Lou Reed
It is all so long ago now,
when I first discovered Lou Reed. I think it was the Outsider Disco and
Sister Ray at University, or maybe I discovered the albums independently. I
forget, but perhaps it doesn’t matter. Outsider, our little
group’s disco of choice, always ended with a full version of Sister
Ray; So perverse were we that this was the highlight of the evening and
everyone got up and cavorted around the floor to a track that was surely
impossible to dance to. It was our anthem of the time and I pledged that if I
were ever to get on Desert Island Discs I would choose Sister Ray. Time is
running out for that opportunity, but if it does ever arise, I will fulfil my
pledge. In honesty White Light, White Heat is a wonderful
album, but not an easy listen. But did I buy Velvet Underground & Nico before or
after? As with all my records of the time, I bought it second hand and sadly
it has always had a torn babana skin. From this
album we have the more lyrical side of Reed, and my standout track Heroin,
musical drug taking at its finest! And finally, Live at Max’s and my final favourite Velvets track, Sweet
Jane. Many reading this will have been at my recent party where I had an
opportunity to perform that song as the climax of our little set of music.
Reed said that while the first Velvet Underground LP only sold 300,000
copies, everyone who bought it started a band. I wish I could say that my
only meeting with Lou Reed was a great one. It wasn’t a bad one, which
is something given his reputation, but when I recorded an interview with him
at The Sound Company I was not in my own studio and was struggling with unfamiliar
software, settings and sound. Had I been in my own studio I
, I am sure, have sat back and enjoyed the experience, but in the
event I was worried, stressed and paranoid about getting everything right.
Much to my surprise he was charming and pleasant and things went OK. Not long
after Amanda and I went to see him at Hammersmith – it must have been
2005? His show was extraordinary, intense, challenging and brilliant. Lou Reed was never a mass
hero, never sold records on the scale of Led Zepplin
or Bowie but he was hugely influential. He cared about music, not the music
business, about art not money. He continued upsetting people pretty much up
until the day he died and will never be forgotten by those he inspired. |
|
Blog #11 |
|
Blog #12 |
|
Blog #13 |
|
Blog #14 |
|
|
|
Comments |
|
|
|
If you
would like to comment on any of these Blog pieces please email me on: bjc@briancreese.co.uk