Lou Reed – Transformer

Well balanced but not definitive. Its a less bassy and less expansive sounding press than the Speakers Corner. But Lou is more present and the instrumentation seems to all have equal footing. If this had a slightly airier and sweeter top end and a better soundstage it would be close to definitive. As it stands no single release of this classic is drfinitive so you have to try a bunch of editions and compromise on what suits you best overall. One thing i certainly dont approve of here is crappy paper only inners, threadbare build quality and a record that even when Degritter cleaned still looks like its been sliding around MPO's floor. At least its free of tics and pops etc but the overall noise floor doesnt get near the SC Pallas pressing.

Great pressing, however, my sticker has the opposite in colour above... "Lou Reed" is in black, the background white (instead of black here).

Nice flat and quiet pressing but I feel Lou emphasizes the bass too much on this mix and Mick Ronson's guitar has been pushed back which spoils it for me...the original 72 UK pressing is much better in my opinion.... shouldn't mess with Mick's and David's production as it is what made this album so great in the first place, bit like Iggy's later mix of raw power but he took it the other way guitars too up
front. 😔 I buy new pressings because the old one is scratched too much and would like the original mix but if the original tape is not available I agree the digital mix most times will need remastering . Try listening to some Beatles on CD 🥴

My copy has all the identifiers as listed above except for the Matrix / Runout. Mine reads:

16-0321 NL A 889 8534 9031 MPO Kr SST (MPO logo) 24 329121
16-0321 NL B 889 8534 9031 MPO Kr SST (MPO logo) 24 32907

The records sound awful. Flat sound with no dynamics and on most tracks Lou Reed seems to be in another room. On Vicious the vocals are barely audible. The stereo imaging is all over the place.

The stream version of this records sounds many times better.

Great album! It's silent, no pops and cliks.
Sonic/pressing
5/5

A brilliantly enjoyable record. It sounds like they recorded it in somebody's front room at times, but the clarity of Lou's voice and the instruments is something you have to hear especially that famous Sax solo at the end - the musical equivalent of a 7th Wonder of the World - don't ever die without hearing it first! Probably the best sounding non-audiophile vinyl record I have and a steal at the price - the bargain of the decade, get it while you can.

Let us now praise famous pressings. Let's talk medium, never mind quality of message... Yah, great chunk of vinyl. Remastering, pressing, etc. The factory was in fine form this day. There was a new Keurig installed in the break room. A 3% COLA ed. The men's loo was cleaner than ever before... This is Lou's most consistent slice since the VU. Best until Street Hassle, New York, Blue Mask or Metal Machine Music, depending on your taste and prejudices. Most LR, you gotta skip around the dreck to find the nuggets (sometimes even in the same song), but this still hangs together great. Mick Ronson had a lot to do with why. The string arrangements, guitar playing and (actual, never mind Bowie) production.

Asombroso lo bien que suena el vinilo. Muy potente y sensación de presencia de los músicos en la sala y que conste que tengo un amplificador de 80 watts a 8 ohms asociadas a unas cajas Bowers 705 de primera generación (2006). Vamos que no es ninguna bestia descomunal. Muy recomendable si encuentras este prensado que está a la venta hoy día

Lou at his commercial height with production from Bowie and Mick Ronson to polish it up. Lou responded with several of his most timeless songs and of course some cutting lyrics directed at Andy Warhol and his scene.

Pressing is first rate as well.

I was not expecting to love this as much as I do. I'm new to Lou Reed, but this release is like a proto-punk McCartney. Arrangements are en pointe and production is superior. Some cameo from Bowie. Every instrument fits the sonic space cleanly. Tuba on Side B is a hero. Beautiful stereo image. Vinyl is dead quiet between songs. Highly recommend .
4.5 stars