Notes from the Velvet Underground

By: Howard Sounes

Narrated by: Howard Sounes

Best known for his sinuous pop hit 'Walk on the Wild Side', Lou Reed was one of the most original and innovative songwriters of the rock era - a sardonic chronicler of underground culture and the dark side of human nature.

In the first major study of the artist since his death in 2013, biographer Howard Sounes shows how Reed's seminal work with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s shaped his career and reveals a talented but tortured man: a bisexual who married three times, an alcoholic and a drug user who struggled with mental health issues, was frequently quarrelsome and could be nasty but was nevertheless capable of writing beautiful songs.

Howard Sounes is known for writing detailed and revelatory biographies of a range of extraordinary personalities, including the murderers Fred and Rosemary West (Fred & Rose), the writer Charles Bukowski (Locked in the Arms of a Crazy Life) and the musicians Bob Dylan (Down the Highway) and Paul McCartney (Fab).

For more information, visit www.howardsounes.com.

©2015 Howard Sounes (P)2016 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Through more than 140 interviews, Mr Sounes, who has previously written biographies on Charles Bukowski, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney, portrays a troubled genius whose antisocial tendencies were evident even from his early years." ( The New York Times)
"Reading this compelling [book] is a reminder of how tolerant we can be of bad behaviour in the brilliant and famous." ( Sunday Telegraph)

Pretty rough on Lou, but a good read overall

Unfortunately, the author of this book often criticizes Lou for things that really don't need a biographer's input. One example that comes to mind is when he states a personal opinion about whether the media was justified in hounding Lou about his sexuality (he claims that they were).

Now, a lot of this book's criticism towards Lou is justified-- he was far from a saint-- but there is a fine line between describing things approximately as they were and stating your own opinion, a line which this book crosses more than a few times.

Still a great book nonetheless with an engaging narration.

Thorough and informative

Great book about the legendary Lou Reed. It goes in depth and is honest. The book keeps you hooked.

A negative tone throughout

It's probably pretty accurate, and Lou Reed wasn't an easy person to get along with, and his work was of mixed quality. But I still believe that the tone of the book is too negative.

Good

Pretty good overall. It really covers everything. But the narrator sounds like Robin Leach.