1001 Albums Generator
Transformer by Lou Reed

Transformer

Lou Reed

1972
3.65
Rating
30194
Votes
1
3%
2
10%
3
29%
4
37%
5
22%
Distribution
Genres: Rock Styles: Art Rock, Singer Songwriter, Glam Rock

Reviews (page 4 of 14)

Wow. Immediately I want them to start singing about a short skirt and a long jacket. But that was 30 years later. And in that songdidn't ask someone to swallow razor blades. Yikes. This album was really interesting, and unique. It's weird, but I'd listen to it again and probably enjoy.

Glammed up by David Bowie and Mick Ronson, a great album, though not quite as amazing as Lou’s work with the Velvet Underground. Ronson’s guitar playing is terrific as always.

I love his voice and I love walk on the wild side but this was so so for me. I think it’s an important album but not my favorite.

I liked it, interesting guy!

The hits carried the misses.

I’ve never been a fan of the Velvet Underground or Lou Reed. I didn’t hate this, but I’m not coming away with new favourites. 3/5

Quirky! (Non-derogatory)

Lou Reed is verrry very popular in the office, and with most of the songs I now understand why. Sometimes the speak-singing shtick really drives me up the wall, though (goes for everyone not just Reed).

One of those classic albums that does NOT sound like the cover. You'd expect some rock, but then you get Walk On The Wild Side - a pretty chilled out song - and Perfect Day which is pretty much a ballad (not to say these aren't great songs). Rest of the album is alright, but it just can't compare to the best of Velvet Underground Bit shocked that this came out in 1972 actually, I kind of had it pegged as an 80s album for some reason?

Heard perfect day like 100 times already, and walk on the wild side is obvs a tune The rest of the album could grow on me but doesn’t seem anything all that special either 3.5

Few things instilled more fear in my heart than seeing Lou Reed described as “the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground” All jokes aside, this is so much better than the two Velvet Underground albums we’ve got it’s not even funny. The songs are actually written to be catchy and sound good. No offense to Andy Warhol but Bowie is a much much much better producer; I really liked Satellite of Love which I’d argue is more Bowie than Lou Reed. The album deals with a lot of the same themes Velvet Underground does, but the fact that it’s not ear grating conveys those themes so much more effectively There’s a couple songs on there that sound like the escaped the depths of his former band’s vault (New York Telephone Conversation stands out), which I kinda just had to endure. His vocals are also very hit or miss, where sometimes they work great and sometimes I think it’d sound better if there was a bit more oomph put into them Was pleasantly surprised by this one, though it’s still got just enough going against it to not put it too high on my list

It's just uh... really half-assed music.

Lou Reed's second solo album, released on 1972. Very much Lou Reed, definitely less velvety and a little more overground. Probably the two most recognizable songs were Perfect Day and Walk On The Wild Side. Perfect Day mostly because it was used in Trainspotting and other films. Wild Side stands out for just how OUT THERE this song was. I realized as I heard this that it used to get radio play, and that I haven't heard it on the radio in years. I also remember getting in trouble as a kid for singing the lyrics, lyrics I clearly had NO IDEA as to their meaning. Other than that, mostly meh.

I was going to say this album sounded good, but then I heard Walk on the Wild Side and decided I hate that song and it ruined the rest of the album for me. It sounds good, but at the same time it sounds bad, it's hard to explain.

My enjoyment of this album shifted a lot during my listen with some very high highs and very meh lows. Reed's voice leans monotone in quite a few tracks, which made them a bit boring, but that's not always the case. Sometimes, in songs like Wagon Wheel, it's far more exciting and dynamic. Plus, the most well-known song on the album, Walk On the Wild Side, is one of the worst offenders of the monotone sound and manages to not be all that bad because of the lyrics and guitar. I wouldn't describe this as my favorite kind of album to listen to, but I did feel it was properly balanced and was moderately enjoyable.

Pissed me off and bored me close to tears. Probably didn’t help that I listened to it while sitting in the worst traffic ever

Epic as always

Top Songs: Perfect Day I'm So Free

Bangers: walk on the wild side of life, perfect day. Okay: satellite of love, NY telephone conversation

Take a walk on the wide side

Standouts Walk on the Wild Side

ngeke bafo Maybe i just did not get it but i was not impressed at all. White mediocrity goes crazy! I was not impressed by the instrumentals, the singing was horrid. He does this sing-talking thing. How this album is apart of this 1001 albums is beyond me! sies

i liked perfect day but besides that it was okay

Conocia el album entero, joyaaa

Una onda particular, no esta mal, tampoco me enloquecio. Un sonido medio brit para ser americano

I know that I’m partial to Lou Reed when I hear New York telephone conversation, which I suspect in other people I would think is a twee song, but find his version charming

This is my first time listening to this album, doodododoooododododoooooo. I love the song Make Up and how the tuba just goes "Du du du du 🥳" when Lou sings "we're coming out!"

Toisella sooloalbumillaan Lou Reed pääsi pois The Velvet Undergroundin varjosta ja tuottajina toimineet David Bowie ja hänen silloinen kitaristinsa Mick Ronson toivat Reedin uuden yleisön tietoisuuteen. Transformer-levyltä löytyykin Reedin tunnetuimmat kappaleet Walk on the Wild Side, Satellite of Love ja Trainspotting-elokuvassa ikimuistoisesti käytetty Perfect Day. Edelleenkään en ole Lou Reedin iso fani, vaikkakin hänen merkityksensä rock-musiikille onkin kiistaton. Harvat lauloivat 70-luvulla huumeiden käytöstä, homoista ja transsukupuolisista yhtä avoimesti kuin Reed. Ronsonin kitara ja Bowien taustalaulut tuovat eloa kappaleisiin, mutta Reedin lauluääni on vain niin ankea, että en osaa täysin nauttia tästä levystä.

Ugh. Slow and utterly boring compared to VU. Reed has transformed but 5he wrong way

Ok okkkkkk

Le ponemos un 6

Perfect album. To me.

I'm usually pretty certain about my rankings, but I'm a little stuck between a 4 and a 5 for this album. It's an incredible album. Not quite a wall-to-wall masterpiece, but certainly better than 90% of the list. I'm currently at 34 five-star albums out of 395, or 8.6%. So it's somewhere right in there.

Classic album. Chill head rockers hip swaying with smart lyrics. A perfect and much more digestable introduction to Lou Reeds work catalogue if the Velvet Underground and Nico was too experimental and strange for you.

Classic album from the iconic Lou Reed. From the opening Vicious, through the classics Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side, Satellite Of Love. great production from Bowie and Ronson, a milestone of the genre.

It's a great album

1001 Albums Vol. 0030: Transformer ============================================================ Introduction: Well, this is certainly strange. I've heard of people literally generating albums from the same artist back-to-back, but fully clearing an artist with multiple albums on this site is definitely strange as well. To be fair, Lou Reed only has two albums...technically three if you count the one that someone added, but I digress....Actually...huh? I generated this album exactly fifteen albums later from my...fifteenth album....Basically, fifteen was Lou Reed, times fifteen by two to also get...Lou Reed....Strange. Alright, I'm done. I mean, that is kinda strange generation no doubt, but I'm going to focus on the actual album now. Alright, so, this album, Transformer by Lou Reed, was released in 1972 to...mixed reception. Some people praised it and instantly recognized it for its new and innovative style while others dismissed it as "terrible" or "lame". Yes, I pulled those quotes directly off of Google. They apparently were statements said by a Pop critic by the name of Ellen Willis. Never heard of her before but whatever. Anyway, this album would obviously go on to be loved by both casual listeners and critics in the years following its release. Now, just because this album is considered a masterpiece doesn't mean I am not afraid of...a few things. Firstly, even though this album is widely regarded today, there are a fair share of tracks which people still have pretty mixed receptions of even to this day. I feel like those tracks should be obvious to anyone who has listened to this album before, and I do believe I know those specific tracks myself, but I'll just leave them for the conclusion section. Now, that does undoubtedly mean that the highs of this album are...pretty damn high....You know which songs I'm talking about: Perfect Day, Walk On The Wild Side, the ones that everyone has heard and knows. It's unfortunate that much of the in between isn't nearly as well regarded. That being said, I know that this is regarded as Lou Reed's crowning achievement, and I did really like Berlin, so I'll most likely find this to be pretty enjoyable as well. Yes, I have heard some of this album before and am aware of the fact that Transformer and Berlin are pretty distinct in a lot of factors, (musical style, overall themes, production) but I still believe that I'll find this album to be pretty enjoyable regardless. It is kinda weird to hear how different the production is between this album and Berlin though due to the fact that Berlin would be released just a year after this one....Money can really take you far in music...and everything...but, if this truly is Lou Reed's crowning achievement, then this album will prove that brains can take you further. Let's just get into this and see ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Track 1: Vicious: 10/10 Track 2: Andy's Chest: 8/10 Track 3: Perfect Day: 11/10 Track 4: Hangin' 'Round: 9/10 Track 5: Walk On The Wild Side: 11/10 Track 6: Make Up: 8/10 Track 7: Satellite Of Love: 10/10 Track 8: Wagon Wheel: 7/10 Track 9: New York Telephone Conversation: 5/10 Track 10: I'm So Free: 8/10 Track 11: Goodnight Ladies: 7/10 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Conclusion: This was an extremely interesting album to listen to. I will say, I've never really understood Glam Rock all that well, so my individual track scores might be a bit off from what they...should be...not that I am everyone else are not entitled to their own opinion.,.I'm just saying. Either way, this was yet another extremely great album. The highs were some of the best material I've heard on this site so far and the lows were limited to a single track which was less than two minutes in length....Sounds pretty damn good to me. Now, what makes this album so great? Well...it's actually kinda hard to explain...at least for me it is. It's a very quirky album that is honestly kinda hard to get into or even...get upon hearing it for the first time. I mean, the lyrics are pretty strange at times, the music sounds pretty bland in certain places, and Lou Reed's voice is honestly...just not that energetic. He honestly still sounds pretty bored to me in some of the songs on the album, but that's besides the point. That being said, this is undoubtedly an album that grows on you the more you hear it. There are some songs on here...Perfect Day...that will connect with you almost instantly, but the majority will likely take a bit to fully appreciate. Some of the reasoning for that undoubtedly originates from this album's music. Glam Rock is obviously the central genre presented across the entire album, yet there is so much experimentation with blending other genres as well. Vicious blends Glam with Hard Rock elements, Goodnight Ladies is completely absent of any instrumentation signature of rock with the exception of drums, Satellite Of Love and Perfect Day experiment with the more grandiose side of Glam Rock, and so on. That's not to say that this experimentation is bad or poorly executed, I'm simply saying that it may be a bit jarring upon an initial listen to go from the ballad of Perfect Day to the Hard Rock of Hangin' 'Round. That being said, like much of this entire album, the diversity grows on you. The album isn't diverse like The Beatles' White Album or Jack White's Blunderbuss, however. It's definitely more diverse than some of the other albums I've generated so far, yet it still manages to maintain a central identity within its music. It's definitely less diverse than Berlin is. That's for sure. Now, that being said, Lou Reed still managed to maintain a pretty consistent quality in songwriting with all of these genres he blended together. Vicious and Hangin' 'Round proved he could write great Hard Rock and could find a guitarist who could shred at guitar, Goodnight Ladies proved he could write pretty good minimalist and progressive songs, and...the ballads...the best songs on the album...simply proved his overall ability as a great songwriter. It's honestly kinda a shame that Lou Reed didn't just try to write more ballads on this album. That may very well have made this album even better than it already is. I mean, Perfect Day literally has one of the best...just...releases of tension as the chorus kicks in that I've heard in any song. Just fantastic....Anyway, with as much praise as I've given this album's music so far, I also have to acknowledge some weaknesses. Wagon Wheel feels pretty unfocused in the direction it wants to go at times, New York Telephone Conversation is just...a strange song, Hangin' 'Round jams but doesn't do too much to evolve its music or lyrics across the entire song, and just basic petty stuff like that. There's no big flaw with this album's music across the entire listening experience, just a few things here and there that one has to acknowledge. At the end of the day, this album is just great, early 70's Glam Rock that brings other genres into the mix. You can't go wrong with that. Now, where this album especially manages to shine is within its lyrics and overall themes. Now, before I give praise to this album, I will admit that Bowie did it so much better in literally the same year, yet that was largely due to the fact that...you know...he became his character from his album...that transformation undoubtedly made Ziggy's story way more effective. That's not to undermine this album or what it was trying to accomplish...I'm simply pointing out that its impact wasn't as profound as it could have been. Basically...Bowie undoubtedly portrayed this album's message better. Anyway, this album has a very central theme around love, sexuality, identity, and simply attempts to challenge established cultural normality of the era. Songs like Walk On The Wild Side and Make Up portray gender transitioning, drag queens, giving oral sex, and other cultural taboos in a positive and embracing light. All of these subjects were extremely controversial or taboo at the time of this album's release, so hearing someone give support for these movements, especially in a way which could potentially reach mainstream, feels extremely daring and respectable. On top of this, Lou Reed manages to blend these serious songs with more touching, quirky, and enjoyable songs such as the love-filled Perfect Day, the bizarre Andy's Chest, and the kick-ass I'm So Free. There's simply just a nice lyrical blend of so much on here that makes this album feel thought-provoking yet easily accessible at the same time. Basically, and I don't mean this in a bad way, it didn't feel as if Lou Reed was risking committing career suicide like Bowie was the same year. Again, I don't mean that in a bad way. It undoubtedly took a lot of confidence to even include the more controversial songs on this release in the first place. I respect him for that....Anyway, the lyrics on this album are pretty-well written and poetic as well. In fact, these may just be some of the best lyrics I've heard from an album I've generated on this site yet. Obviously, Bob Dylan's Blonde On Blonde is better with its poetic lyrics, but this is up there as well. There were moments here where the lyrics felt very Bob Dylan-like in the way that they portrayed named characters in peculiar or taboo situations. It's just great. I wouldn't say that the lyrics were or are the main drive for someone to listen to this album, but they're certainly great and extremely well-written. Now, my biggest...well...actually I'm not entirely sure. I was going to say my biggest critique with this entire album is Lou Reed's voice...yet I'm not entirely sure anymore. I mean, he does a lot of talk-singing across the entire album...but it doesn't really sound all that bad with the rest of the instrumentation...or lyrics. I mean, his voice isn't that great at hitting the perfect notes at the perfect time, yet that's honestly not all that bad here. Alright, Lou Reed's voice is actually pretty good. I can definitely understand why some people may not like it, but it's not bad given the context of the album and its music. Now, with all that said, do I think that this album is better than Berlin? Well.......Yeah. It definitely is. Brains came out the winner over money in this scenario. That being said, I do find this album's weakest points to actually...be a bit weaker than Berlin's. I'm not just talking about New York Conversation either. From what I can remember about Berlin, most of the 8/10s on this album wouldn't beat the 8/10s on that album. Overall, Berlin was definitely the more consistent of the two. That being said, Berlin's highs were nowhere near this album's highs. Sad Song was the best song on Berlin and this album has four songs which are better....or tie it in quality as can be seen with Vicious. That being said, this is undoubtedly the superior album. There's simply so much here that helps propel this album above what Lou Reed would accomplish on Berlin. I'm reluctant to call this album a masterpiece as of now, but I believe I'll warm up to it even more as time goes on. ============================================================ Transformer: 9/10 Song Average: 8.5/10

Danke an de film perfect days dass er mich damals dezue bracht hett das album lose

Lou Reed da vibras de tío músico, que siempre está ligeramente pacheco pero la pasas bien con el

I love the Velvet Underground and David Bowie, but I can’t make myself love Lou Reed.

Can’t believe I spent 40 years without going systemically through this album. Variating songs with good texts, without going to advanced. I will definitely spend my next 40 along with this album.

Huh, this wasn't horrible. Track I liked: perfect day. Make up reminded me of tv girl. Would I revisit this: nah.

Perfect Days is good but just because it makes me think of the Wim Wenders movie of the same title

Fantastic album. The classics are great. The lesser songs complement the classics. The lyrics are great. He was never better

Better than expected! Simple but good.

Surprising more songs that I’ve heard before.

me esteraba algo mejor

i think this is a great album, no notes

Apart from a couple of well known songs, this album is really...terrible. The lyrics are garbage, music is uninventive, his bad singing is just bad - no charm, no personality. I remain convinced that the only reason people like Lou Reed's music is because for some reason it seems cool to like Lou Reed's music.

David Bowie produced this record, which won’t surprise any listeners who are familiar with Bowie’s productions. Bowie’s influence on the 70s is unmatched, what didn’t that guy have his hands in? I struggle to think about this as Glam Rock because "Perfect Day" and "Walk On the Wild Side" don't have the presence I associate with Glam acts like Slade, Kiss, Queen, Bowie, Elton John, etc etc etc... but I guess Glam was more aesthetic than musical, so I have to let that go. The album cover is giving a certain "Liza Minelli as a vampire" vibe that qualifies Lou for the genre.

used to own this on vinyl and found it in heavy rotation in my early 20s. the quintessential new york indie cool kid record, it still has a kind of swagger that only a heroin addict in new york could muster all these years later. but i think the soft and tender crooning on perfect day hits differently now, with years of love and adoration and longing behind me now. it’s also much more queer than i recall, even beyond walk on the wild side. lou reed, honorary trans woman?

Great record, I can imagine this being such an important record to many when it was released. I was presently surprised with the featuring of David bowie and there are song on this record that moved me. others feel like not as strong if I am honest. Still incredible though

Just a nice one

I’ve loved this album for a long time and revisiting for this was a treat.

2/5. Insanely highly rated (average of 3.67 on this site as of April 2026) for how unimpressive the compositions are. Bowie produces it well enough but no amount of polish will make a dull rock shine. He's able to transform some of Reed's songs into worthwhile listens, but the majority of this album is hippie catnip. I like to imagine that people were constantly chasing the high of listening to "Blonde on Blonde" the first time and look at this album through skewed lenses, identifying some of the same superficial traits that the albums share but failing to recognize there's a stark difference in musical and lyrical quality. It's so strange to see people call the lyrics out as being good when artists like Reed were playing in the shadow of Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Townes van Zandt. Not worth another listen.

What a welcome album for my Tuesday! :) Lou Reed is legendary, and he has inspired/collaborated with several artists I respect (David Bowie of course, and The Killers’ Tranquilize come to mind.) Transformer is an album I’ve previously explored and really enjoy so this was a great opportunity to revisit. Upon relisten I realized I’m less familiar with the final few tracks (Wagon Wheel to conclusion), but the majority of these songs were oh so familiar and still hold up. Credit to my father for first introducing me to ‘Walk On the Wild Side’ but really this album is chock full with classics.

Lou managed to stay awesome even after TVU disbanded, now fully betting on the glamorous style that would define the early 70s rock music

top 3 - Satellite of Love, New York Telephone Conversation, Perfect Day. Love his voice and love all the tracks on this! Maybe one of my favourites on this list so far :))

Jättebra album! Klassiker som A Perfect Day, Walk on the wild side! Sjukt bra. Dessutom gillade jag Satellite of Love och Vicious lite extra. Albumet kom 1972 och jag har svårt att förstå att det är så länge sedan för detta låter nyare än så.

prima, beetje vaag soms

A top 10 of all time for me and a formative album for my young brain. I was obsessed with The Strokes when their debut dropped and hearing this for the first time not long afterwards made me realise just how deeply influenced (at the time) modern music could be classic material such as this. This is such a fun, cool, bop of an album, personality and charisma out the wazoo and just the right amount of depth. After all these years it just keeps me hangin' on.

I wish I could see what everyone else loves about this album but I can't sadly. I do like David Bowie so I thought I'd like this one but nope, not for me

Going to be hard to top this album, this was awesome

Great tunes and talent, thx

My favourite song was hanging around may have been different if I hadn't heard walk on the wild side in so many ads. I can see how some may have been inspired by it but it just felt too disjointed and I couldn't get Into many of the songs.

Im going to give this a 4 just because it is so much better than I expected. I'd really say 3.5 but big surprise

Wasn’t really in it till track 3 especially the outro Like track run in 5-7 Track 10 was good. Just an a 70 classic rock record that just doesn’t RING a bell to me that it does to. Others but I truly understand why. Solid 7

Quite good 3.7

There's this strange synergy between Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, and David Bowie; they shared each other's sounds, they shared each others asses, they shared each other's needles, and they always had terrible album covers. Sometimes they made good music too, but that's by the by. Transformer has much of the glam sound of the time, Bowie pops up, and yes, its a truly terrible album cover. But it has some good music. As we all know, Glam was recently proven to be the worst sub-genre of Rock, so that's a point removed from the score. Reed's vocals don't suit the genre, so that's another point off. Perfect Day is great, the lyrics are solid, and the album is trangressive enough to piss off conservative and religious rypes, so that's two points to the good. The best moments in this album are those that step away from the Glam and back towards The Velvet Underground. It's either a three or a four, depending on my mood. Absolutely not a five. Actually, it's definitely a three.

Dude just picks a random woman and then talk about her on every song. Boring ahh

Some of the songs drag (ha) a little but overall very enjoyable to listen to.

it’s fine

If only modern chasers were this musically talented

great. the instrumentals vary. the lyrics are just ok to boring at times on some songs but amazing on others -- drags it down to a 4 for me.

Not very golden, but yet had good guitar instrumentals. Could you be a good inspiration to upcoming instrumental guitarists

The purveyor of rock documenting the seedy side of life again captures its vibe well but what does that mean for the rest of us?

Didn’t change me.

Plz don’t let me down

produced by Bowie, glam. wild side and perfect day and satellite of love stand out. semms kind of queer coded at times

You know how some albums you just desperately want to love? It seems immoral and wrong not to love them? This is one of those. It has some unbelievable highs, and on paper it seems like everything should be perfect, but it’s never fully landed with two feet for me, in spite of many tries. I still love how Lou appreciates the value of life on the fringes, and those unbelievable highs I was talking about are enough to drag Transformer up to a 4 from a 3, but barely.

Thought this was an auto-five, but my project partner’s write-up gave me pause. I did have to put in a lot of effort to love this album. It did not come naturally. If the 1001 was my first exposure to this, I may have given it one spin, assigned a dismissive three, then moved on. But there is joy in repetition, and I feel this one still has decades and decades of life left in it for me. And that has to be the definition of a classic.

3.5 really

lekker!!

makkelijk een van de top 10 albums ooit gemaakt mijn god wat een plaat. wederom ga velvet goldmine kijken xx

me gusto mucho, muy buenas vibras. por momentos me hizo sentir que estaba en una peli vieja y me divirtio eso.

Rock pretty boring tho

The non-hit tracks have really grown on me over the years. It's like an old friend at this point.

Favorite Song: Vicious

It took a while for this one to make sense. At first listen, I gave this a 2, but revisiting a few months later with some other albums under my belt, I feel like there's more here than I thought. On the one hand, the production is quite interesting. Mick Ronson's work, along with Bowie, means tracks like Andy's Chest and Walk on the Wild Side feel alive, lush, and layered. I had to get Bowie before I could get this album, and I'm glad I took the time to come back. On the other hand, Lou's vocals leave a lot to be desired for me. I don't mind the laconic delivery or the spoken/sung form. It's at it's best when it contrasts with the lyrics - "Take a Walk on the Wild Side" says the man who sounds like he is lying in bed half asleep. And that happens quite a bit through the album. It's at it's worst when it drones and grates or seems to undercut the music itself (Make Up). As a piece of history I think this album is much better than it is as a piece of music I want to listen to today. That said, it's opened up and I an enjoying it more upon multiple listens. Initial Rating: 2 Revised Rating: 3

Not for me.

É um album bem divertido

I'm starting to question what "great" music is...

Sonically enjoyable, has some hits on it. Not anything I would revisit or seek out.

It was ok, still not really sure what all the fuss is about with Lou Reed though

Good but strange

I mean of course this was amazing. It’s Lou Reed at his best. “Perfect Day” and “Walk On The Wild Side” are the two most well known songs on the album for a reason, but “Vicious” ended up being my favorite. Great record top to bottom.

Nothing really special in my opinion

This is the fuckin reason I wanted to do this adventure. I never put the time in, and now, I’m gonna dive deep on Lou Reed. The production is so interesting and moving. Perfect day is amazing. The arc of the album is fantastic… ugh!

Hard not to say this is pretty much a perfect album. Such simple, timeless, well executed songwriting and recording.

Great opener in Vicious. Perfect Day is a beautiful song too. Walk on the Wild Side is the ubiquitous classic from the album. I'm so free is another great one. Overall excellent album!

I just don’t really care for his voice.

nursery rhyme melodies with the most boring voice reading awful lines over them

I guess this is 'the famous one' of Lou Reed's albums. I enjoyed it.

Absolute classic. Excellent, raw production from Bowie. Classic track after classic track displaying Lou’s unique songwriting and character building. Showed the world there was life after Velvet Underground and set him on the path to be a legendary, controversial, and divisive solo artist. Essential.

cómo te quiero viejo weko

Mis canciones favoritas fueron las con vientos y cuerdas

the other week on bluesky june posted about how she met a trans woman that didn't enjoy lou reed and how that set us back 10 years, which everyone wrongfully assumed was me, however i am setting us back at least another 5 years i guess. i really do not like his voice. he's doing his best david bowie impression, and even with bowie producing this, i can't say i'm a fan of his voice. it's broadly unpleasant, especially every time he says 'little girl' on a track like "make up" which gave me the ick. yes yes yes, that track and "walk on the wild side" are really important for how ahead of the curve they are to have the novel concept of loving a trans woman (waow!) in 1972 and in [current year], don't get me wrong. he gets points for every pronoun, i just don't particularly enjoy listening to most of this. apologies for the continued lack of rights, everyone.

Lou Reeds singing takes some getting used to, but once you do I think this album is great. The two biggest songs on this album, Walk on the Wildside and Perfect day are truly incredible songs. Perfect day always reminds me of my best days when I was severely depressed. Having fleeting good moments with an overwhelming cloud of dread just on the horizon. Meanwhile Walk on the Wildside is, of course, a hugely important countercultural anthem. It's a messy and perhaps imperfect look at the queer community of the time, but in that I think it resonated even harder at the time and still today. It also has probably the most number of trans people individually mentioned in a song that I know of, which is pretty laudable for 1972. On the otherhand the term "little girl" to refer to a woman has not exactly aged and sometimes the Bowie production gets to the point where I'm wondering whether I'm listening to a lite-bowie album because Lou Reed is clearly channelling him on some of these songs. I do really like Hangin' 'Round though! Gnerally I thought the songs I hadn't heard before on here were somewhere between pretty good and just okay.

I really enjoyed Reed's glam phase in the early 70s. Mick Ronson & David Bowie put this record together well.

I enjoyed this way more than his other album on the list.

Never listend before. I Liked it. But would not listen much again.

It’s alright. Don’t hate it, don’t love it

Hay que darle las gracias a Lou Reed y a todo su entorno vanguardista por cantar y mostrar la diversidad (sexual y no sexual) con la naturalidad y al mismo tiempo valentía con que lo hacían a comienzos de la década de los 70. Cantar sobre salidas de armario, ambigüedad, libertad, aventura, expresión de género… en esa época era bastante arriesgado, pero la sociedad lo asumió, ciertamente porque se consideró su música más como expresión artística antes que política, aunque Reed, Bowie, Bolan y compañía estuvieran sin saberlo haciendo política desde el glamour. El disco estuvieran una delicia de principio a fin, con hitazos como “Vicious”, “Walk On The Wild Side”, “Satellite Of Love” o “Perfect Day”.

Dude just shut up for like 5 seconds

My expectations based on the album cover were very wrong, in a good way mostly. Instrumentals were nice, singing kind of went back and forth for me. Kind of a talker/singer. Anyways, I enjoyed this.

Franchement album vraiment agréable à écouter. J'ai d'abord eu peur que le style reste dans sa zone de confort avec des morceaux de folk simples et assez peu travaillés mais ça n'a pas été le cas. Franchement c'est ce que j'ai préféré, je trouve que l'album offre une plutôt bonne diversité avec des parties dominées par le piano vraiment cool comme sur le deuxième son, des envolées aux niveaux de la voix qui font sortir du style "Bob Dylan" classique et un peu barbant, et des morceaux plus minimalistes comme "Satellite of Love". En résumé, c'est une bonne surprise qui a su dépasser mes attentes

This is an interesting concept album; a journey of the wild places, and conversations in The Big Apple. Without a doubt, David Bowie's influence on this album played a major part in why it's so successful. Every track took me through a story in the crazy mind of the late Lou Reed. More like TransFIVEmer. Favorite Track: "Walk On The Wild Side".

While there were good moments on the album, I just found it mostly boring.

Perfect Day is a great song.

Interesting album with some wierd songs and bunch of great ones. The vibe and sound was spot on and I enjoyed listening to this one. I have to admit that I had heard of Lou Reed but didn't know that he was behind Perfect Day and Take a Walk On The Wildside. Solid album that I might listen to again. 3,5/5 that I'll round to 4.

Reminds me of my dad, all songs I grew up hearing. It's a good album!

that sonnoffabitch.......

It is simply a great album. If there's anything to criticize, it's probably the slight drop in quality between the "classics" and the deep cuts, but that is about it.

There's a fine line between gorgeous slacker poetry and underbaked stream-of-consciousness that needed another pass. Songwriters like Stephen Malkmus, Cameron Winter, and Mr. Reed thrive in this space. And it's hard to quantify when it hits or doesn't. They don't seem to care either way. "You're so vicious" as a hook never jived with me. (I feel the same way about "big green boat/big green coat.") But if anyone in rock history had enough swagger to sell lines like that, it's Lou. And it makes the rest of this record, especially with all-time classics like "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Perfect Day," easier to buy into. In fact, I'm second guessing myself. Maybe it's all just brilliant. I sure like listening to it either way.

album solido y entretenido: 4/5 cancion fav: Perfect Day

Solid, a bit less of the bits that you find in preferred Lou songs.

Pretty stellar Side A, all the songs range from great to fantastic. "Wild Side" is absolutely great, and "Vicious" and "Perfect Day" are also wonderful. Side B has some great songs too, it's just that "Telephone Conversation" and "Goodbye Ladies" don't really do enough for me and take me out of the whole experience. Minus thoae two songs though? This album rules.

2.75. I just don’t think I like Lou Reed that much. Perfect Day is good

This wasn't as bad as I was expecting based on what I have heard about Lou Reed. I really enjoyed the song Perfect Day. It's clear he is a gifted songwriter but I just don't love the way many of these songs are performed. Most of it is clever and funny and ahead of its time in concept but just not super enjoyable to listen to.

So so good. Never heard the first 2 songs before but instant favs. And this album contains 2 of my all-time fav songs (Perfect Day and Satellite of Love) so it was starting off well. Surprised I've never listened through the album before. Make Up is creepy ("slick little girl" vom) but I can forgive it.

Liked: Vicious, Perfect Day, Make Up, I'm So Free

It's wild that more people don't talk about how influential Lou Reed was. He had a mirror on the true counter-culture.

Perfect Day a banger, sadly not repeated on rest of the album. Pretty decent though

Alright Lou, some ok songs here

I can see why I've only heard one song previously

Enjoyed this one. Walk on the Wild Side is a classic.

I enjoyed this a lot

Именно то, что я и ожидал услышать от Лу Рида в этом альбоме. Я давно хотел послушать Transormer полностью, и вот, в рамках "1001 альбома" я сделал это. Сотрудничество Рида с Боуи определенно пошло ему на пользу, получился очень крепкий, отлично скроенный альбом. Как по мне, здесь есть вещи перекликающиеся как и с дебютником VU (sunday morining чем-то схож с Perfect Day и Walkin On the Wild Side) так и с альбомом Loaded (Vicious, Im So Free). В общем, мне понравилось! Обязательно буду переслушивать его дальше.

Lou Reed - Transformer (1972) Вывод: искусство быть одновременно поп-звездой и поэтом маргиналов Transformer - это альбом о контрастах: между ярким внешним обликом и внутренней пустотой, между сценическим театром и личными переживаниями. Музыкально он гибко сочетает глэм-рок с мягкими, камерными моментами, что делает каждую песню самостоятельной мини-историей. Рид играет с голосом, поет (скорее рассказывает) слегка сдавленно или наоборот отдаваясь саркастическому, театральному тону в зависимости от истории. Атмосфера Нью-Йорка начала 70-х здесь ощущается буквально: это город, где блеск и упадок идут рука об руку, где герои песен - странные, одинокие, но удивительно живые. Альбом не теряет актуальности в звучания и темах, потому что темы самовыражения, одиночества, отчуждения и поиска места в мире остаются вечными.

Ya lo había escuchado anteriormente. Me encanta.

Déjà écouté. Lou Reed produit par David Bowie et Mick Ronson, ça donne une exploration glam rock des dessous interlopes de la société new-yorkaise, et un sommet du cool 70s. Just a perfect disc. Top : Perfect Day Flop : Make Up

eita surpresa boa!!! eu gostei de praticamente todas as faixas. redondinho e uma delicia de ouvir, interessante como esse álbum produzido pelo bowie me encantou mais do que os albuns do próprio bowie que já saiu pra mim.

I was dreading this when it came up. The only time I’ve ever listened to Lou Reed was the album he did with Metallica which I detest. This however I really enjoyed. Perfect Day in particular was a brilliant song. I’d only ever heard cover versions or parody’s of it before. Top Track - Perfect Day

Another top album.

Good album with some great tracks

“Walk on the Wild Side” and “Satellite of Love” are great songs off this album by Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed.

Any album containing Perfect Day, Walk on the Wild Side and Satellite of Love is always gonna be a strong album and this does not disappoint.

Having had next to no feelings about The Velvet Underground album that previously came up, and having decided I don’t like Lou Reed, I anticipated I would dislike this. Yet again, I did not. I don’t really like Reed’s voice, but the songs on this were largely enjoyable. I had forgotten how wonderful a song “Perfect Day” is, and “Walk on the Wild Side” is a classic (even if, lyrically, it doesn’t hold up the best to a modern ear). The rest was all quite good, if a bit silly and a bit bonkers in places. If I could give it a 3.5, I would, but it’s not a 4* for me. Even if I do feel a bit miserly.

This was really enjoyable. I think I have listened to Transformer in the past, but it didn't really leave an impression, however this play, while I was continuously trying to pay attention, was different. Away from the (great) famous tracks, I really enjoyed New York Telephone Conversation and Goodnight Ladies for their general weirdness. Plus the latter is a piano and tuba song, which I very much appreciate. And I have always loved Satellite of Love. I think this would be a 3.5 for me, but I'm rounding up because it's better than a 3. 4/5

The quintessential Lou Reed solo release

Walk On the Wild Side was interesting

Não é um forte 4/5 mas é um bom álbum. Algumas músicas gostei bastante e outras nem por isso.

I bought this album in about 1980 and have loved it ever since, unfortunately I’ve been disappointed by pretty much everything else Lou released! Maybe it’s the Bowie influence?

Glam rock isn’t my thing. Satellite of Love is my highlight

2.5 - I thought I would hate this based on what I heard in the documentary from a few years ago. Not bad.

Not for me. it’s got the right tones yet the man vocalist is just a little too soft for my tastes.

It doesn't get any better than Perfect Day.

Sloppy in a cool and comfortable kind of way, and not nearly as pretentious as VU. I can dig it.

Love this one!

not for me, some good moments but i do think the musicality of an album is quite important to my enjoyment of an album, and this is maybe more freeform than i’d prefer shall i say

Nice to hear the album containing some of Lou Reed's biggest hits. I did not know it was produced by Mick Ronson and David Bowie, but I'm glad it was.

Weird and didn’t get through it all 1/5

Not a fan

A huge classic for me, beautifully produced by David Bowie. Lou is really focused on that one and without really being conceptual the songs just flows really well. I'll never get tired of that album

Lou Reed really got up one day and made one of the best Glam Rock album of all time. I'm usually not a big fan of this guy, but this one is great!

My favorite album in Lou Reed's career. A kind of sarcastic glam rock with catchy moments and a more playful delivery for him than his usual stuff. Love that one!

Talk-singing ramblings that sound like a high-school pick me theater kid, wild side still a banger tho

Ahhhh, Transformer is such a hard album to rate for me. I love Lou Reed, but Transformer always felt a bit uneven. The highs are the highest, but some of the lows get on my nerves a bit. Like New York Telephone Conversation... who really wants that? ...in spite of that, I think I probably have to give it a 5. That's not to say that it's perfect, but Satellite of Love alone elevates it to that point.

pretty good, kinda whimsical. didnt listen intently, just passively i liked it

Uno de los tipos más sobrevalorados del mundo. No sabe tocar. No sabe cantar. Pero nos tenemos que comer que es alguien importante. Este disco no está mal. Lo soportan dos o tres canciones decentes y la enorme "perfect day".

not my music, cant really get into him, maybe couple of songs, not on this album though

I have heard this before and I own it. I’ve listened to this within the past few months. It’s got a few of my favorite Lou songs on it including Walk On the Wild Side - first heard this on the really lazy sample/semi cover that marky mark and the funky bunch did and then as the better sample on Can I Kick It by Tribe Called Quest, before finally hearing an edited down version on classic rock radio. Most of the songs are bangers except for the ones with tuba, nothing against the noble tuba, but the songs that incorporate it are either lacking or have that throwback cabaret style that was popular at the time but just doesn’t hit it for me. Still, it’s one of my favorite Lou Reed solo albums, at least in the top 3.

I would put that at a 3. It has its strengths and I do appreciate the nature of how early this album gives neutral/positive rep to communities that were even more marginalized in 1972. David Bowie producing checks out, I hear it all over the album. Perfect Day was a nice track and Goodnight Ladies is cute as well, though it'd be less so if I got even a hint of unauthenticity from it. Some of the album is dull and lacking in energy, maybe as a result of Lou Reed's singing style. It works in some places, I think the aforementioned two songs are quite good with that deadpan delivery. But some places it falls flat, any up-tempo song pretty much. I wouldn't rush to turn any of this off, but I'm not rushing to put it on either. I like some of the things I heard, and the rest wasn't grating, although tracks 7-10 are kinda sluggish. I guess it'd be a 2 if it didn't have some mysterious charm that I can't put my finger on. Maybe I'm charmed that the unique vocal of Lou Reed and Bowie's production work "find a way" through what would otherwise be a slog. I think a hard 3 is appropriate. Couldn't get through Wild Side without doing Can I Kick It and now I hope the next album is Tribe.

Vicious: I think I am unwell. I managed to misread this as: "Vicarious". As in, the song by TOOL. I think that's about all I can think of to write about this. Andy's Chest: Who is Andy, and why did we dedicate an either song to his chest? Perfect Day: I wish I could go to the zoo. Hangin' 'Round: Harry Du Bois was not a rich, young man who would've become a priest. Walk on the Wild Side: There definitely is a joke I can make here, but I think the lyrics speak for themselves. I can see why people like this, I think it's not for me. It's like Wonderwall by Oasis: so many that I know love it, but I just don't see it. And it's probably because I grew up in a metalhead family and have an older sibling that introduced me to much more louder and rebellious music than this slow song about this, that, and the other. Make Up: I don't think I'm a slick little girl. I am trans fuck who's out of the closet and on the regular flips off their bigoted father and likes Wolverine. Satellite of Love: Somewhere out there, there's a Starman, waiting for us in the sky. And we're using the Satellite of Love to find him. Wagon Wheel: I want to one day own a cheese wheel. New York Telephone Conversation: idk what to write here. New York rats are really big and fat. This sounds like something you'd hear children sing while playing skipping rope. I'm So Free: me when weekend or something. Idk, another one I can't think of anything funny to write. Goodnight Ladies: what I say to my pc set up after I turn them off and go collapse in my bed at 2:53 am

faces: vidious; walk; sattelite wagon

Love Walk on the Wild Side!

while it's no metal machine music, this album is pretty good too. "walk on the wild side" and "satellite of love" are some highlights. this "wagon wheel" is superior to the 'hootie' version, which i was surprised to learn was actually co-written by bob zimmerman.

I was an improbable fan of Lou Reed during my early teenage years, after seeing the video of Dirty Blvd on MTV in 1989, which surprisingly was in heavy rotation for a while then. I had that album, which is still one of my favorite albums, and then U2 played Satellite of Love on the Zoo TV tour and everything U2 did then was gospel to me. And his albums were in extensive supply at the Westerville Public Library. I've never actually heard this whole album before although familiar with a majority of the songs. Some weird wild stuff on here, but what the hell I'll round up for sentimental reasons.

So, I've heard Lou Reed did a lot of drugs around the time of this record. That figures. It's fine - some classic tracks in here, but sometimes I was losing the vocals in the mix, and a lot of the lyrics were just odd for the sake of it, which I found offputting. Good to have heard it all the way through, though.

The only song I knew going in was 'Walk on the Wild Side'—which honestly justifies the price of admission all by itself—but it turns out the rest of the album is fantastic, too. 'Perfect Day' is a beautiful, classic love song... written to heroin! You can also distinctly hear the influence of co-producers David Bowie and Mick Ronson pushing the record's sound heavily toward glam.

You can really feel Bowie’s strong influence. I wish I had heard it for the first time. “Perfect Day” is just perfect. 8/10

Pretty pretty good songs over here

I still listen to this album from time to time, and it always has something to offer.

One good song

408/1089 - Seriously, I think the only reason people like this guy is because he talked (certainly not sung) about gay sex in the 60s when it was taboo. Atrocious voice and rudimentary songwriting and instrumentation.

Wanted this to be better. Lotta weird or boring songs

As I was listening to this - which I have listened to many times before - it struck me how well produced the album was. I had no idea that it was produced by David Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson. No wonder it sounds so good. A brilliant album.

Some all time classic tracks and an all round decent album

Your usual 70s blend of absolute classics and bang average filler. Bowie & Ronson do a great job on production.

Flick the bean on the wild side

Obviously at it's best it has some iconic songs but otherwise I think it was just an OK album.

pretty funny, this one is. two teletubbies ass songs is a bit much tho 4.5/5

Ironically, I'd probably given this a 5 if I weren't sick of Walk On the Wild Side. Lots of excellent songs here.

Lou Reed. Tuttu nimi muta en olisi osannut nimetä yhtään herran biisiä. No nyt osaan. Eka biisi Vicious oli vähän, että mitä ihmeellistä tässä on. Mutta sitten levy pääsi liikkeelle ja tässä on hyviä biisejä yksi toisensa perään. Reedin ääni on tunnistettava ja taas kerran soittotaito ja dynamiikka (rummuissa varsinkin) ihan tajutonta. Positiivinen yllätys ja ymmärrän kyllä, miksi Perfect day ja Walk on the wild side on valtavia hittejä. Hyvä levy, ei kuitenkaan ominta musamakua, joten tuskin kovin usein tulee tähän palattua. Olen iloinen, että tuli kuunneltua tämäkin levy. 3/5

If there’s something this generator has taught me to appreciate, it’s the Velvet Underground and associated acts, and Transformer feels like the perfect next step. It’s got that cool, grimy confidence, but it’s also weirdly warm in spots. The songs are sharp without trying too hard, and the whole thing just has a vibe that sticks. “Walk on the Wild Side” and “Perfect Day are both great, and “Satellite of Love” is one of those songs you can catch yourself humming later. Favorite song: Perfect Day

Lou Reed. Another artist I should really listen to more often. What an excellent songwriter he is! I don't know if I'm intimately familiar enough with this album to give it a 5, but I'm going to go on faith and on the comparison to the full scope of albums that we've been dealt.

Beyond the big singles of Walk on the Wild Side and Perfect Day, there are a lot of great songs full of NYC weirdos. There are a few good rockers like Vicious, but I even like the songs that go farther afield of VU like the New Orleans jazz of Goodnight Ladies or New York Telephone Conversation which is almost musical theater, I guess. I really like Street Hassle, but I think this is probably his best solo record.

I could quickly put a triple album together of Lou Reed / VU songs that I love. They're spread a little thinly on this one, although Satellite of Love is one of my favorites.

4/5 - I listened to this twice and I'll play it again. Shouldn't have taken me this long to listen to the whole thing, as I have no prejudice against talk-singing in rock, and Reed is one of the originals. Bowie's production works for me here, and I didn't even mind the tuba.

I was familiar with some of the songs but I've never listened to the album start to finish in its entirety. I can see why it's a classic. I can imagine how it'd be more nostalgic if I'd grown up listening to it. I'm not sure it'll be in my solid rotation though. Great to be familiar with it for reference during social connections, trivia, etc.

Don’t really like it not my style. The lyrics are weird and not enjoyable it has that corny band kid vibe almost. Not a fan of songs where people just kinda talk

Fantastic. Never listened to the whole album before - just the singles - but glad I have.

Very fun:) I can imagine it playing with Queen and Bowie. First intro to him outside of velvet underground. I consistently liked the odd numebered songs more than the even.

25/02/2026 11h00 Não sou grande fã, mas entendo quem aprecie. Não é mau, apenas não é bem o meu estilo.

Not really my style. It is good, I like the guitar. My dad would probably listen and like. Reminds me of David Bowie in a way.

4/5 Was this album better than yesterday’s album, Virgin Suicides by Air? No.

Way better than I expected. Great vibes.

Only knowing "Walk on the Wild Side", this was fun. Understated, silly, fun. He doesn't take himself too seriously. It's a short album, good for a commute. It's interesting he put a closer on the album. My Rating: 5/5

Day 195 Not a dud on here, timeless album. Highlights Perfect Day Satellite of Live I’m so Free

Not bad, whimsical. Not my genre but pleasant.

not my thing

A couple of great songs, an ok album.

2.6/5 I listen to an artist named Adam Green and I always thought he was a quirky dude with the way he sang and arranged his songs. After listening to Lou Reed for the first time, I now realise Adam Green must be a massive fan of Reed because they have the same style and quirks. I didn't mind this album on the first listen despite the weirdness so I might have to listen to more Lou Reed music.

8/10 - soft rock

I like Lou Reed!

Grande album pieno di hit

bit boring okay rock album, not a fan of the lyrics

OK I GUESS, JUST DOSEN'T TICKLE MY BRAIN.

Pretty solid

The 3 classic tracks on here are great. There are one or two others worth a listen. The piano and bass work is excellent. Some of the tracks, including the opener, feel like fillers and (the first track) feels like an amateur demo - not great musicianship. It's OK, but I would just listen to the big hitter tracks.

‘Perfect Day’ yeah Perfect Song more like am I right fellas haha (This album is absolutely stellar)

2/17 Was okay

I liked this album but still feel as though it’s a bit of a let down on first listen

What can I say? Lou Reed at the top of his game. Very logical continuation from Velvet Underground.

Well this is just brilliant. It’s probably not quite a 5 but a solid 4.5 for me as a couple of the tracks are so so… Satellite of love remains one of my all time favourite songs.

Ah yes, Lou Reed. I knew his music before getting suggested this album. Never been a big fan, but have nothing against him, either. Only problem with this album is that, musically, it's more of the same Velvet Underground, just maybe a bit less transgressive. Don't know what it was like live, or how it was produced, though, people say David Bowie was involved in the production. Don't know, don't care.

Controversial take but it think this album is overrated. Velvets is much better, later Lou is much better. Feels like a less well sung Bowie album.

Terrible 1 good song 1/5

I get that everyone probably comes to this as a series of singles or just via other culture (Perfect Day via soundtracks etc) but there’s so much good stuff on this. Vicious a great opener. Really enjoyed I’m So Free. Satellite of Love quite affecting. Two well known ones are obviously brilliant.

I guess I wasn't really in the mood for these slow songs. Besides Walk on the wild side (bangerrr), it didn't do much for me.

I have said it before but Lou Reed’s voice and lyrics are so palpable you can actually smell the hot dog stands, see the steam rising from the sidewalks and feel yourself nearly get run over by a yellow cab. It’s unusual for songs with such a punk ethic to be so melodic, these are. His voice is so knowing, it’s like he recognizes the people he writes about but is always standing a step away. Huge fan.

I like most of Lou Reed's stuff. this is by far is best album. Great songs like "Walk on the Wild Side", "Satellite of Love" and "Perfect Day" are my favorites. Produced by David Bowie (and you can tell his influence on the album).

Welp, I have avoided Lou Reed my whole life because I always hated "Walk on the Wild Side" and I never liked Velvet Underground. But I listened to it. It was AMAZING. Every song was unique. Every song was a piece of art. So many genres, strange lyrics, strange music. It was very cool.

I hear early bowie and dylan ( without the twang). This coupled with his classic walk on the wild side, made for an enjoyable alblum.

Excellent. 4.5/5

Cinema to David Bowie there was a lot of cool instrumentation and production tricks (panning, hand, percussion, etc.), but I don't much care for this style of singing. (Talk-singing with loose adherence to pitch) I was surprised how similar Lou Reed's music sounds to the Arctic Monkeys; it seems the former inspired the latter. 5/10

I don't think I've ever heard the full album, though I do seem to recall hearing/reading that this was one of his better solo albums; I'm familiar with 3 of the 11 songs (Vicious; Walk/Wild Side; Satellite). I think I'll give this one 4 stars, which is higher than I expected. I've long liked The Velvet Underground, but always sort of shied away from Lou Reed's solo work, partly because of his ("singing") voice, but also maybe a little because he seemed kind of . . . dark and scary. I think, in a small way, he colored how I thought about New York City, when I lived there (1983-87); he seemed like a quintessential New Yorker. My first exposure to Lou Reed, I think, was hearing "Walk on the Wild Side" on the radio (released November 1972, a few months after we moved to Jacksonville); I think even my 10-year-old self was a little surprised that it was played on the radio, but the song was (and is) undeniably cool and catchy. So, regarding the other 8 songs (that were not familiar to me - although 1 or 2 of them did sound a little familiar), I'd again say: a bit better than I expected, with an impressive variety of styles, and a good overall sound. And the singing voice, while slightly off-putting, wasn't really a big problem. So, yeah, not a 5 (for me, anyway - though I'm sure it is for a lot of people), but not a 3, either, so 4 it is (for me). P.S. After listening a second time to the songs I didn't know previously, I liked them overall maybe slightly less, so would probaby go for 3.5, if that were an option, but still choose a 4 over a 3.

I didn't think I was going to like it because the style is very casual and silly at times, but I found myself enjoying side 2 for the same reasons that I love "Perfect Day": it's genuine and human, which makes it disarming even to the most cold, critical gaze. Not my typical go-to, but worth a listen, I thought. Also it works much better as group listening than myopically metered through headphones.

I liked this more than the Banana album, but I feel like the worst part of this Lou Reed album is actually Lou Reed.

bro kinda sucks

Don't like his vocals, instrumentals aren't anything exceptional for the most part. Satellite of Love and Perfect Day redeem it a little.

cool for the time

I like this but don’t love it. Never connected with this one.

não sou uma grande fã do Lou Reed mas esse álbum até que é bem bom. (ouvi na quarta-feria, dia 11 de fevereiro de 2026)

As much as I love Lou, it's hard to ignore that this record is as much a Bowie/Ronson achievement as it is a great Lou record. Still, he wrote these songs and they are some of his best. No shame in getting outside help to make them their best selves. But we also have to note that Lou probably never did another record quite as good as this one. Maybe New York? Too bad they didn't work together again

I bought this album on CD when i was about 18 as it was continually referenced by the indie bands that i loved as a seminal album. When i listened then i found it pretty underwhelming and didnt understand the hype. An opportunity to revisit it 25 years later was very interesting. A couple of listens through and it appears my music taste and appreciation skills have not changed. I can see some very good songs and i can see jow it influenced music to come, but i dont think it deserves much of a relisten. Lou's voice is really weak and the album is patchy at best. I think their alternative image may have caught the zeitgeist of the time to elevate their legend.

Didn't zone out alot. Usually upbeat music. Know 1 song prior to listening the album already. Alot about ladies

Vicious was alright because it was familiar. Some were decent but some also sounded like they belonged on Barney or some other kids show. Walk on the Wild Side would probably also be kinda boring if it wasn't for the fact that I grew up hearing it, so that wasn't bad.

Pretty fun. Very silly

Kinda boring despite the classics

What a wild album (pun not intended) that could have both an incredible song like Perfect Day and then whatever the hell New York Telephone Conversation is

love this album

Just fantastic. So good to hear this, especially to be listening to the whole album. The well known tracks are great of course but actually every track was great. Delighted to be hearing some for the first time. The production sound is distinctive and makes use of a wide range of instruments to create some of the best music ever made.

An absolute classic. Perfect Day and Walk On the Wild Side do steal the show, but that doesn’t diminish the rest of the album. Every track here is quality.

Classic album, didn't know all the songs but enjoyed and reminded me of listening to music with my dad.

Pretty much everything about this album screams of 70s cool. The cover. The Bowie / Ronson production. The Walk on the Wild Side. There are timeless songs on this album - Perfect Day might well be one of my all time favourite songs, and Satellite of Love was a song that is hadn't heard before but instantly caught me with it's gorgeous melody and cracking outro. Elsewhere, there's lots of fun in songs like Andy's Chest, Hangin' Round and the jazzy Goodnight Ladies. It's just a joyous listen. I've never considered myself a fan of glam rock, and I don't consider this album an example of that standard. This is just a meeting of mavericks working together to create a 5 star album.

Nice, starting the week off weird. I remember listening to Perfect Day a lot in undergrad. It somehow succeeds in sounding both depressing and uplifting.

Not the biggest fan here. I've no problems with it from a production standpoint but it's just not doing anything for me in any other way. I'm disappointed, I wanted to like it more.

Lekkere hitjes en goei fillers, maar niet alles top

Don't find interesting

0/11 bekannt 5/10 Beste Songs: perfect day, New York telephone conversation, vicious

This is a really good album. You can feel the David Bowie influence. A lot more tuba than I was expecting. But to be fair, I wasn't really expecting any tuba.

Several classics on here that are just great; Perfect Day the standout obviously. Some of the tracks had fairly laughable lyrics. An enjoyable listen, sneaks into four stars.

For my first real dive into rock I was really impressed. Carried by the guitar, which inspired me to want to learn how to play some of these songs, I enjoyed listening to this album more than I thought.

Slightly disappointing, considering how some people go on about this album. I liked Perfect Day and that's about it. I will admit that it's a definite improvement over The Velvet Underground and Nico album I had to listen to for this project.

No. 100 Definitely got Bowie vibes before reading that he produced it. Really liked the album.

walking around listening to walk on the wild side made me feel like i was in a commercial highlights: Vicious

Klasyka, muzyka klasyczna

10/10 underrated need more fam

The album that propelled Lou Reed to a level of popularity that Velvet Underground hadn’t yet reached. With Bowie and Mick Robson in tow, Lou Reed drops some of the more obscure art rock sounds for more of a cleaner glam rock approach and what we get is a fantastic record. I absolutely love White Light/White Heat but both albums deserve high praise. Vicious is a strong open with some sharp guitars and they change up the pace completely on track three with Perfect Day, tossing in some pretty strings and piano. Both Walk on the Wild Side and Satellite of Love are forever classics as well. One track I could do without is Make Up although I suppose it serves its role, I don’t know, I just don’t care for it that much. The frumpy horns kick in at the end and Lou wishes all the ladies a goodnight. 5 stars

Great album. Lyrics are so outstanding and how could that be played on the radio at that time? Weird...

Lou Reed’s Transformer is a pretty good album. Only song I knew before listening was Walk On the Wild Side which is by far the highlight of the album. It was a solid album overall and it was enjoyable

Was familiar with “Perfect Day” and “Walk on the Wild Side” I feel like walk on the wild side is trying to say something but I can’t quite grasp the point on one listen back to back. Overall, I felt the album was tonally inconsistent with some very slow and uninteresting features. Not my cup of tea. Music-history wise - I’ve heard this album mentioned as a milestone of sorts, but it’s not that captivating in 2026. Think I’ve heard better stuff involving Lou Reed; someone mentioned Velvet Underground which rings a bell.

favs: perfect day satellite of love wagon wheel goodnight ladies rating 2.5/5

yappasaurus rex!!!!!

some real highlights from this one, but the middle tracks just dont hit

I don't quite get Lou Reed's “Transformer”. It wants to be a dark album, but it doesn't really deliver. His biggest hit, “Walk on the Wild Side”, doesn't really grab me because, apart from the lyrics, there's not much to it. “Perfect Day” has potential, but it doesn't sound very depressing, just slightly melancholic, which lightens the mood compared to the other songs and therefore doesn't contribute to the gloom. Overall, it has something of Johnny Cash about it, but without his charisma—and since charisma was everything for Johnny Cash, that doesn't leave much. Actually a two-star album but I give it a third one for detached coolness and the early glam rock vibes.

Why have I never listened to Lou before?!