his songs for that project. Once they heard the material, Metallica were enthusiastic, and the rehearsals quickly evolved into impromptu recording sessions. Within a very short time the album was completed. According to both, they’re very happy about the final product.
The process
When this collaboration was announced, many fans on both sides were scratching their heads. The two acts come from very different traditions within rock music, and indeed within art itself. Metallica emerged from the blue-collar heavy metal scene dominated by Black Sabbath, with a large dose of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal; Lou Reed, on the other hand, started with an interest in traditional rock’n’roll and rhythm and blues, and later built strong connections to jazz and the New York avant-garde art and theater scene. The two styles, at first look, made for an extremely odd pairing. However, there was one crucial decision by Metallica in the early days of the project that made all the difference.
Metallica has always kept a very tight leash over its writing and recording process, and usually refused to collaborate with outside musicians. (The only exceptions I can think of are their use of Marianne Faithfull as a guest vocalist on “The Memory Remains”, and their S&M project with Michael Kamen and the San Francisco Symphony.) But for Lulu, they chose to set aside their accustomed control and give themselves over to an outsider’s vision. Without this act of trust, the two styles would likely be impossible to reconcile.
Therefore, while Lulu is certainly a collaboration, Lou Reed is without question the dominant partner. Metallica are there to support and enhance his work—to put their stamp on it without utterly changing its character. In particular, James Hetfield has said that this was an opportunity to set aside his usual lyricist duties and focus on making the music the best it could be.
The resulting music is a serious departure for both artists. Metallica’s work here is far more expressionistic than anything they’ve done before, sonically interpreting the pain and darkness of the lyrics in order to complement them. They’re stretching themselves in ways that they’ve never tried previously, with freeform structures and jagged, disjointed instrumental sections that masterfully evoke the anger within the words.
Lou Reed, meanwhile, has finally found musicians who can fully express the violence and brutality that has always lurked below the surface of his best work. Ever since his days with the Velvet Underground, Reed’s music has hinted at this sort of fury. With the possible exception of Metal Machine Music, he has never fully achieved it. But here, he goes all the way—as he put it, “We pushed as far as we possibly could within the realms of reality.”
The music
The album consists of ten long tracks, built around lyrics that approach the enigmatic central figure of Lulu from the viewpoints of several of her lovers (of both sexes), as well as Lulu herself. The main themes are Lulu’s self-centeredness and emotional distance from the various people she attaches herself to, the exploitation that this disconnect makes possible for her, and the frustration and disillusionment that her lovers feel as a result.
The various characters each express their flawed images of her and their desire for her, often in full awareness of her disregard for them (“Iced Honey”, “Frustration”, “Dragon”). Lulu herself, meanwhile, shows little emotion beyond contempt for her lovers (“The View”, “Little Dog”) and idle curiosity about her own disconnect (“Cheat On Me”); only during her murder, at the hands of a thinly veiled Jack the Ripper (“Pumping Blood”), does she finally achieve a real connection.
Heavy stuff. And Metallica takes these dark materials and builds a sonic landscape to match. But what’s critical to realize here is that the lyrics are central. This is an album that rewards close attention to the words; the music is important, but it only makes sense as atmosphere for the story that’s being told. The general mood is one of tension, dissonance, and disconnection; the quiet but disjointed instrumental passages, the harder riffs, and the often-harsh solos all serve to illustrate the emotions conveyed in the lyrics. The exception is the more sentimental final track, “Junior Dad”, which mostly consists of lovely synths and strings.
Yes, strings. The instrumentation is considerably more diverse than in Metallica’s other work; Lulu makes extensive use of violin, viola and cello. But they primarily serve to accentuate the desired mood of the piece, whether as fragmented bits of orchestration or as Bernard Herrmann-style shrieking. (Incidentally, the violin at the beginning of “Pumping Blood” sounded so much like Reed’s paramour, performance artist Laurie Anderson, that I had to check to make sure she didn’t do it.) And again, “Junior Dad” proves the exception, ending the album with a carefully structured ten-minute string coda that’s really quite beautiful.
Not that it’s all like that. There are plenty of crunchy heavy-metal riffs. But unlike in everything else Metallica’s ever done, they’re not the point. The band has pointed out that in their usual process, the lyrics are often an afterthought. Not here.
Shattering illusions
This, I think, is at the core of why this album has generated so much overwhelmingly negative reaction from Metallica’s fans. They’ve never heard the band in a supporting role before, and they’ve never had to pay much attention to the lyrics if they didn’t want to. Metallica’s music has always been more about riffs, intricate solos, and sheer crushing power.
But here, all that is secondary. This is very much a Lou Reed project, and his style is central. Lulu actually fits very well into his body of work, on the basis of the relationship between the music and the lyrics. It simply sounds like a Lou Reed record, but one that happens to have Metallica as the backing band.
For Metallica’s fans, however, that’s blasphemy.
Of course, this is nothing new. Many of Metallica’s fans have been complaining about their work for over 20 years, ever since they moved away from the original speed-metal style of Master of Puppets and . . . And Justice For All and toward the more conventional sound of the Black Album. With each new release, whether it’s the sprawling alternative-rock production of Load and ReLoad, or the harsh, underproduced St. Anger, the complaints have gotten louder. Three years ago, the album Death Magnetic brought them back toward their original thrash-metal sound, and this went a long way in the eyes of many fans toward rebuilding their reputation. But Lulu, for many, seems to have been the breaking point.
And that’s not fair to anyone, especially not Metallica. After 30 years, I think they’re entitled to grow and change and try new things—especially since they have the personal and financial freedom to do so. Whether their fans want to follow them, however, is another thing.
I believe that Metallica’s fanbase is likely to fracture over this album. The vast majority will be confused and angered by it, as we’ve seen from comments by those who have heard it. And then there will be a few who understand what they and Reed were trying to do, and who will appreciate the success of this very risky experiment—and that minority will be forever shunned by the majority who don’t get it.
Since I’m in the latter camp, I don’t expect that there will be much positive reaction to my opinion. But that’s okay. Lou Reed and Metallica have produced something amazing and thought-provoking, and I am very happy they did it. And I couldn’t be more excited to see how it influences their future work.
Rock’n’roll has always been about liking what you like, no matter what anyone says. And I love this. That’s enough for me.
Update: Thanks to an email from one of the commenters below, Roseanne Salyer, I found a terrific set of videos of Lou Reed and Metallica performing for German radio a couple of weeks ago. There’s a long interview segment in the middle (the third video on the list) in which they talk about the process, their approach to the material, and their attitude toward change and growth as artists. Plus, of course, some incredibly hard-rocking performances. Highly recommended.
Really liked the review, because that’s exactly how I feel about this album. I’m a huge Metallica fan and have always appreciated Lou Reed as an artist, enjoying the majority of his work, especially with Velvet Underground, so I was excited about it from the moment I’ve heard about it. I loved Lulu, but that’s because I understand that the music on this is just the background to this really fascinating story. The majority of Metallica fans probably won’t be open to focus more on that side, which is unfortunate, but what are you going to do right? I’m very happy they’ve done this.
Carol: Very glad to see this, thank you! Looking at the negative comments that have been floating around the last few days, I’ve honestly wondered whether they heard the same album I did. I don’t think that in all these years of listening to music that I’ve ever felt so totally alone. I realize that much of my essay is a reaction and a defense, but there was a lot that I really felt needed to be said.
I just heard the album . This is a good review. To add to what you have said, I think the album has a sociologically relevant theme in an age of male exploitation widespread on The Internet. Yes, male exploitation. Lou talking in the character of a female, aside from drawing a confrontational response from the macho-fixated heavy metal culture, also comments on the intrinsic masochism of heavy metal music as well. The band are looser and more humanistic than usual, which is good for me and the ambient touches and violins elevates the CD to the level of Art. Style lasts for awhile, but art endures. Just look at Stravinsky. Thank you Loutallica for challenging my nptions of good and bad and making me feel alive again. We need more of this in an age where everything is rated, everyone’s the critic and everything stands in danger of being generic. Remember the phrases ‘music is highly personal’ and ‘this works on it’s own terms’…..you don’t hear them uttered much any more. The physical references alone make this album counter cultural. Imagine how a young virtually acclimated adult will assimilate the physicality of this music. Loutallica reached above and beyond the spirit of the modern age and created something visceral and brutally relevant.
Darren: Agreed completely. I didn’t know much about the Lulu stories before now, but now I’d love to see somebody update it for today’s culture. (Of course, today she’d be a celebutante.) I’m very happy that they decided to do this; it really issues a challenge to everyone else in popular music to do something deep and thought-provoking rather than rehashing the same old stuff.
The music on this is horrendous and judging by that 3 of those guys recorded …And Justice For All and Trujillo played in both Suicidal Tendencies and Infectious Grooves one would think that they would have come up with something much original & magical but no instead what you get is something like a garage band´s first rehearsal chugging on the same 3-4 chords or one riff for 10-20 minutes and the guitars and bass aren’t even fully tuned and the drummer isn’t even playing in time and many of the beats he makes sound like it´s the first time he ever sat behind a drum kit and is trying to make up for it by pounding the snare and china to hell in a way to say look at me look at me and the solo guitarist in his few spots has sounds like his guitar just falls where it´s placed or of him onto the ground(any infant can make that happen). And lou reed is like their senile grandpa half voiceless breathing into the microphone his twisted fantasies and at the same time he doesn’t have a clue what it is to be in time or in tune with the music? or what it is to flow with the structure of the music? And the (ambient music) Noise is just splat over the music? just because lou reed is on this record.
The production and the mix is bad, it sounds like a war between Lars´s snare and a half voiceless Lou Reed´s rants and it clips and distorts, not as horribly as on death magnetic though but i does do so.
There has no effort been done by either artists? in making of this album at any stage, its just two names on an album.
It´s a complete mess
0.0.01/10
Bjarni: All I can say in response is that it seems like you didn’t read a word I wrote. Which kinda proves my point.
I know exactly what you mean, and this comment completely proves your point. I too have been into Metallica since the early 80s and had the chance to meet and shoot an interview with James and Lars when they opened for Ozzy here in Cleveland on the Puppets tour. These are intelligent, serious musicians that know where they want their sound to go – as evidenced by your own mention of the ‘Load’ and ‘St Anger’ projects. Unfortunately, it has also been my experience that headbangers want headbanging – period. Nothing else, regardless of the quality or artistic value (an anathema to most metalheads)) of the music itself. If they would only look beyond the hair flying in their eyes they might see that projects like this – and the ‘Two Virgins’, ‘Metal Machine Music’, even the ‘rain machine’ that Andy Warhol created and the Grateful Dead used in their ‘acid tests’ in the 60s – ARE metal in their own fashion. Can you mosh or bang your head to it? No. Can it invade your mind and give you the same kind of adrenaline rush a great metal show can give you? Sure it can. Does it always? No.
I built a local video music show here – hence the interview – based on the concept that you see stuff that’s familiar and then other stuff that may be completely off the wall – and it lasted seven years. Variety is the spice of life and I will NEVER question, condemn or criticise ANY band that goes way out of their comfort zone to create a piece of music that they know a vast majority of their fans won’t understand and will most likely hate. This album, or any OTHER album that fits this criteria, isn’t made for those people anyway. Blind loyalty is one thing, but when that loyalty turns to ‘they suck now’ it tells me that they weren’t really fans to begin with.
I read it alright.
Yeah i get it that the play is twisted and creepy and calls for a dark and freeform music but it fails. My point is that for me as long time Metallica fan and i know what the eccentric Lou Reed has done in the past, and i admit that i was curious at first about the outcome of this collaboration when it was first announced. But as i said in my first post about Metallica´s past musical achievements that one cant help but say wtf what happened in the studio, where is all the enthusiasm,creative drive, effort and musicianship in this project.
Both artists can deliver so much more than this that comes off as a poorly produced/mixed garage band badly rehearsing 3-4 chords or a riff for 7-20 minutes with an old man reading poetry over it and the acoustic interludes and the ambience/avantgarde noises are mostly out of place. Some riff´s are ok but they go on forever and get destroyed in the process of that and become nothing but a repeated boring chugging. The music and singing is such a untalented mess that when listening to the song´s the tale of Lulu become´s irrelevant and is overshadowed by how bad the music is.
I expected better from both artists.
That´s just my experience of this cd when listening to it with an open mind, to me this cd is just a big disappointment.
Bjarni,
The music on Take some drug or something. Forget what you think you know. and listen to the music like a child. A child who has been viciiously violated. All this bullshit technical jargon about snares being too loud and not enough leads reminds me of all the opera/crooner aficionados who cringe when I play Tim Buckley or Arthur Brown for them. I guess you can’t teach young or old dogs new tricks. They look at the menu and kind of know what they want beforehand…..and if it was cooked extra well they simply wouldn’t care. All the negative reviews only affirm the fact that most metal devotees are low on the IQ scale and fetishistically attached to the trappings of the art form they patronize (METAL). Art requires understanding…..it’s not there to serve you, you take it on it’s own terms. It evolves you more than it involves you. Marketing ‘style’ has retarded rock music as an artistic consideration for quite some time now. Decades. The progress that was being made between ’67 and, roughly, ’73 was robbed of it’s flow because of greed, fear and a general lack of culture amongst the people who sponsored and supported rock/pop product. What we end up with is people like you who wish to stifle free exchanges between musical cultures, improvisation and risk-taking. The importance of challenging others as much as yourself is important to both artists and non artists. Music criticism is final, but the mind naturally evolves and can’t accomodate such value based conclusions. A critic, ultimately, screens product for those who wish to make smart decisions. Loutallica, fortunately, transcends such routine commodification (the commodification of sound) and offers an alternative to a culture which has long clinged to strict rules and regulations. Values in any genre are as moveable as one’s imagination will allow discovery and immerse itself in the integrity of the artists who author such ‘atrocities’. The real questions are: “Were the artists engaged?” “Were the artists sincere?” ” Can this work?” “Is everything I know limited or completely wrong?”. Bjarni, in the eyes of the cosmos which allow for many things (white noise even) you and people like you are completely myopic and out of line and have no business spewing forth your sports-like vitriol at people who risked their reputations to create something which transcends patronage. Loutallica exist in the same spirit as any crazy 60′s album that people fight over, disputing or touting it’s worth. The fight is usually the right brain versus the left brain, which (sociologically interpreted) pretty much amounts to Man vs Women. This brings us full circle to the very reason for Lulu. But, maybe people like you just don’t care about things your not supposed to care about. After all, these pretentious fruity washed up types are not the sort of people any self-respecting metalhead would want to try to understand in the first place.
darren,
So you say because i listen to Metal i should take drugs to understand this record that could have been done by field recording in Guitar Centers and a nursing home mixed together.
Nah thank´s all the same for the advice but ill just stick with my experience of it that it´s a complete mess, and i dont need any drugs hear that.
Bjarni,
Well, I’m a recording engineer and I was impressed with the production. I liked Reeds dry vocals, the separated guitars, the separated drums and cymbals and overall mic. Hetfield was mixed perfectly as an accompaniment vocalist as well. the problem with metalheads, and yes I will generalize metalheads since they proudly generalize themselves, is they’re so used to the totaltariantistc protocol of every aspect of metal production that if (God forbid) production falls somewhere outside of the parameters of what they’re accustomed to they presume it’s ‘bad’ or ‘unworthy’ or ‘half assed’. I think metalheads are ‘half-assed’ because they’re not fully developed intellectually and culturally. Studies have shown that metalheads generally have significantly low IQ’s. I’m not surprised. I suppose you haven’t heard of the Swans or P.I.L or Carl Orff or Jean Barraque — they often mix their drums in some very ‘unorthodox’ ways. Einsturzende Neubauten? Test Department? Live Skull? Zev? I didn’t think so. Perhaps if people, in general, would widen their horizons they would be less prone to cast judgment upon things. I’m glad this album offended many people, especially critics. Time will show what small-minded asses they truly are.
Bjarni,
And, yes, you do need drugs because they may help you forget all the stupid things you believe in.
Darren,
i don´t need to get high on drugs no matter what the music is or how its done or recorded.
And i´ll say this, without being arrogant and without being rude to you for liking which ever music styles you like or how you like it made,since the music of metal bands appeal to me i don´t feel any need to do so.
No matter how it´s recorded or in which experimental way it´s done and what ever the music style is : pop,country,experimental,opera,symphony,dance music,avantgarde,rock,metal, prog,psychedelic etc. If the songs/music, recording,production,mix are badly done then it´s always gonna be heard that it is badly done, it doesn’t matter how many times its repeated that the structure or the sound of the music is like it is because its art or experimental it doesn’t change the fact that if it´s badly done then it is badly done and that is the case with Lulu.
But i´ll agree with you on that, that most of modern production of music is often too clean and sterile. And i think it´s also often way-too loudly produced,recorded,mixed or mastered so that it clips and distorts to hell and back and that is what happens with every band that Greg Fidelman produces or mixes.
And yes i´m familiar with the music of Einsturzende Neubauten, P.I.L and Swans.
Wow, I’ve never had a full-blown argument on my site before…
My only comment is that, like I said, people like what they like. And that reaction is usually emotional rather than intellectual (and sometimes people aren’t even aware of where it really comes from). And it’s almost impossible to persuade someone who’s convinced on one basis by appealing to the other.
If Bjarni had such a visceral negative reaction to it, then nothing Darren says is going to convince him. And if Darren or myself love it on intellectual grounds, then emotional arguments aren’t going to change that. (I happen to like it on BOTH grounds, but still.)
Excellent review, Brian. Glad you’re one of the few who “get it.” I’ve a huge LR since forever and Lulu really expands Reed’s already vast career- 50 years and counting. You’re also one of the few reviewers to mention the strings and viola etc. Lou also plays a continuum which I believe is similar to a harmonium and adds lot of the more ethereal effects in many of the songs intros.
Lulu is a rich, complex, hauntingly beautiful work that is so anti-commercial that it truly does belong in the “work of art” category rather than pop or even rock music. This has always been Reed’s approach and now we have another example of his off-hand genius.
His lyrics are extremely important, of course, but the phrasing ( yes, atonal) are equally amazing. What can we call “Little Dog”? Gothic Blues?………….
“oh money can buy you anything”………….how especially apropos given today’s economic climate…..
Love the review.
I must admit when I first heard about this collaboration I was really confused and somewhat frustrated because I really wanted a Metallica album to be released. I have really never heard any of Lou Reed’s work so I had no clue what I was going to face when I finally sat down and listened to “Lulu” and all I can say is that I’m amazed at what came out of this. This album is like nothing I have ever heard before in my entire life. I find Reed’s lyrics to be extremely dark, angry, and more importantly very emotional.I was also amazed at how great Metallica sounded, from the riffs to Hetfields voice, it made me really excited for their actual Metallica album. This album is more like a piece of art than what you would think of as music. This isn’t something you listen to while you are going for a run or while your in the car. This is something you listen to when your at home in silence and just want to get away from the real world and fall into a trance-like state of mind. I have always loved Metallica for stepping outside the box and taking risks, and I’m more excited about their new album than I have ever been. Metal Up Your Ass m/
Thanks, Chris. I agree, this is much more arty than poppy. (Although I have listened in the car… heh.)
If you want to learn more about Lou Reed, I’d highly recommend his early work with the Velvet Underground. Especially their first two albums, The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light/White Heat. Massively influential. There’s an old joke about the first one, that almost nobody bought it… but everybody who did started a band.
As for his solo stuff, it’s really diverse. He’s worked in a lot of different styles, and his quality is somewhat uneven. Probably Berlin is the closest to Lulu in approach and conception, though of course the music is nowhere near as heavy. Transformer is a bit poppier, but also a classic.
I’d avoid Metal Machine Music at first; it is definitely an acquired taste, and deserves every ounce of its notoriety!
It took me about 30 years to finally work up the nerve to listen to MMM – and yes I listened to all four sides. It’s pure white and pink noise. And it’s impossibly creative for that. At a time in music when the Bowies and T Rexes and all the progressive rock bands were getting their careers going, Reed comes up with a brilliant kick in the teeth to those that thought at the time that ‘music’ had to have form and function, melody and harmony. Yeah, tell that to a European throat singer. I believe I had heard at one point that it was a big FU to the label and he did it to get back at them for some reason or other – or maybe to terminate his contract. The point is art is what you perceive it to be. One person can look at a Picasso and see a horse whilst someone else can view the same painting and only see triangles and disconnected lines. And that’s how I view things like ‘Lulu’, MMM, ‘Two Virgins’ (and their follow-up, ‘Life With The Lions’ – they are Picassos in a world of Realists. Ask Yoko – she gets it. She suffered through it and is only just starting to get the artistic due she should have had all along. She was so far ahead of the curve most people have yet to catch up. But without her there may never have been a Laurie Anderson, Nina Hagen or Kate Bush. They get it too.
Its interesting what bands like Metallica achieve with releasing the curve balls – whether its devisive or pure instinct (i’ll go 20:80 on that one). I have grown up with Metallica and love the albums for what each represents. Regardless of their individual merits, they have the ability to transport me back to the time of their release as they are diverse. Slayer is Slayer is Slayer ad nauseum, – great albums but 100%homogenous. Megadeth release the new album on the same date as Lulu to critical acclaim in the metal world – but whilst it is a fantastic record, it provoked no debate and will dissappear into a homogenous back catalogue of high quality metal records which only 5% of the worlds population will know or care about. Metallica’s output almost pulls down the internet with sheer weight of opinion – and even causes people like Brian with smaller, personal websites to have their first forum spat!! Personally, I think that debate is a great thing and we had them live on UK television last night on later…..with Jools Holland. They were obviously VERY nervous because of the reaction by fans – has anyone considered that musicians must take risks to keep things fresh (or ar rich enough to be able to do so) – because trust me during the interview Lars was muted in a way the snotty little Dane has never been (the elephant in the room was everyone, Jools, Lars, Lou, The Audience, The other bands playing all knew the album has been slammed), but it sounded great (The played Ice Honey, The View and White Light / White Heat by the way) . My hat is off, thought they fronted it brilliantly – To the points in the thread above, I have actually ONLY listened to the album in the car, its that sort of music for me, an ambience which works. Its not a complete success, but which album is? ….I love it for what it is. An interesting experiment and none of their peers can claim anything close to delivering that sort of riskiness. Its this open minded approach that has made them massive whilst the rest of the big 4 of thrash can look on, metal-credibility intact, but locked in the sub genre box which im sure they all secretly wish they could break out from. On a lighter note – Lou Reed is as mad as a box of frogs and looks like he has had some form of Monkey scotum facelift – but fair play to him – there are not many septogenarians who would be able to rock out with the planets biggest metal band. He has also produced some of the most eerie, chilling lyrics ive heard for a while.
Hey Brian, fantastic post. You especially bring more depth to Lulu here than in anything I’ve read about it elsewhere. I think reactions might be different if more people understood the whole of the art, and that it basically is a Lou Reed venture. While I respect the record in principle, however, I don’t think I’ll be listening to it repeatedly. I reference this in a post I did recently on Metallica over at http://wp.me/p1UhOK-43 …I’d welcome your comments if you’d care to share. Rock on.
Thanks a lot, Richard. I’ve been getting a lot of positive feedback, which is gratifying. Good to know I’m not as alone as I thought!
Thanks for the review. You get it and I appreciate your attempts to unravel some of the underlying themes. One theme I think is also the roles we play, how society sees us in these roles and our capacity to be ourselves within these established views.
The album is a story and it needs contemplating in it’s entirety and it’s a journey I am still enjoying. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard such a thought provoking album.
The other thing I would say is: Don’t bother with analyzing “fans” reactions too much, people’s opinions don’t always need to be justified or contextualized. In this case I think it detracts from the commentary the album. Comments that are reflected in your review and the considered reflections of the people who are listening to the story.
I am so glad you get it. One of the comments said it was not for repeated listening. I can’t stop listening! Also, watching the live performance, in Germany. I do not understand how people don’t like it, for whatever their reason. Seems that most ‘fans’ are not true fans. While I don’t love all of Metallica’s songs, I love the albums. Why do you ‘fans’ expect them to write the same stuff over and over. Go back to the Black album and shut up. And Lou? I’ve been a fan since the VU days. Yes, I am that old. Not too old, yet, not to appreciate this piece of art for what it is. The first time I listened to it all the way through – as that last cello faded away – it’s like the after of the best orgasm I ever experienced. Thanks, boys, keep on rockin’. And thanks to you, Brian for listening with your mind open. See you on the flip.
great review. I had the album before I came across this review . I cannot understand why anyone would not like this thought provoking , educational and mind expanding album . I like things to make me work for them . Like Roeanne I cannot stop listening to it . On my nightshifts ,drifting off to sleep it is under my skin and with every listen there is something else I hadn’t noticed . Russell
Masterpiece it is. A great review too. I’m a huge Metallica fan, but knew next to nothing about Lou Reed’s work, so I approached this with plenty of skepticism (and intrigue), but was blown away by it. It’s obviously not your standard metal album and anyone wanting to find the next Enter Sandman on it would be disappointed. I see this album almost like a dark audio book with a heavy soundtrack. Art it certainly is. Makes me want to learn more about Reed’s work and I admire Metallica even more now.
Darren Finizio: metalheads and low IQ? Really? I must have got my PhD by accident then.
A stubborn mind conduces as little wisdom, or even to knowledge, as stubborn temper is to happiness. if its an object to convert one’s opinion do it so without a condescending tone or degrading matter; success is the outcome. Tards.
This is the standard argument used to justify the abortions presented to the public in the name of “modern art”. The “artistic” attitude boils down to elitism – in this case, you the ‘metalhead’ are too stupid to appreciate my values. In other words, I am special and therefore I “understand”. Whereas YOU do not. A false dichotomy based upon self-importance. This posture can only be achieved by shortcutting and subverting established popular and even empirical standards of all kinds. Whether these standards be those of musicality, genre, decency or taste . Elitists like brianeisley also wish to ignore the commoditization of popular music; the fact that popular music requires a fan-base. The hipster wishes to be different and he is willing to redefine what music is to achieve his sense of superiority.
So, since you posted this both here and with my comment at the Atlantic story, I’ll reprint here what I wrote there:
Incredible review Brian- and some of you guys posting here have mesmerized me, and also comforted me in the sense that I don’t feel alone anymore. I too admire and respect what these guys (Metallica and Reed) have done here, and there’s nothing more that I could aggregate that hasn’t been written in this amazing blog and its comments.
The reason I write here is not only to praise this amazing record and this great review, but also because I would greatly appreciate any input from anybody reading this. I have a serious dilemma. I happen to play music in a duo, and my bandmate has views similar to those of that guy “Bjarni” here- he’s WAY too narrow to “get” some stuff. I guess their view is a little more “empiric” than mine- I tend to FEEL music, and let it take me to wherever it might go, instead of trying to force it to go somewhere by already expecting something from it and being greatly dissatisfied because the music/art doesn’t fit their expectations- if that makes sense.
In any case, I’m suffering quite a lot because, needless to say, my bandmate and I are butting heads like crazy when it comes to writing music together. He’s just too damn narrow. He just doesn’t “get it” when I try to break it down to him. How can we make this band work if as songwriters we can’t seem to understand each other that well?
This guy is hilarious, sometimes I show him music and he disregards it immediately, only to come back to me months (or sometimes years) later after he “discovers it”, to say “man, I love this record/band, they’re great!” and I think to myself “no shit Sherlock”… I find myself having those “duh” moments with him a lot, and the worst thing is that he always thinks he’s right- he’s one of those guys that talks too much shit and is unintentionally funny by making himself look like an ass in front of everybody…
Any input would be greatly appreciated!!!