Jun 162011
Rolling Stone reports that Metallica and Lou Reed have teamed up for a full-length record. (LP, CD, release—what do we call this now??)
“A marriage made in heaven,” Reed says in his first interview about the project, in the studio lounge during a break. “I knew it from the first day we played together: ‘Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.’ “
This will surely be the best-selling Lou Reed record in decades, and it does give Metallica some artistic credibility, I guess.
Mostly this will be another bizarre chapter in the musical life of our Lou.
Odds are even 2:1 that this release will be accompanied by a “Godfather of Thrash” reference.
I can’t wait for the joint Lou-and-Lars interviews to promote this.
Man, wondering if Reed’s shaky, old-man vocals will be able to keep up with that double-pedal assault.
They’ve got to find a place for a Robert Trujillo-Fernando Saunders Bass-Off. It could be the Roberto Duran (the pounding Trujillo) vs Sugar Ray Leonard (smooth-as-silk Saunders) match-up of rock bassists.
For me, the post-Velvet Lou Reed has always been an artist who steered dangerously close to the “Bullshit On” shoals. Can he sing? Not really. Is he a musician? Not really. Can he turn a clever phrase? Sometimes, when he feels like it. Does he have attitude? Oh yeah, by the truckload. And that’s the source of his fame and reputation. I think Berlin is his greatest album. And I’ve actually listened to Metal Machine Music all the way though – once. While on drugs, of course.
We’ve only seen Trujillo play his bass held in his unique, held down by his knee-level stance. I assume he’s like a boxer/pitcher/fencer fighting/throwing with only his left hand, when, in fact, he’s a natural righty.
Which is to say, if Trujillo were to bring his bass up to the standard heights bass players use – or even up to the ultra-high McCartney bass stance – Trujillo would probably be capable of all sorts of super bass powers that he normally prevents himself from using so as not to anger Lars. It’s difficult to predict what Lou’s reaction to a normal-stance Trujillo might be, but it would probably involve Lou slapping some kind of brazilian jiu jitsu hold on him, just to be safe.
Wow, I can’t imagine anything further down on my list of “Stuff I hope I live long enough to see” list. I’d be more interested in a Mungo Jerry reunion tour.
“Is he a musician? Not really.” Come on, I’m going to call bullshit on that.
I hope they call the album Metallica Machine Music. Maybe they could release it via Napster.
Lou’s a musician like Bob Dylan is a musician. In other words, “not really”. OK, I’ll be generous and uprate both to “just barely”.
I’m with BigSteve. Does he possess great chops on his main instrument? Not really, if you consider his main instrument the guitar.
Is his main instrument the guitar? Not really. Making music is his main instrument, and he’s been as good at doing that as Larry Coryell has been at playing arpeggios on his Ovation Roundback.
i predict this album will never get finish.
if it does,
i predict that i will not listen to it.
Good theory. How about seeing if they can involve Andy Partridge and the guy from Apples in Stereo while their at it?
That’s Good Comedy!
Perhaps Nick Gilder could produce
Metallica fans go apesh*t every time there is a new release and it (of course) fails to match the pure quality of Master Of Puppets. They will buy this and then hate it (or maybe download and hate it) I don’t see too many Lou Reed fans getting excited about this record beyond a curious listen.
I may have told this story before, but I have a vivid memory of two Metallica superfans (total Bevis & Buttheads) at my drummers’ apartment plotting to kill Metallica after they heard The Black Album for the 1st time “we’ve gotta kill Metallica to save Metallica”
I wouldn’t have thought of it but it could work. Lou works up some strummy songs and resurrects his bad-ass attitude and Metallica rams them home at high speed and volume. But I’d still rather hear Metallica work with Laurie Anderson.