Lulu

In the world of rock n roll, there are great ideas and terrible ideas for collaborations. Some are met with positive results and some just don't work at all. With a collaboration like Lou Reed and Metallica, it can go either way: it's going to be brilliant or it's going to be the worst thing ever made. The album, Lulu, has been getting panned by both critics and fans. I can see why: it's very difficult to sit through. For me, I'm in between about Lulu. Parts of it are really good and then there are some parts that terrible. For the eclectic and bizarre factor, I can honestly say that Lulu is a decent album for me. I know a bunch of people are going to think I'm crazy but I'm not crazy about this album. This is going to be a challenging listen for a lot of people. The history of this album actually starts in 1895. A man named Frank Wedekind wrote the play Erdgeist, or Earth Spirit. In 1905, he wrote another play called Die Buchse der Pandora, or Pandora's Box. Wedekind referred to these plays as his "Lulu" plays, as both plays told the story of a tortured and abused ballerina of the same name. The plays would later become an opera and various other things. Robert Wilson, a theatre director, asked singer/songwriter Lou Reed to write a musical adaptation of the two plays. Reed agreed to do it. Around this time, Reed had jammed with Metallica at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame's 25th anniversary concerts in 2009. Reed got to talk to the band and everybody got along. Drummer Lars Ulrich remembered Reed calling out "Let's do a record together!". Ulrich thought Reed was joking but alas, he was not. Earlier this year in 2011, Lou Reed and the members of Metallica (guitarists James Hetfield and Kirk Hammet, bassist Robert Trujillo, and drummer Lars Ulrich) were in the studio. Reed had written both the lyrics and music. Metallica's job was to play Reed's music. The album was completed in four days (though the liner notes say it was recorded from April 2011 to June 2011) and this is the end result. If there was an award for most random opening lyric, "Brandenburg Gate" would probably take it: "I would cut my legs and t**s off when I think of Boris Karloff and Kinski/In the dark of the moon". Fair enough, Lou. Once Lou is done singing the first two line, Metallica transitions the song to a heavier sound. Reed sings the lyrics while James Hetfield continuously sings in the background (and it can get annoying) "Small town girl". In terms of the sound and maybe some of the lyrics, "Brandenburg Gate" opens the album brilliantly. Next up is "The View", which fortunately has nothing to do with the Barbara Walters-hosted talk-show. The song was picked as the single for the album and when first released, the response wasn't great. I'll admit: "The View" is very difficult to listen to. However with music like this, it can get better once you listen to it over and over again. What may bother listeners about this song, as well as the rest of the album, is that Reed is reciting the lyrics rather than singing them. Metallica fans are going to hate this but for me, I've gotten use to it even before: Reed is an artist and in some ways, a poet. I will admit lyrics such as "I want you on the floor" sounds funny but Hetfield tops it off when he shouts "I AM THE TABLE!" No offense guys but that is flat-out hilarious! Still, "The View" is a decent song."Pumping Blood" starts off with the beautiful sounds of violins playing until Metallica comes in with one their vamping or crunching sounds. When Reed goes into his "singing", we got a song that sounds like a cross between something off Master of Puppets and something off Reed's Berlin or even New York. It does get annoying towards the end but I think "Pumping Blood" is a good song. "Mistress Dread", despite the heavy riffs, is excruciating to sit through. I dig the out-of-place lyrics Reed wrote but I get a headache even listening to this song. Luckily, "Iced Honey" cures the headache for a while as it has a great sound and beat. In fact, "Iced Honey" might be my favorite song of the album. Disc one (oh yeah, I forgot: this album is 85 minutes long. Let that sink in...) ends with "Cheat On Me". This song is more of a poetry track for Reed, which slowly evolves into a Metallica-sounding song. The lyrics are a bit monotonous and the song is eleven minutes long. They could've made this song much shorter. Disc two opens with "Frustration", a great song for Metallica to just jam to. The guitar playing on this one is really good but Reed's lyrics are a little out of place again. Unlike "Mistress Dread", this one is much easier to listen to. Some of the lyrics are laughable: "To be dead to have no feeling/To be dry and spermless like a girl". "Little Dog" is a very creepy song. Seriously. It's just Reed singing to an acoustic guitar playing. Check out the lyrics for yourself as I don't think they'd be appropriate for Amazon standards. "Dragon" is another 11 minute song, mostly with Reed either ranting or reciting poetry. At the three minute mark, Metallica comes in with this great heavy sound. While the lyrics are once again weird and out of place, there might be some truth in them. The album's last song, "Junior Dad", is a nice sounding song. It's very melodic and soft. However there is one problem with this song: it goes on for 19 MINUTES! I'm not kidding. Go look it up. Reed's lyrics and singing, however, are pretty good. Despite many flaws, Lulu is still a decent album. I know a lot of people hate it and think of it as garbage. Compared to talent-less people who can't sing like Miley Cyrus and Justin Bieber or computerized crap like almost every rapper does now, Lulu stands out. In fact, I think everyone should at least listen to this album at least once. Both Lou Reed and Metallica have had lows in their careers. Reed had many flops over the years, the biggest probably being 1975's Metal Machine Music. Metallica has also experienced releasing some disappointing albums, the most notable probably being 2003's St. Anger. Overall, Lulu is a listening experience.

I got this album, not because I wanted to, but because I had to. Metallica is my band for life. Love them to death. And when I heard "The View", I knew I was going to like this album I rate it a 5 because I can't do a 4.85. This album, like every album by everyone, is not flawless. I will admit that Lou's vocals, for the most of the album, suck, but he makes them work in some places. Here are my reviews for each song:Disc 1:1. Bradenburg Gate, 4/5: This is my least favorite song on the album. James's "small town girl" chant is just too cheesy for me. While the guitars are pretty good, I just can't find it in myself to give this song a 5/5.2. The View, 5/5: Ah, if it isn't the song that the world heard first and shunned the album for. Lou's vocals aren't at their peak here. Yes, it sounds like poetry, as most of Lulu does, but it's not that bad a song. The riffs are good, all three or four of them. This is one of my top five tracks on the album.3. Pumping Blood, 5/5: Another top five track. While Lou's "pumpin' blood" chant at the beginning sounds a bit like he's saying "pumpkin blugh", he makes up for it in lyrical intellect and content. I love the anxiety and anger in this track.4. Mistress Dread, 4/5: This is between my seventh and eighth place song. It's a really close race between this song and "Cheat on Me". It's a thrashy track, not very catchy though. I find it hard to get into this song, but it's still good.5. Iced Honey, 5/5: The catchiest song on the whole album. I love the "iced honey" parts of the lyrics. I make this my fifth place song, simply because the top four are far better, in my opinion.6. Cheat On Me, 4/5: Again, it's a close race between this song and "Mistress Dread". It's not a bad song by any means, but again, to me, it's not enough to crack the top five.And so begins Disc 2, where the continuum begins to take over and song lengths increase beyond ten minutes...7. Frustration, 5/5: I love the odd intro. It's really creepy, like nails on a chalkboard. The lyrics contradicting themselves between hatred and admiration were a good way to go. The riff is pretty catch as well.8. Little Dog, 4/5: The guitars being 99% acoustic song makes this a bottom three song, not saying I only prefer heavy guitars. It's a nice song, but to me, the riff isn't too good. The lyrics are good, but they're overshadowed by the riff.9. Dragon, 5/5: I love this song. The riff is great. The lyrics are great. It's aggressive. It's just great.10. Junior Dad, 5/5: Nineteen minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Ladies and gentlemen, that's the official song length of "Junior Dad". But don't let that discourage you, this song is a great piece of music. The lyrics are at their peak for the album and, while it drones on for almost twelve minutes to the end of the song after the vocals end, the continuum is absolutely beautiful.My song rankings (it was really hard to decide the order of the top four):1. Pumping Blood2. The View3. Dragon4. Junior Dad5. Iced Honey6. Frustration7. Cheat On Me8. Mistriss Dread9. Little Dog10. Bradenburg GateAlbum overall grade (out of 100): 92, A-.That being said, this album is definately abstract art. It takes someone who appreciates abstract art to love this album.

I know some of the tracks on this album are a little ‘challenging’ - especially on first listen. However, the CD is well worth buying for ‘Brandenburg Gate’, ‘Iced Honey’ and ‘Junior Dad’ alone! Lou’s phrasing is as magical as ever and can still send tingles down my spine! The final track ‘Junior Dad’ is a work of both genius and devastating beauty: the depth of sadness captured within the music in this 20 minute ‘mini opera’ is very reminiscent to me of Franz Schubert (if you like his ‘Winterreise’, you may possibly like this). You would need to be made of stone not to be moved, as the strings gently lull and Lou pleads, “Would you pull me up? Would you drop the mental bullet?” Exquisite stuff! Give it a whirl ...

Favourite tracks: Dragon, Iced Honey, be warned though there are graphic sexual references and swearing - Echoes of Lou Reed's Velvet Underground days in terms of the lyrics and the occasional explorative White Noise the band come up with, but there are some great riffs - the pile-driver guitar on Dragon to name but one. An underrated LP which will become a modern classic in time.

Not to most metal fans taste but I happen to be very eclectic in my listening choices. This was really chilled out and definitely a Lou Reed album rather than (as often touted) a Metallica album I was pleasantly surprised (being a massive Met fan) but really enjoyed this. Deserves repeat listenings, particularly if it's not part of your normal listening repertoire.

Quite simply the worst album I have Ever purchased and i accidentally ordered two copies :-( .... sounds like a Jam session between two completely incompatible artists .. not even bad enough to be art in my opinion , think the opening line is along the lines of " I cut my legs and tits off" I knew it couldn't get any better then !

It's like an old senile grandpa talking over awesome music.