Lou Reed definitely was one of the most misunderstood and controversial musicians of all time and that’s one of the reasons why I loved him as a musician and songwriter. Whether you loved him or hate him, you’ll have to admit that he definitely was one of the most prolific musicians ever. As long as he was alive back in the day,  he kept himself busy with music until he died.

His final musical project was that album he did Metallica, the double album “Lulu”. Obviously, that album sparked a lot of controversy and outrage in the music industry. It also had mixed criticism… some loved it and many hated it. If you think “Lulu” pissed a lot of people off, Lou is no stranger in pissing people off with his music ’cause he already did piss a lot of people off years ago when he released “Metal Machine Music” (released in 1975). That album sparked a lot of controversy ’cause it had no songs on it… the album had nothing but noise from Lou’s guitar and amp.

People thought Lou wasn’t the greatest singer in the world but I thought he was. I thought he had a great voice. He wasn’t perfect but you don’t have to have the greatest singing voice in the world if you want to play music and Lou proved that.

People thought he was a jerk over the years ’cause of his interviews but I never thought he was. He was just an honest man and he wasn’t afraid to speak his mind in interviews, it didn’t matter if it offended people. He just liked to speak his mind just like he does in his songs.

As a music artist, one thing I respected the hell out of him for was that Lou never played his songs the same way twice at his live performances. Listen to his live albums for proof of that and watch his live performances on youtube. He was never one to play songs the same way that was recorded on the studio album. There were too many versions of “Sweet Jane”, too many versions of “I’ll Be Your Mirror” and he played “A Perfect Day” differently every time as well.

Lou was never afraid to take big risks in his music and that’s another reason I respected him so much for. He just did what he wanted to do and didn’t care whether people liked it or not.

Most everyone hated that “Lulu” record he did with Metallica but I thought it was a beautiful album, I really did. It was different and totally original. I think years from now, everyone will come around and give that album more respect  like it deserves.

Lou was a genius and I’m a huge fan. Happy birthday Lou and RIP.

Kev