[Reed] was the first rock composer to open the Pandora's Box of unsavoriness. His hard-driving rock anthems, "Run, Run, Run," "White Heat/White Light" and "I'm Waiting for the Man," are still revived by hard rock bands in the process of paying their dues.

Reed is also still paying his dues. The public has never discovered him and, unfortunately, "Transformer" will not help his cause. Here, the Phantom seems to have been given a Mickey Finn and the result is a flaccid piece of work.

The composer offers up an obligatory cut about polymorphous sexuality, "Walk on the Wild Side," which seems to be a nostalgia item for those few who wish to return to the Warhol heyday. His "Vicious" is not as vicious as it pretends to be. Ballads like "Perfect Day" alternate with primitive rockers ("Hangin' Round") and show tunes ("I'm So Free") and novelty items...