Lou Reed – Transformer [Vinyl LP Black & White Splatter]

Lou Reed – Transformer [Vinyl LP Black & White Splatter]

Details

• Format: Vinyl LP, Album, Reissue, Limited Edition, Stereo
• Catalogue Number: 19802971961
• Barcode: 198029719611
• Genre: Glam Rock / Art Rock / Pop Rock
• Label: RCA / Sony Music
• Originally Released: November 1972
• Reissue Released: 2025
• Vinyl Colour: Black & White Splatter
• Condition: New & Sealed

Description

Transformer is Lou Reed's second solo album and, by most measures, his definitive statement — the record that took the intellectual and sexual subversiveness of his work with The Velvet Underground and packaged it in something immediately accessible, sonically polished, and enduringly strange. Released in November 1972 on RCA Records and co-produced by David Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson, it was recorded in just four days at Trident Studios in London. Bowie — then at the height of his Ziggy Stardust period — brought a glamour and commercial acuity that Reed's solo debut had lacked, while Ronson's orchestral arrangements and guitar work gave the album a lush, theatrical backdrop against which Reed's deadpan New York narratives could unfold with full effect.

The album was an immediate commercial success, reaching number 13 on the UK Albums Chart and number 29 in the US, and generating Reed's only top-ten single in "Walk on the Wild Side" — a song that, remarkably, passed BBC censors despite its frank references to transgender identities, sex work and drug use among Andy Warhol's Factory circle. "Perfect Day" — a deceptively tender ballad that has been reinterpreted as everything from a love song to a meditation on heroin — became one of the most covered songs of the following decades, most famously in the 1997 BBC charity recording that reached number one in 16 countries. "Satellite of Love" and "Vicious" complete an opening run that stands among the strongest in 1970s rock. Transformer is ranked number 55 in NME's list of the Greatest Albums of All Time and appears on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums list; it has been in near-continuous print for over fifty years.

The album was recorded with a remarkable cast of session musicians: Klaus Voormann — the bassist who designed the cover of the Beatles' Revolver and played on John Lennon's and George Harrison's solo records — plays bass throughout; Herbie Flowers plays the iconic double bass and tuba line on "Walk on the Wild Side"; John Halsey and Ritchie Dharma share drumming duties; and Thunderthighs — the three-piece backing vocal group of Karen Friedman, Dari Lalou and Casey Synge — provide the famous "coloured girls" chorus. The remastering, carried out under Reed's direct personal supervision, preserves the intimacy of the original Trident Sessions recordings while bringing new clarity to the mix.

This limited edition National Album Day 2025 pressing is issued on black and white splatter vinyl by Sony/RCA — a visually striking variant that will appeal to both long-term collectors and new listeners discovering the album for the first time. Housed in the original sleeve artwork with a hype sticker.

Tracklist

Side One

1. Vicious
2. Andy's Chest
3. Perfect Day
4. Hangin' Round
5. Walk on the Wild Side

Side Two

1. Make Up
2. Satellite of Love
3. Wagon Wheel
4. New York Telephone Conversation
5. I'm So Free
6. Goodnight Ladies

Credits

• Lou Reed – Vocals, Guitar
• David Bowie – Producer, Backing Vocals
• Mick Ronson – Producer, Guitar, Piano, Orchestral Arrangements
• Klaus Voormann – Bass
• Herbie Flowers – Bass, Tuba
• John Halsey – Drums
• Ritchie Dharma – Drums
• Thunderthighs – Backing Vocals
• Ken Scott – Engineer
• Label – RCA / Sony Music