By Andreas Kessaris for Curtains Up!
“…nothing Lou Reed ever did was fully embraced first time around.”
-Mick Wall
It is said that the Velvet Underground never sold more than a dozen albums, but everyone who bought one started their own band. Described as “…the most significant cult band in the world,” they influenced every generation of rock and rollers that followed. Original VU member and solo singer, songwriter, poet, and maverick performer Lou Reed is the subject of a new biography by veteran rock journalist and critic Mick Wall titled Lou Reed: The Life.
I am extremely grateful to Wall for resisting the urge to call the book something as trite and obvious as Walk on the Wild Side, after what was arguably Reed’s biggest commercial success, (while I’ll admit that considering the subject’s lifestyle it would’ve been an fairly apt title, it still would’ve induced groans and cringes from his loyal hipster, scenester followers). The author, who has written books about Ozzy Osbourne, Led Zeppelin and Metallica, has in the past fallen into the same trap as most other rock biographers; a few years ago I read another of his books, this one about Iron Maiden called Run to the Hills. The title was randomly plucked from their catalogue, and the book never rose about the level of album liner notes, in depth and quality.
Lou Reed: A Life is bare-bones but superior to Run to the Hills in both style and passion. Wall’s writing is far more inspired this time around, conveying the man and his music with equal affection. The author brings us into the life and times of an underground legend, transporting the reader to the New York art scene of the late 60’s and early 70’s, where the bulk of the narrative takes place. Quotations from people who were there, and from Reed himself, are used skillfully and don’t over-stay their welcome. The surprising stories behind the songs are interesting and well-presented, (Reed truly knew what he was talking about when he wrote songs regarding transvestites, drug addicts, and others who live on the fringes of society). And most importantly the book is never boring and at no point does it stall. There is also a useful discography at the end.
Mick Wall admits Lou Reed: The Life was “speed-written” in the wake of Reed’s death in the autumn of 2013 and it shows. The final chapter could have used more details; it seemed to skim over the last fifteen years of Reed’s life, (it could easily have been made into three or four separate chapters), and the engaging but uneven effort on occasion lacks intensity and real insight. A few too many times for my taste the author reverts to his roots and sounds more like a rock critic, and I felt like I was reading an album review out of Rolling Stone or Melody Maker. Also there was one factual error I caught: On page 192 it says Andy Warhol died at the age of 48. He was in fact 58 when he died.
When I was perusing the music section for something new to review, it came down to Lou Reed: The Life and a new Paul Stanley autobiography called Face the Music: A Life Exposed. I think I made the right choice.
