When Metallica announced that they were releasing a collaborative album with Lou Reed, it was met with an equal sense of anticipation and dread. While Reed has released some classics in his time, he's had probably more stinkers. And as "St Anger" proved, Metallica aren't adverse to releasing shite. When the first 30 second clip of "The View", this album's first single was released, the dread overtook the anticipation. It was nothing short of shocking. The subsequent release of the full song did nothing to calm those fears. So, it was with tripidation I cranked up this album this morning.
The good news is, "Lulu" is much, much better than I thought it was going to be. The aforementioned "The View" is by far the worst thing on this vast collection (the ten songs run almost 90 minutes), and while it will never be classed as easy listening, the two artists have made an interesting record, which, while challenging, could be seen as enjoyable. A big part of this not being a disaster is the music. Metallica is made up of four very talented musicians, and the instrumental side of this album is very good indeed. While not containing anything that hits the heights of "Ride the Lightning" or "Master of Puppets", there's enough here to show that Metallica haven't phoned it in.
It's in the vocals that the record takes a slight fall. We all know that Lou Reed is about as hit and miss a vocalist as there is (although this Stone Roses reunion may give him competition) and his whole "range" is evident for all to see on this album. When he actually bothers to sing, it's really not that bad, and actually suits the heavy instrumentals that are going on behind him. It's when he goes almost spoken-word that the problems start. His talking vocal style unfortunately sounds like he's found a CD of some instrumental Metallica demos and decided to have a ramble over the top of them. Thankfully, he doesn't resort to this style too often. James Hetfield is pretty much relegated to a backing vocalist, but perhaps unsurprisingly, it is his vocal contributions that are the best - even when he's inexplicably bellowing "I am the table", on "The View".
Album highlights are the opening track "Brandenburg Gate", the baiting "Cheat on Me", and the epic - if overly long closer "Junior Dad", all surprisingly good songs in their own right.
Before listening to this album, I fully expected to be awarding it one, or maybe two stars. After listening, I'm highly surprised by the rating I'm about to give it. It's definitely not going to be for everyone, but "Lulu" really is a worth a listen, even if just out of morbid curiosity.
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