Music: {allcanada} Producer BOB ROCK Says 'Lulu' Was 'Amazingly Courageous' Album For METALLICA To Make

Thursday, December 1, 2011

{allcanada} Producer BOB ROCK Says 'Lulu' Was 'Amazingly Courageous' Album For METALLICA To Make

Canadian producer Bob Rock, who is best known for his long creative partnership with METALLICA, tells The Canadian Press that he he has enjoyed the freedom to explore different projects since parting ways with the group following the release of 2003's "St. Anger".

"When I was with them, they were kind of all-encompassing," he says of working with METALLICA.

"Their whole trip was so almost draining. And I didn't get a chance to do a lot of other things while I was working with them, so I'm really having a lot of fun."

Rock, who produced METALLICA's smash self-titled '91 album and remains on good terms with the iconic metal group, has only positive things to say when asked whether he'd listened to METALLICA's critically panned collaboration with Lou Reed, "Lulu", which currently has a 41 score on the review aggregator Metacritic.com.

"I'm a huge Lou Reed fan and a huge METALLICA fan ... I know those guys very well, and it sounds like they did what they wanted to do, and I see the art in it," Rock said.

"For METALLICA, I think it's amazingly courageous for them to do a record like this, and to put it out like they did, 'cause they didn't really put out as a side project, they put it out (as) a METALLICA record with Lou Reed. That's really gutsy."