July 1, 2023
In Loaded, award-winning journalist Jones (the Guardian, GQ) offers an oral history of the Velvet Underground, the influential Sixties-onward group whose edgy songs revealed the underside of the shiny-bright Age of Aquarius (60,000-copy first printing). Prepub Alert.
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Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
October 15, 2023
A warts-and-all oral history of the iconic proto-punk band. "Rock and roll is so great; people should start dying for it." So proclaimed Velvet Underground founder Lou Reed, and it wasn't much of a stretch. The people around the band and around Andy Warhol's Factory dropped like flies during the Underground's early days, and it's sobering to note how many of the voices are now silent. Reed is broadly remembered as "one of the coldest, most humorless, arrogant and--worse--boring characters rock and roll has ever seen," in veteran music journalist Jones' words--or as journalist Barney Hoskyns puts it, "dry and sneering, even when he was being tender." Reed was seldom without that sneer and an accompanying snarl. One of the sharp points that Jones draws out is how profoundly, for instance, Reed hated the Beatles ("throughout his career he went out of his way to diminish them"), prefiguring the punk hatred for hippies that would emerge a few years later. The author rightfully devotes much attention to Welsh musician and composer John Cale, who gave the band so much of its distinctive sound. Dylan offers less on Maureen Tucker, the drummer who turned toward right-wing politics in her later years; and the late Sterling Morrison, who, in a sideways but heartfelt compliment, the similarly late Reed recalls as "perfectly made for being a tugboat captain." While the band members cordially hated one another and parted acrimoniously, they also hated the world, making an art form out of misanthropy. Even so, glimpses of humanity break through: Reed's anthemic song "Sweet Jane," by the author's account, was "a cautionary tale of forgiveness," and Cale elevated Leonard Cohen's song "Hallelujah" to "a modern masterpiece." Essential for Velvet diehards, but also of interest to those longing for the pre-Disneyfied New York City.
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November 1, 2023
Jones (Sweet Dreams: The Story of the New Romantics) offers an in-depth oral history of the Velvet Underground, from its inception in 1964 to its current impact. Gathering memories from band members, musicians, rock journalists, and contemporary observers, the author begins with pop artist Andy Warhol and his uninhibited acolytes, who embraced the loud, innovative music group. He uncovers the band's initial avant-garde direction in quasi-beat, doo-wop-influenced guitarist/lyricist Lou Reed and the droning viola/bass of classically trained John Cale. He delves into Warhol's insistence to add the beautiful German musical artist Nico to the mix, who lasted only as long as Warhol managed them. Jones continues with Reed's ouster of Cale and Nico, the addition of guitarist Doug Yule, the move from industrial, streetwise music to melodic pop, and Reed's departure. Taking the story to the present, the book highlights Reed's commercial breakthrough, Cale's and Nico's post-Velvet output, the Velvet's influence on punk, and the deaths of Nico, rhythm guitarist Sterling Morrison, and Reed. VERDICT An informed narrative interspersed with quotes, this book paints a page-turning picture of the legendary Velvet Underground. Will appeal to general readers and rock aficionados.--Dr. Dave Szatmary
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November 10, 2023
Jones begins his Velvet Underground chronicle on a hot August night in 1970 when the band had just finished their second set at Max's Kansas City in New York. Although they only lasted a few short years, their influence was immense. They not only "remain the original kings and queens of edge," they also invented a new type of rock archetype that everyone from Sid Vicious to Bono have copied, asserts Jones. He tells the story of the Underground from an "alternative perspective" by concentrating on figures not usually associated with them. He also tries to depict a more nuanced side of Lou Reed, insisting that he was far more than a moody malcontent who wore shades indoors. Constructed as an oral history with narrative interspersed throughout to add historical context, Loaded tracks the strange and winding tale of the band from the inside out with input from Laurie Anderson, David Bowie, Bryan Ferry, and Patti Smith. Although the format may not be for everyone, this is a captivating witness account of the rise and fall of the Velvet Underground.
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