David Bowie Says Lou Reed’s Greatest Work Was Metallica Collaboration

On Sunday night at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, Lou Reed’s widow, Laurie Anderson, surprised the crowd by telling a touching story about her husband’s career.

“One of [Reed’s] last projects was his album with Metallica,” she said. “And this was really challenging, and I have a hard time with it. There are many struggles and so much radiance. And after Lou’s death, David Bowie made a big point of saying to me, ‘Listen, this is Lou’s greatest work. This is his masterpiece. Just wait, it will be like [Reed’s 1973 album] Berlin. It will take everyone a while to catch up.’ I’ve been reading the lyrics and it is so fierce. It’s written by a man who understood fear and rage and venom and terror and revenge and love. And it is raging.”

Lulu was bashed by critics upon its’ release and turned away from by fans of both acts. Metallica’s Lars Ulrich wrote in to The Guardian about the album after Reed’s death.

“I played the record for my kids yesterday in the car, and it sounded as relevant and more intense than ever; it sounded incredibly potent, very alive and impulsive … Twenty-five years from now, you’re going to have millions of people claiming they owned the record or loved it when it came out, of course neither will be true. I think it’s going to age well – when I played it yesterday it sounded fucking awesome. In some ways it’s almost cooler that people didn’t embrace it, because it makes it more ours, it’s our project, our record, and this was never made for the masses and the masses didn’t take to it. It makes it more precious for those who were involved.”