Maps of Music

Lulu (2011)

Where the lyrics of Lulu take you, and where it was really made.

A record made by two rock acts drew an extremely negative response from many fans and several prominent critics.

Key places

Recorded at Metallica's HQ in San Rafael (2011)

Recording site Metallica HQ — The album was recorded in San Rafael, California, from April to June 2011. The studio is listed as Metallica's HQ in San Rafael. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Lulu: collaborative studio album by Lou Reed and Metallica, released 31 October 2011
• Released through Warner Bros. Records in the United States and Vertigo Records elsewhere
• Double album and concept album based on the two Lulu plays by Frank Wedekind
• Music consists largely of Reed's spoken word poetry over Metallica's music
• Metallica frontman James Hetfield adds occasional backing vocals
• Final full-length studio project Reed was involved in before his death in October 2013
• Sold 280,000 copies worldwide as of May 2025

Background

• Reed and Metallica were both on the bill at Neil Young's Bridge School Benefit in October 1997
• After performing together at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Concert, they kicked around the idea of making a record together
• Work started two years later
• In February 2011 Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett announced a project not 100 percent a Metallica record
• The original plan was for Metallica to re-record previously unreleased Reed songs
• Among these demos were songs written for a play called Lulu, based on Wedekind's Earth Spirit and Pandora's Box
• Reed shared the songs to bring the piece to the next level, and Metallica made significant arrangement contributions

Recording

• Recorded in San Rafael, California, from April to June 2011
• Reed stated that everything was cut live, with the band playing and staring at each other
• Tempers flared a few times during the sessions; Lars Ulrich admitted Reed had challenged him to a street fight
• All tracks were made available for listening on the official website before release

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Disc 1

Disc 2

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich, later based in San Francisco for most of its career.
• Founded as one of the "big four" of thrash metal alongside Megadeth, Anthrax and Slayer.

Members

• Current lineup: Hetfield, Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo.
• Former members include Ron McGovney, Cliff Burton, Jason Newsted and Dave Mustaine.

Career

• Commercial breakthrough with Master of Puppets (1986), often cited as one of the best metal albums of all time.
• The self-titled 1991 album moved the band toward a more mainstream audience and became its best-selling record.
• Returned to thrash roots with Death Magnetic (2008) and released 72 Seasons in 2023.
• Led the lawsuit against Napster in 2000.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009.
• Sold more than 163 million albums worldwide as of 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Reviews were polarized; Metacritic average of 45 from 31 reviews
• Sputnikmusic: 1.5 out of 5, with a warning that the fallout could have dire consequences for Metallica
• Pitchfork critic Stuart Berman: 1.0 rating, calling it a frustratingly noble failure
• Drowned in Sound: James Parker's counterpart J. R. Moores gave a perfect 10 out of 10, a review commonly understood to be a joke
• The Atlantic: James Parker wrote a review titled Metallica and Lou Reed's Lulu Is Actually Excellent
• The Wire: David Keenan wrote that Metallica's style complemented Reed's vision of compassionless love
• Uncut: positive review, praising the closer Junior Dad as the perfect ending
• NME: 7 out of 10, calling it a surprising triumph
• The Telegraph: 3 out of 5, calling it gruelling but important
• Blabbermouth.net: Don Kaye called it a catastrophic failure on almost every level

Reappraisal

• Ulrich wrote in The Guardian after Reed's death that the record would age well
• David Bowie reportedly referred to Lulu as Reed's greatest work

Records

• Debuted at number 36 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 13,000 copies
• Reed's highest-charting release since Sally Can't Dance, which reached number 10 in 1974
• Debuted in the top 10 of the charts in eight countries
• Sales fell sharply; just under 33,000 copies sold in the US three years after release
• 280,000 copies sold worldwide as of May 2025

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Reed said the songs had been written for a play based on two Wedekind plays, which was the starting point of the project.
• Reed challenged Lars Ulrich to a street fight at one point during the sessions, according to Ulrich's own admission.
• Lulu reached number nine on The Wire's year-end critics' poll, which the magazine's writers cited as additional praise.
• Before release, all tracks were made available for listening on the official Lou Reed and Metallica website.
• Reed's widow Laurie Anderson announced at his 2015 posthumous Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction that David Bowie had called Lulu Reed's greatest work.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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