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1975's METAL MACHINE MUSIC is, without question, the one album in Lou Reed's oeuvre that inspires the most hyperbole in critic's pens, and one of the harshest records ever released by a major record company. Originally a double LP, it consists of four tracks, each hovering around the 16-minute mark, of guitar feedback looped over and over, and then layered innumerable times. There are no vocals, no beats, and no songs.
And yet, despite all this, the album is by no means random noise designed solely to irritate listeners, as many detractors have claimed. There's a definite overall structure to the electronic effects. As the direct forerunner to punk, industrial, ambient, electronic, and even new age music, METAL MACHINE MUSIC is an essential document and one of the most influential albums in non-mainstream music. In its own right, it is a fascinating sonic experiment--though it's almost guaranteed that your pets will hate every second of it.
LTD. Numbered Ed. Deluxe Slip Case. 1975
Personnel: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, keyboards).
Liner Note Author: David Fricke.
Uncut (p.102) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[S]ince its release in 1975 METAL MACHINE MUSIC has been reappraised as an important piece of avant-garde classical music and a forerunner of industrial rock."
Alternative Press (3/01, p.88) - "...Heard now, METAL MACHINE strikes us as a mellow Merzbow work with neo-classical aspirations. What once seemed like a freeform f**k-off to rock music now seems ripe for study in college composition courses."
The Wire (p.64) - "It actually sounds more dynamic and complex than the original, but sticks to the contours of Reed's piece faithfully."
The Wire (p.35) - Included in The Wire's "50 Records of the Year 2007".
Mojo (Publisher) (p.111) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[B]oth a sensual post-rock symphony and a right old racket. Ahead of its time, too, for the thrilling lock groove finale anticipates virtually every rhythmic development made since."
Uncut (magazine) (p.106) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "Get in the right frame of mind, and listening to MMM can be as meditative as observing the diurnal course of the Empire State Building." Metal Machine Music Music Lou Reed Metal Machine Music Songs Metal Machine Music Music Metal Machine Music Music Review Average Rating: (3.8 out of 5 stars)    List All 9 Reviews 65 minutes of White Noise ....
It was Lou's big joke on the music
business ... as a follow up to the commercially successful "Sally Can't Dance" (I think), Lou a double record set consisting of 4 sides of noise ....
ie the hiss of Guitar Amps turned to eleven, but instruments!
Its worth a laugh to show your friends, but god forbid, if you actually listen to it!
Submitted by Phil (Ottawa, Ont, Canada)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 3 of 3 found this helpful.
 garbage
Im amazed this was ever pressed on CD. What a waste
Submitted by david (florida)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No 2 of 2 found this helpful.
 I'm a big fan of this CD
This CD seemed quite radical at the time, and still seems very odd, which only goes to show how conservative most rock music really is.
As Lou himself said in a recent MOJO interview, if you know anything about Ornette Coleman's "Free Jazz" or John Coltrane's "Ascension," you'll understand that this is just a rock version of what jazz artists were doing in the 60s (and what avante garde classical composers were also doing around that time).
Yeah, you can't dance to it, but it's a very rewarding listening experience if you forget your preconceived notions of what rock music should be.
Submitted by mike019610 (Chicago, USA) 
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Utterly Overwhelming
It is what it is.
Sounds amazing during a cicada infestation.
All noise enthusiasts should start here, because this is where it started.
Submitted by raqvb (washDC)
Was This Review Helpful? Yes No Avoid This
What a load of crap. This "recording" is humanly impossible to listen to. I can't believe that RCA actually allowed this to be released or that Lou Reed's career didn't go down the drain because of this. Gave this one star because this site wouldn't allow me to choose 0 stars.
Submitted by Chuck K (Essex, IA, USA)
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Buy Metal Machine Music CD  | | Lou Reed
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Purchase Metal Machine Music CD To buy, Click on price to add to cart | Lou Reed Rock And Roll Heart CD (1976) Remastered
Metal Machine Music album
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This sequel to CONEY ISLAND BABY finds Lou Reed in an equally mellow mood. The songs are mostly gentle, jazzy things, heavy on acoustic guitar, electric piano, and sax. There are exceptions, of course. "Banging on My Drum," whose title is fully half of the song's lyric, is a three-chord rocker with Lou gone electric. Had the drumming been a little less conventional, this one could have passed for a Velvet Underground outtake. Also noteworthy are "Chooser and the Chosen One," an odd sort of R&B instrumental; "Follow the Leader," which appears to be Reed's version of '70s funk; and "Sheltered Life," in which Reed sings "I've never done drugs"-and, presumably, his nose does not grow.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
This is part of Buddha Records' Original Masters series.
Recorded at Record Plant, New York, New York in 1976. Originally released on Arista (4100). Includes liner notes by Timothy & Karin Greenfield-Sanders.
Recorded at Record Plant, New York, ...
| | Lou Reed Bells CD (1979) Remastered
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Digtially remastered by Elliott Federman (SAJE Sound, New York, New York).
Intriguing even by Reed's own standards, THE BELLS is an experimental album, recorded in so-called binaural sound, a process which he became enamored with in the late '70s. Theoretically, it was supposed to simulate a 360 degree soundfield, although Reed himself has since admitted it didn't work.
Reed's usually plainspoken vocals are somewhat affected here, and the overall sound--courtesy of Marty Fogel's overdubbed saxophone section--verges on early '70s glam rock. Lyrically, the songs range from the meaningless "Disco Mystic" (it consists of the repetition of just those two words over a four minute instrumental), to more typical Reed dissertations about walks on the wild side, the most chilling of which "All Through the Night," is sung against a backdrop of cocktail party chatter. Also noteworthy are "City Lights," ...
| | Lou Reed Berlin CD (1973)
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After the success of his glam-rockish TRANSFORMER, the expectation was that Lou Reed would plow deeper into commercial territory. As usual, Reed delighted in confounding expectations. BERLIN is a song cycle that uses the decadence of its namesake and some Brecht/Weill-esque orchestrations to tell a story of two psychically damaged people and their doomed relationship. (Aided by Berlin producer Bob Ezrin, Pink Floyd would attempt a similar feat several years later on THE WALL).
Far from the rock-star poses of TRANSFORMER, BERLIN is lyrically and musically frank and blunt. The arrangements move from sophisticated, arch orchestration to naked-sounding acoustic sparseness, but the words are uniformly unflinching in their depiction of violence, addiction, and desperation. Not for the faint of heart, BERLIN is a harrowing journey through the aforementioned tribulations, and one ...
| | Lou Reed Rock N Roll Animal CD (1974) Remastered
Metal Machine Music songs
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Lou Reed has always dabbled in contrasts, so it comes as no surprise that the follow-up to his darkly serious concept album BERLIN was a commercially oriented, good-time rock & roll fest. ROCK N' ROLL ANIMAL is a live set that finds Reed stretching out on some of his best-loved Velvet Underground tunes with the help of his crack touring band at the time. Though the songs are somewhat given to stylistic excess, the overall sound is streamlined, accessible, and visceral.
The twin guitar attack of Dick Wagner and ...
| | Lou Reed Transformer CD (1972) Bonus Tracks; Remastered
Metal Machine Music album
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After a tepid solo debut, Lou Reed's post-Velvet Underground standing looked dicey. Fortunately, David Bowie and his guitarist Mick Ronson stepped in to help Reed craft one of the best albums of his career. TRANSFORMER built on the stripped-down, quirky pop of LOADED-era VU, infusing it with the androgynous, cheeky glitz of the glam era (the bleached-out black-and-white cover photo of Reed in eye makeup is a giveaway), not to mention a fair bit of Ronson's guitar muscle. Much to everyone's credit, however, the album's stylish flair never eclipses Reed's excellent songcraft or acerbic wit. [paragraph here] TRANSFORMER's sense of chic fun is infectious, and is heightened by Reed's character sketches of Andy Warhol's entourage and the glitterati of New York. "New York Telephone Conversation" demonstrates his biting satire, as do "Hangin' Round," a Ronson-assisted rocker, and "Goodnight Ladies," a music hall send-up. But TRANSFORMER's highlights are some of Reed's best-ever songs: the soaring ditty "Satellite of Love," for instance, the cutting ...
| | Neil Young On The Beach CD (1974) Remastered
Metal Machine Music CD music
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After working his way through loss and chaos on the brilliant TONIGHT'S THE NIGHT (recorded in 1973, but not released until 1975), Neil Young deftly exorcised any lingering demons with 1974's ON THE BEACH. The album opens with the saunter of the aptly titled "Walk On," followed by the utterly gorgeous, Wurlitzer-tinged "See ...
| | Allroy For Prez CD (1988)
Metal Machine Music music CDs
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| | Judy Collins Living CD (1971)
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A remarkable 1971 live album, LIVING captures Judy Collins at one of the peaks of her career. At this point, Collins had moved through traditional folk and orchestral art song into a personal take on folk rock that was at once rooted in tradition, and personal and idiosyncratic.
The opening song, a radical reinterpretation of Leonard Cohen's "Joan of Arc," is one of the finest versions of this underrated song, and the way Collins smoothly segues into the placid "Four Strong Winds" shows an exceptional sense of pacing. Other highlights ...
| | Mana Donde Jugaran Los Ninos? CD (1994) New Edition
Metal Machine Music album
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On DONDE JUGARAN LOS NINOS ("Where Will the Children Play?"), these pop-rockers from Mexico show that having a great time and a credible social conscience can indeed go hand-in-hand. Loaded with hits, this is surely one of the band's most celebrated, exciting albums. Their driving ragga-rock mixes with synth-laden pop, acoustic balladry and a youthful, Mexican romantic sensibility. Fher's light, breathy voice takes flight over Cesar "Vampiro" Lopez' ...
| | Tribute To Outkast: The Lounge Below CD (2004)
Metal Machine Music CD music
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| | Oppressed Won't Say Sorry-The Complete Cover Story CD (2007)
Metal Machine Music music CDs
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March 1981, Russel (DUCKY) Payne, his brother Ronnie and Gary Tier - all Cardiff Skins - along with Martin Brennan, a valley Skin, form an Oi! band. After tossing a few names around, including FORCED OPPRESSION, they decide that THE OPPRESSED fits the bill. So it was that with not much ability and a ton of enthusiasm the boys set out to have a ball. With the departure of Ronnie from THE OPPRESSED, Ducky, Gary and Brennan eventually turn up on Roddy Moreno's doorstep and make him an offer he can't refuse. With Roddy as second guitarist and his brother Dom on bass, this line up lasted about a year. Brennan and Gary had decided to leave so Roddy took over vocals and found Lee Jenkins to take care of drumming. This line up lasted about 2 years and recorded nearly everything issued in the eighties. Almost all their gigs ended in a ruck (boys will be boys) and eventually they got fed up with the whole thing. They did get together in the studio with Juan Garcia - a punk from near Cardiff - on drums, recorded 3 cover versions but played no gigs. So that was it for the eighties.After the split in '84, Roddy Moreno spent the next 6 years setting up and running Oi! Records and Ska Records labels, helped to establish S.H.A.R.P and in 1987/8, put together The Rude Boys with his brothers Dom and Adrian (R.I.P) and 3 sax players. By the end of the eighties the Rude Boys had fallen apart and the labels were struggling. There was a baby (THE Oi! BOY) on the way so Roddy had to give up on music and get a job. "I put The Oppressed back together in 1994 after some Fascist shite had been putting up C'18 (Niggers Out) stickers in my area. I tore off the stickers and thought 'fuck this' and set out to use the band's profile to Fight Fascism again. For the next 2 years me, Dom and Adrian recorded some Anti-Fascist records including the benefit E-P 'FUCK FASCISM'. We played a few local 'Shows for the Boys' including our farewell gig with the Warriors which was filmed for the THEY THINK IT'S ALL OVER - IT IS NOW video. Although this was our farewell gig we received an offer we couldn't refuse, to play the Camden Irish Center for ANTI-FASCIST ACTION (Oct' 5th 1996). The Business had a gig wrecked by C'18 because they wouldn't have C'18 provide security. The Fascists then announced that no Oi! bands could play London without C'18 security. The lads from A-F-A said 'FUCK THAT' and arranged a concert for us. Floyd was now in the band on guitar and this was his one and only gig with us. The Stage Bottles had come from Germany to support us. It was a top night. Just like back in '81, no trouble at all. It was one of our best gigs and, not surprisingly, C'18 became invisible men". 1998 saw THE OPPRESSED back together with a new drummer (YAN) to do some more recording. Now it's 2004 and they're back in rehearsals. The ...
| | Barbara Ann Van My Story CD (2007)
Metal Machine Music songs
$11.09
Notes From Barbara" My Story " is my third release and my favorite thus far. I was so fortunate to Mike Orta on piano and Keyboards, Danny Burger on drums and Nicky Orta on Bass with me again on this album, We had a blast guys ...
| | Kanon Wakeshima Suna No Oshiro CD (2008) (Import) Japan
$16.59 | | Industriegebiet Hodenkapsel CD (2009)
Metal Machine Music album
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