Lou Reed Transformer released

Transformer Lou Reed

Released: November 8, 1972 Peak: 29 US, 13 UK, 12 CN, 12 AU, 14 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.3 UK Genre: glam rock

Tracks: Click on a song title for more details. Vicious [2:55] (4/73, --) Andy’s Chest [3:17] Perfect Day [3:43] Hangin’ ‘Round [3:39] Walk on the Wild Side [4:12] (11/72, 16 US, 10 UK) Make Up [2:58] Satellite of Love [3:40] (2/73, --) Wagon Wheel [3:19] New York Telephone Conversation [1:31] I’m So Free [3:07] Goodnight Ladies [4:19] Total Running Time: 36:40 The Players:

Rating: 4.539 out of 5.00 (average of 28 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album After four albums with the hugely influential group the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed launched his solo career in 1972 with his self-titled debut album. Before year’s end, he was back with Transformer, an album celebrated as “an influential landmark of the glam rock genre.” WK Part of the credit goes to David Bowie. Earlier in the year he released his own iconic album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. Considering the impact the Velvet Underground had on Bowie’s work, it was fitting that he “would offer Lou Reed some much needed help with his career.” AM As co-producers on Transformer, Bowie and Mick Ronson, the guitarist on Ziggy “crafted a new sound for Reed that was better fitting (and more commercially astute) than the ambivalent tone of his first solo album.” AM The album’s “commercial success elevated him from cult status to become an international star.” WK “Musically, Reed’s work didn't have too much in common with the sonic bombast of the glam scene, but at least it was a place where his eccentricities could find a comfortable home.” AM Nowhere was that more apparent than on Walk on the Wild Side, Reed’s most successful single. The song “touched on controversial topics of sexual orientation, gender identity, prostitution and drug use,” WK not exactly the usual fare for a pop hit. That song, along with Perfect Day and Goodnight Ladies, are examples of how Ronson’s “imaginative arrangements… blend pop polish with musical thinking just as distinctive as Reed’s lyrical conceits.” AM Ronson also “adds some guitar raunch to Vicious and Hangin’ Round that’s a lot flashier than what Reed cranked out with the Velvets, but still honors Lou’s strengths in guitar-driven hard rock.” AM Four of the songs here originated with the Velvet Underground. Earilier versions of Andy’s Chest and Satellite of Love can be found on the Velvet Underground’s box set Peel Slowly and See while the band had played New York Telephone Converation and “Goodnight Ladies” during a 1970 summer residency at Max’s Kansas City. “The sound and style of Transformer would in many ways define Reed’s career in the 1970s, and while it led him into a style that proved to be a dead end, you can't deny that Bowie and Ronson gave their hero a new lease on life — and a solid album in the bargain.” AM The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

Vicious Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Recorded: August 1, 1972, at Trident Studios in London Released: July 1973 (single), Transformer (1972), Retro (compilation: 1989), Between Thought and Expression (box set, 1992), The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (compilation: 1995), Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (compilation: 1996), A Retrospective (compilation, 1998), The Definitive Collection (compilation: 1999), The Very Best of (compilation: 2000), Legendary (box set: 2002), NYC Man – The Ultimate Collection (compilation: 2003) Peak: 43 CL, 33 CO, 21 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 45.05 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Lou Reed’s Transformer album “locks into its first groove with a cowbell-dominated stomp wed to thudding bass and two hard-working guitars. As soon as Lou opens his mouth, it is clear that his level of commitment to the proceedings is higher than anything from his previous LP.” ER-19-20 “What started as an offhand suggestion about a new song from Andy Warhol, suggesting that someone hit someone else with a flower, has been turned into a full-chested declaration of intent. After each chorus, Ronson elevates things with a busy, scratchy attack at the guitar strings. Its balanced position in the mix serves it with just the right combination of boldness and restraint.” ER-20 David “Bowie first makes his presence known on the album with the ghostly voices that conclude each chorus, and by the second time around,the song’s tempo has noticeably quickened, indicating that the boys in the band were feeling it.” ER-20

Perfect Day Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: 11/17/1972 (single), Transformer (1972), Retro (compilation: 1989), The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (compilation: 1995), Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (compilation: 1996), Perfect Day (compilation: 1997), The Very Best of (compilation: 2000), Legendary (box set: 2002), NYC Man – The Ultimate Collection (compilation: 2003), NYC Man – Greatest Hits (compilation: 2004) Peak: 20 CL, 6 CO, 45 UK, 3 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 264.86 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: “Lou’s big ballad. While ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ is undoubtedly the career-cementing breakout hit from the album, this track has slow-burned its way to a legacy all its own. This soft, delicate lover’s meditation on a perfect lover’s afternoon has not only been repeatedly used for various sundry products and placements but has also suffered its fair share of misinterpretation over the years.” ER-20 “Perhaps the greatest appeal is the hovering darkness that the lyrics show to be just beneath the surface of a song of clear romantic devotion.” ER-20 “The song begins with a weightless piano and percussion duet that is soon joined by Lou’s pin-drop vocals. By the second set of verses, the listener is then gifted with the introduction of Mick Ronson’s truly heavenly string score – the glistening backbone of the whole piece. A grand crescendo is achieved at the chorus with swirling strings and Lou’s double-tracked vocals, not so much sung as emanated from some lofty peak.” ER-20 In 1997, a collection of “contemporary glitters” ER-21 and “still-up-and-taking-nourishment legends (Elton John Bono, David Bowie, Shane McGowan, Tammy Wynette, and Lou himself, et al)” ER-21 recorded “a star-studded remake of the song” ER-21 “for an oddly self-promotional video meant to highlight the BBC’s long-standing commitment to musical and cultural diversity.” ER-21 It was released as a charity single for Children in Need and topped the charts in the UK.

Hangin’ ‘Round Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972) Peak: 21 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 10.54 streaming About the Song: This song is a “rocking good time,” ER-21 “a great bubbly breakup song, for those in the market for such a thing.” ER-21 “Lou’s voice jumps out of the box at once, spinning another one of his set of tales about various characters and their various characterizations.” ER-21 “The wordplay is as colorful and vivid as only Lou can do in one of his expansive character studies.” ER-21 “Musically, the bass guitar is welded to the bass drum and it brings the bounce, while Ronson’s riffs boost from the sidelines. The icing on the cake is at the chorus, where the piano plays simple eights that solidify the song’s rock ‘n’ roll guts.” ER-21

Walk on the Wild Side Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed (see lyrics here) Recorded: August 1, 1972, at Trident Studios in London Released: January 1973 (single), Transformer (1972), Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of (compilation: 1977), Rock and Roll Diary (compilation: 1980), Retro (compilation: 1989), Between Thought and Expression (box set, 1992), The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground (compilation: 1995), Different Times: Lou Reed in the ‘70s (compilation: 1996), A Retrospective (compilation, 1998), The Definitive Collection (compilation: 1999), The Very Best of (compilation: 2000), Legendary (box set: 2002), NYC Man – The Ultimate Collection (compilation: 2003), NYC Man – Greatest Hits (compilation: 2004) First Charted: February 17, 1973 Peak: 16 BB, 17 CB, 18 GR, 17 HR, 1 CL, 1 CO, 10 UK, 18 CN, 100 AU, 1 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.2 UK, 0.2 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 73.87 video, 593.51 streaming

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Lou Reed, “who never ceased to offend somebody,” UCR references valium, oral sex, hustlers, and whores in what is likely the “the first transvestite rock song that middle America heard.” UCR The song title came from A Walk on the Wild Side by Nelson Algren. Reed was tapped to write songs for a musical based on the novel, but it never came about. RS500 On the resulting song, Reed served as the “narrator brilliantly delivering his cool rap-like observations” UCR about real people including Holly Woodlawn, Candy Darling, Joe Dallesandro, Joe Campbell, and Jackie Curtis. They were all actors and/or transsexuals Reed knew through artist Andy Warhol. WK As Reed said, “I always thought it would be kinda fun to introduce people you see at parties but don’t dare approach.” RS500 He “paints such as vivid picture of deliberate decadence that it can still be shocking…years later.” RY It also serves as “a chillingly stark portrait” RY about the underbelly of New York City, “America’s largest and darkest city.” RY When Reed “invokes the ‘colored girls’ to sing ‘do do-do do-do, do-do-do’ and their voices fade into the lush atmospheric sound of a lazy baritone sax solo, the music suggests the atmosphere of a New York City subway station at three in the morning.” RY Reed hadn’t found commercial success with his band Velvet Underground or his first solo outing. However, David Bowie idolized Reed and he’d achieved enough clout as “the rising star of British glam-rock” TB to “freely bestow his Midas touch upon other artists who interested him.” RY “The sweet touches in the vocal harmonies, and the quick and deceptively simple arrangements are in large part due to Bowie” TC and his production on the song and Transformer album. It gave Reed his “greatest solo success.” TB

Make Up Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972), Legendary (box set: 2002) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.68 streaming About the Song: “A bobbing, two-note bass figure starts the proceedings and the singer shares the fond, dreamy sentiment of ‘Your face when sleeping is sublime,’ which is then followed by a crisp run of notes on a tuba. Both the bass and tuba are owned and operated by Herbie Flowers.” ER-23 “What first floats along as a lover’s gentle teasing of their swain’s cosmetic routine is shifted slightly when the chorus announces: ‘Now we’re coming out / Out of our closets / Out on the streets / Yeah, we’re coming out.’” ER-23 In 1972, “to hear these things being mentioned and encouraged in pop music could be seen as a beacon of hope and possibility beyond whatever bleak, limiting surroundings and lack of possibilities someone might face in their pursuit to live a freer, more open life.” ER-23

Wagon Wheel Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 6.25 streaming About the Song: “This track seems to be a bit of a collage of three separate, half-completed songs. The first section, the basic rock ‘n roll core of the song begins with Lou asking for someone to be his wagon wheel.” ER-24 “The groove treads along, with Lou’s verbal encouragement to enjoy oneself.” ER-24 “This is the LP’s title that can be said most closely abuts the ‘filler’ category.” ER-24

New York Telephone Conversation Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972), Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of (compilation: 1977) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.49 streaming About the Song: “One-and-a-half minutes of high parody; catty, campy, urbanite snark paying tribute to itself, and having a ball doing so. Apparently cut live in the studio, it features, drums, bass, Bowie on piano and harmony, and Lou on vocals. Not taking too seriously a glittering social subsect that takes itself much too seriously, Lou sends up NYC friends and acquaintances that he is no doubt loathe to be part of, yet even more loathe to do without, and Bowie cannot help but to play along heartily…The music prnaces about like a stage audition, never once upstaging the performers in the spotlight.” ER-24-5

I’m So Free Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 7.02 streaming About the Song: “The most Bowie-esque track” ER-25 on Transformer. “From the full-throttle opening crunch, the listener can be forgiven should they think their ears are being occupied by Messrs. Ronson, Bolder, and Woodmansey, but it is not the case. This uncomplicated song keeps the rubber on the road throughout, while Lou sings about not much, it seems.” ER-25 “Mick Ronson squeezes off some truly tasty wah-wah licks in the right channel, but just as with his work on ‘Vicious,’ they never hog the mic, as the proceedings roll to the fade.” ER-25

Goodnight Ladies Lou Reed

Writer(s): Lou Reed Released: Transformer (1972) Peak: 21 DF Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, -- video, 5.61 streaming About the Song: “The perfect closing track at just the right speed and flavor. The wobbly, half-cocked, sun-is-almost-up dance band tempo serves the song’s, and the album’s, ‘end of the show’ vibe perfectly. Tuba and soprano sax flavor the clockwork rhythm respectfully, while sings a lament for a departed love.” ER-25

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Mark Deming TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Page 290. RS500 Rolling Stone (2004). “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time“ ER Ethan Roy (2023). On Track…Lou Reed 1972-1986. Sonicbond Publishing: United Kingdom. RY Thomas Ryan (1996). American Hit Radio: A History of Popular Singles From 1955 to the Present. Prima Publishing: Rocklin, CA. Pages 458-9. TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 141. UCR UltimateClassicRock.com (6/20/2013). “Top 100 Classic Rock Songs” WK Wikipedia page for Transformer WK Wikipedia page for “Walk on the Wild Side” Related DMDB Pages: First posted 11/16/2010; last updated 9/5/2026.