While Lou Reed's Lulu collaboration with Metallica faced its fair share of detractors when the album was released in 2011, this weekend's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame event at Cleveland's Public Hall revealed that David Bowie thought of the polarizing LP as Reed's "masterpiece."
As previously reported, this weekend's event inducted Reed into the Hall of Fame as a solo artist, with widow Laurie Anderson delivering a speech in his honour. Among other things, she discussed Lulu, and cast it in a much more positive light than the public did a few years back. During her speech, she said that Bowie had approached her to praise the record.
"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 Berlin. It will take everyone a while to catch up.'"
As for Anderson, she too was a fan of the album, and noted of Lulu's lyrical content: "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."
Patti Smith also spoke of Reed's legacy, while the night featured tributary performances of Reed material from Beck, fun.'s Nate Ruess, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs members Karen O and Nick Zinner. You can see some of that footage down below.
As previously reported, this weekend's event inducted Reed into the Hall of Fame as a solo artist, with widow Laurie Anderson delivering a speech in his honour. Among other things, she discussed Lulu, and cast it in a much more positive light than the public did a few years back. During her speech, she said that Bowie had approached her to praise the record.
"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 Berlin. It will take everyone a while to catch up.'"
As for Anderson, she too was a fan of the album, and noted of Lulu's lyrical content: "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."
Patti Smith also spoke of Reed's legacy, while the night featured tributary performances of Reed material from Beck, fun.'s Nate Ruess, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs members Karen O and Nick Zinner. You can see some of that footage down below.