An illuminating biography of Lou Reed, featuring interviews with over 140 people who knew him intimately, plus previously unpublished photographs.
As band leader of the Velvet Underground and later a successful solo artist, Reed was much more than what the general public came to know as the grumpy New Yorker in black who sang “Walk on the Wild Side.” To his dedicated admirers, he was one of the most innovative and intelligent songwriters of modern times—a natural outsider who lived a tumultuous and tortured life.
In the course of his deep research into Reed’s life, from a humble upbringing on Long Island to death from liver disease in 2013, Howard Sounes interviewed more than 140 people who knew the artist intimately—some of whom have not spoken publicly about him before. With new revelations from former wives and lovers, family members, fellow band members and celebrities, and music industry figures, this book offers an updated, unfettered look at Reed’s creative process, his mental health problems, his bisexuality, his three marriages, and his addictions to drugs and alcohol.
Featuring previously unpublished photographs of some of Reed’s most private moments, this is the definitive account of one of rock ’n’ roll’s most complicated and brilliant prophets.
“Compelling . . . Sounes takes pride in carefully debunking the myths that have crept in from Reed’s own fictionalizations.” —The Sunday Telegraph
“Controversial . . . Sounes’ book pushes the standard Reed narrative.” —New York Times
“A measured chronicle of the life and music of Lou Reed . . . Sounes proves to be an amiable narrator who successfully reveals Reed as an innovative, influential musician.” —Publishers Weekly
“A walk on the dark side.” —Independent
“A must read . . . Sounes chronicles Reed’s turbulent, and often brutal, relationships with men and women . . . and the wayward talent that produced such classics as ‘Walk On The Wild Side.’” —Daily Mail
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 26, 2022 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781635766417
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781635766417
- File size: 4578 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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August 19, 2019
In this admiring biography, music writer Sounes (Down the Highway) offers a measured chronicle of the life and music of Lou Reed (1942–2013). He traces Reed’s life from his childhood and youth in New York City and his early forays into performing music to the heights of his work with the Velvet Underground, his career as a solo artist, and his ceaseless creativity. While the Velvet Underground struggled through its seven-year existence, the band gave Reed an opportunity to develop as a songwriter and performer, skills that allowed him to embark on a successful solo career. Sounes examines Reed’s life alongside his recordings—for example, 1973’s Transformer, with its single “Walk on the Wild Side,” launched Reed into international stardom; two years later, a lawsuit against him by his manager slowed Reed’s songwriting for Coney Island Baby. In Sounes’s workmanlike prose, Reed emerges as an artist who refused to compromise, often to his own detriment (early in his career, he refused to play at a fraternity party and punched a glass door to ensure he wouldn’t have to). While there’s not much new here, Sounes proves to be an amiable narrator who successfully reveals Reed as an innovative, influential musician. -
July 26, 2019
In the years since Lou Reed's death in 2013, multiple biographies and analyses of his work have been written, including this book, first published in the UK in 2015. Sounes (Down the Highway; Fab) covers the highs and lows of Reed's personal and professional life. Yet, while the author claims his title is "detailed and revelatory," the "extensive original research" seems to entail interviews with people on the far periphery of Reed's life and a focus on the singer's difficult or combative behavior in an effort to appear revelatory. Reed was widely known to be a complex and deeply talented musician who dealt with addictions and mental health issues exacerbated by drug abuse. Sounes ably covers every aspect with competent yet occasionally awkward writing. However, because he incorporates so many anecdotes in an effort to demonstrate Reed's monstrous behavior, he often skates over the more substantive events in a superficial way. VERDICT Reed devotees might appreciate this account, but newcomers would be better served by Anthony DeCurtis's Lou Reed: A Life.--Peter Thornell, Hingham P.L., MA
Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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