David Bowie has never been shy about acknowledging his influences, and since the boho decadence and sexual ambiguity of
the Velvet Underground's music had a major impact on
Bowie's work, it was only fitting that as
Ziggy Stardust mania was reaching its peak,
Bowie would offer
Lou Reed some much needed help with his career, which was stuck in neutral after his first solo album came and went. 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, and on
Transformer Bowie and his right-hand man,
Mick Ronson, crafted a new sound for
Reed that was better fitting (and more commercially astute) than the ambivalent tone of his first solo album.
Ronson 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, while the imaginative arrangements
Ronson cooked up for
"Perfect Day," "Walk on the Wild Side," and
"Goodnight Ladies" blend
pop polish with musical thinking just as distinctive as
Reed's lyrical conceits. And while
Reed occasionally overplays his hand in writing stuff he figured the glam kids wanted (
"Make Up" and
"I'm So Free" being the most obvious examples),
"Perfect Day," "Walk on the Wild Side," and
"New York Telephone Conversation" proved he could still write about the demimonde with both perception and respect. 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. ~ Mark Deming
![Blonde on Blonde [LP] [Mono]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0888751463110_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Blonde on Blonde [LP] [Mono]")
![Man Who Sold the World [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0825646287383_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Man Who Sold the World [LP]")
![Diamond Dogs [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0190295990404_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Diamond Dogs [LP]")
![Full Moon Fever [2017 LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0602547658593_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Full Moon Fever [2017 LP] [180 Gram Vinyl]")
![Tango in the Night [LP]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227935610_p0_v3_s90x140.jpg "Tango in the Night [LP]")
![L.A. Woman [180 Gram Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227986551_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "L.A. Woman [180 Gram Vinyl]")
![Speaking in Tongues [180 Gram Vinyl]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0081227966652_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Speaking in Tongues [180 Gram Vinyl]")
