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March 2003

◗business news
Music Shipments Still Sliding
The RIAA continued to fault piracy and
poor economic conditions for waning
recorded music shipments, down over
11 percent last year from 2001's total
figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

◗packaging
Grammy Winner, Best Boxed Set
Art director Susan Archie explains her
meticulous work on Screamin’ and
Hollerin’ The Blues: The Worlds of
Charley Patton, which won three awards
last month. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

◗ replication
Columbia TriStar Super-Sizes
‘Spider-Man’ Order
The Spider-Man DVD, manufactured by
Sony Disc Manufacturing, boasts to be the
largest optical disc order of all time at 44
million units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

◗ dvd
The Making of the ‘Lord of the Lou Reed
The Artist on the Biz
Rings’ Special Extended Edition
Inside the production of one of the most fea-
ture-packed DVD sets yet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Medialine is part of the One to One Group

 Lou Reed recently assisted

Lou Reed:
in remastering 31 tracks
from throughout his career
that he personally selected
for a forthcoming compila-
tion NYC Man at The Lodge
Audio Mastering Facility.

the Pictured here with Emily

Lazar (The Lodge), Rob

Artist
Santos (BMG/Heritage) and
Lolabelle (the dog).

on the
by Larry Jaffee
Biz

PHOTO: TIMOTHY GREENFIELD-SANDERS

t the 45th annual Grammy Awards

A
ceremony last month, Lou Reed was
introduced by his co-presenter of the
Best Pop Song category as a “true rock
legend.” That he is, albeit one who never
won a Grammy for his music, although
a documentary about him won a Grammy for
Best Long-Form Video in 1998 and he was
inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in
1996 with his group the Velvet Underground.
Thirty-six years this month
since the release of the first
Velvet Underground album, the cover amid sound effects. In other words, The Raven is maximize sales with one mostly music CD.
61-year-old Reed is still making
challenging music that unfortu- story
nately doesn’t fit neatly into Grammy categories.
closer in style to a radio drama of yesteryear such
as Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds than a
conventional rock album.
According to Warner Bros., 10,000 units of the
limited edition were manufactured and 40,000 on
the single disc for the first run.
Reed is what the record industry calls a During the interview, Reed covered a wide Asked if the record company handled the editing
“prestige artist,” who doesn’t move tons of units, range of topics including his record company for the single disc, he replied, “No, no, no, don’t be
but has a diehard audience and is a favorite experiences, his views on file-sharing and crazy. We (he and producer Hal Wilner) did. Up to
among rock critics and musicians. He’s best declining industry sales, as well as the importance the last day we were diddling around with it!”
known for a 1973 hit single “Walk on the Wild of his involvement in reissue remastering and Reed spent five months of concerted effort
Side” (it made it to No. 16 on the pop charts) that packaging. to make the album—four years if you take
still gets played on the radio. Reed probably is The Raven, he notes, “is not getting released in into account conceptualization, writing and
more appreciated across the Atlantic, as the greatest [industry] climate, to say the least. So development.
evidenced by the numerous gold records from I am very pleased that the powers that be at the “It was very hard to do this—very complicat-
various European countries that decorate the record company let this even come out.” ed, complex, so many different levels. You
walls of his downtown office where this exclusive “Some of my things get popular very much couldn’t have done it without the use of
Medialine interview took place. later,” comments Reed. In 2000, his 1972 song computers. The music is analog, but the acting,
His latest album, The Raven (released Jan. 29 “Perfect Day” sold more than 1 million copies in the effects, the placement of the effect, you had to
on Warner Music Group’s Sire/Reprise label), is the U.K. as a single that was sung by an all-star put it in a computer to move it around, hear if it
a sprawling aural experience spanning over 125 lineup for the BBC’s charity, Children In Need. works. The stuff really worked, trying to move
minutes and two CDs that finds Reed rewriting At Warner’s insistence, The Raven epic was things spatially. It was all about space, depth. I
Edgar Allan Poe’s poetry and short stories— pared down to a single disc, still clocking at over brought in every [music effects] toy I own.”
sometimes with music, sometimes with 75 minutes. If he had his druthers and could pick Most of Reed’s huge catalog has stayed in
soliloquies and exchanges recited by stellar only one version, Reed says he’d go with the print during the CD age and regularly gets reis-
actors the likes of Willem Dafoe, Elizabeth double-disc, packaged in a Digipak. But he sued with new deluxe releases and compilations.
Ashley, Amanda Plummer and Steve Buscemi, understands why the company thought it could “We’re just wrapping up the mastering of this

rock legend strives for sound perfection

compilation for BMG (NYC Man: The Ultimate Some artists will end up selling their music NY. Reed says The Raven was initially “instigat-
Lou Reed Collection, due out May 6) that I did directly from their websites, but not Reed. “I ed” by the Warner Music classical subsidiary in
locally at [New York-based] The Lodge with don’t want to get involved in the business side of Germany. As The Raven “grew, it was adopted by
Emily Lazar. It’s a two-CD set where I picked things. That’s not my interest. But I won’t have U.S. Warners, amazingly enough.”
[and sequenced] everything. Mastering is such a choice if this thing (The Raven) doesn’t do The U.S. company ended up footing the bill,
an astonishing experience. The technology has anything.” Asked if he’s been told that by which was “the same budget I always have”—a
improved in a staggering way. [BMG] gave me Warner, “No, I’m making a supposition. I’ve sum Reed declined to divulge. “I couldn’t afford
a shot at it. I was able to go back to all the old been saying that for a long time now over the to pay what [the actors, Dafoe, et al.] would
Velvet Underground records on up and really years.” normally get,” he observes. “They were a very
make them sound the way they’re supposed to Reed believes one way the industry could help noble bunch; they did art for the art’s sake, a
sound.” drive CD sales is by putting more attention into great bunch of people.”
“I don’t like to listen to my old stuff. But when packaging. He asks rhetorically, “Why couldn’t Asked whether The Raven, which is full of
I do hear [older CDs], it’s only upsetting because you have a CD in a beautiful, normal-sized album sound effects and spatial relationships that play
you say, ‘If only I could do this, listen to that— cover like you had for records? I think people with the listener’s imagination, would have
Why didn’t they clean the vocal track? There would buy more CDs if they did that.” been better suited for a surround mix, Reed
should be more bass on this.’ If you made a He often uses friends like graphic designer responds, “Yes, I would [still] like to do a 5.1.”
[vinyl] record that’s 20 minutes long, you lost Stefan Sagmeister and artist Julian Schnabel to But he’s more inclined now to mix in the Stereo
bottom, you lost volume. Then they made a CD do his CD covers. “It’s my choice and I do Binaural System, a recording process devel-
of it and kept it that way. So you have these CDs recommend them, but they don’t have to listen.” oped by German recording engineer Manfred
floating around that have no known bottom. At the height of his popularity after the 1974 Schunke that Reed used on three albums in the
There’s no reason for it—they’re just mimicking live album Rock ‘n’ Roll Animal, Reed pushed late 1970s mixed at the Delta Studio in Wilster,
the vinyl. If you can go back and remaster it, as the envelope by delivering a two-record Germany.
opposed to them—all they’re going to do is the electronic music set, Metal Machine Music, “Play the whole thing for a head. I’ve been

minimum—you can address these problems, comprising four sides of feedback with each side obsessed with that for a long time,” explains
which is what I did.” at 16 minutes and 1 second, much to the dismay Reed. “Now it works. We figured out what was
Reed clarifies that when he says “them” he of RCA. To anyone uninitiated with avant-garde wrong. It was a phasing problem. On the way to
means the record company. “Yeah, they’re just music, the release would appear to be nothing vinyl, something happened with phasing and the
going to throw it in and reproduce it—badly. I’ve more than an exercise in cacophonous squelch at effect went away. But it’s back and is pretty
listened to some of those reproductions that randomly selected frequencies. But Reed was astonishing. If you sit in the sweet spot, it’s
they’ve done. It’s unbelievable how chintzy they very serious about it then, and continues to be so. amazing. That was 1978. I’ve waited 24 years to
are. That’s because no artist or A&R person In fact, he feels vindicated as a result of a serious get a shot at this again.”
who’s really passionate about it was involved. German orchestra, Ensemble Zeitkratzer, last He “begged and pleaded” with the Warner top
There’s now [at BMG] a guy named Rob Santos March performing the seemingly unperformable brass to give The Raven a binaural treatment, but
[who cares].” Santos has produced a half dozen Metal Machine Music with concerts in Berlin and to no avail. Still Reed is pretty happy with the
deluxe reissues with insightful essays; two more Venice, at which he played along for the final move- sonic qualities of what has been released. [The
will be released in September. ment. “It was a staggering thing to see that live.” Raven’s] stereo imaging is pretty large. You’ve
Reed is not surprised by the record industry’s BMG’s Buddah imprint last year released got things coming at you from the back,
current woes. “There’s nothing I can do about the domestically on CD for the first time Metal diagonally. You don’t have anything coming
record companies causing some of the problem Machine Music, remastered by renowned directly in back of you, true.”
by overcharging for those ugly, miserable, plastic engineer Bob Ludwig, who originally mastered Among The Raven’s 36 tracks is the single,
jewel cases that break as soon as you open them. the vinyl album for quad. Reed adds, “And yeah, “Who Am I?”—a song so well written to my
It makes you furious, myself included. You buy a after 25 years, to have that rereleased, mastered ears that it has the potential of becoming a
CD, you open up the thing and it cracks in your properly, that was wonderful vindication. I’m standard across different genres, sung by
hand. And you feel like you’ve been ripped off. I tired reading that I did that to get out of a everyone from Tony Bennett to Johnny Cash to
think that encourages people to download.” contract.” some cabaret diva.
From the artist’s perspective, completing an Reed conceived The Raven following his Reed, who once duetted with Pavarotti on
album only to find that people are downloading collaboration with theater director Robert Wilson “Perfect Day,” loves to hear “people other than
it for free can “put you out of business. But as on POEtry, a “rock-theater” production also me” sing his songs, and agrees: “‘Who Am I?’ is
far as the record company, most people would based on Edgar Allan Poe’s writings, staged in another ‘Perfect Day,’ another ‘[Walk on the]
say ‘good.’” Hamburg, Amsterdam, Paris and in Brooklyn, Wild Side’ for sure, no question.”

Copyright© 2003 United Entertainment Media, a CMP Media Information Company. All rights reserved. Used with permission.