Metal Machine Musc [CD + DVD] [Live]

Lou Reed (Author, Performer), Zeitkratzer (Performer), Burkhard Schlothauer (Performer), Christian Messer (Performer), Alexander Frangenheim (Performer), Ulrich Maib (Performer), Ulrich Krieger (Performer), Reinhold Friedl (Performer), Luca Venitucci (Performer), Adam Weisman (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Live
• Label: Asphodel
• Run Time: 64 minutes
• ASIN: B000VF0MJ8
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,542 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Having been in limbo for some years following the performance from where these recordings are edited (Festspielhaus, March 2002), Zeitkratzer's rendering of Lou Reed's now acclaimed (once shunned, at least at a retail level) Metal Machine Music is a curious project. Listening to the original record, Reed's willingness to dispense with structure and song form is counter pointed on this new scored rendering. Gone are waves of uncontrolled tonal feedback and sheering noise and in their place are focused gestures that re-etch the shape of the original pieces. The combined vision of Reinhold Friedl and Ulrich Kreiger, the Metal Machine Music project takes the core of recorded document and casts a net of notation across it. The process could truly bring an abrupt end to the rich character of the music, but interestingly Zeitkratzer have successfully sidestepped these pitfalls. Where the noise and dynamic volume of the pieces once reigned supreme, this new version sees the texture of the original recordings brought to the fore. Instead of attempting to match the blistering heat of the amp valves cooking at high volume, Friedl and his partners seek to extend the overtones and shimmering qualities of the guitar in the original piece. The results are successful, the composition not only representing the original, but also developing a highly personal impressionist take of the MMM record. The addition of Reed concluding the live recordings with some trademarked guitar man-handling appears to only resolve the lifecycle of Metal Machine Music - a cycle that started with the record being criticised as purely noise, and now being celebrated as a vision of contemporary composition. Lawrence English

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My week was like your year. Getting what's deserved., August 25, 2007

By 

Mountain Charley "knew_4_you" (Half Moon Bay, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Metal Machine Musc [CD + DVD] (Audio CD)

I've always been surprised from the first time I heard it at the outrage MMM generates; I mean I understand the 70's fan expecting another Sally Can't Dance being let down. But anyone who dug Lou Reed could see from the first it wasn't a Pop album & knew to expect miracles.
Which is what MMM was & is: That the original got released at all ~ WOW! That anyone could TRANSCRIBE the music, as Zeitkratzer has done here. That it could be so incredibly beautiful, original & unique still after all this time. I'm blown away. The present rendition tops anything in the entire Kronos Quartet output & makes the music they choose seem predictable & conventional, which if you add quite boring is how I find Kronos.
MM has always reminded me of Swastika Girls by Eno & Fripp, but as a much more purpose driven creation. There's something inescapably elusive (I'm trying to convey an intangible) about this musical atmosphere. Give it enough listens to grow on you. This music is Avant Guard as can be; including the most important aspect of experimentation to me: Successful results. While I expected it, many will find this sound surprisingly listenable.
Hear it & be pleased with the results, I say. 5 STAR originality at it's Finest! Bravo!
Zeitkratzer includes a DVD video of the performance of this music. The DVD also features a discussion with Lou reed. who plays guitar on Part III of the present outing. It all seems to come as quite a surprise (& a good one, for once) to Reed himself.