Metal Machine Music
| Metal Machine Music | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | July 1975 | |||
| Genres | ||||
| Length | 64:11 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | Lou Reed | |||
| Lou Reed chronology | ||||
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| Audio on YouTube | ||||
Metal Machine Music (subtitled *The Amine β Ring) is the fifth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed. It was released as a double album in July 1975 by RCA Records, but taken off the market three weeks later. A radical departure from the rest of his catalog, Metal Machine Music features no songs or recognizably structured compositions, eschewing melody and rhythm for layers of feedback and distortion at various speeds. A quadraphonic version of the album was produced by playing the recordings both forwards and backwards simultaneously.
While the album sold 100,000 copies on release, it quickly became the most returned album in RCA's history, leading them to pull the record from distribution. The album cost Reed his reputation in the music industry and was panned by critics. Simultaneously, it opened the door for some of his later, more experimental material. In 2008, Reed, Ulrich Krieger, and Sarth Calhoun collaborated to tour playing free improvisation inspired by the album as Metal Machine Trio. In 2011, Reed released a remastered version of Metal Machine Music.