Loaded The life (and afterlife) of the Velvet Underground

Review by Booklist Review

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.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Library Journal Review

Jones (Sweet Dreams) offers an expansive oral history of the Velvet Underground, supported by Robert G. Slade, who provides distinctive voices for the surviving members and those who knew the band members best. Jones argues that the Andy Warhol-conceived art house band broke barriers as the first major group--with a lineup of mixed genders--that would invent modern New York. The Velvets embraced their avant-garde cool by never smiling when photographed and wearing sunglasses indoors, sharply contrasting with the peace-loving "hippie" movement so often associated with the 1960s. Though they never really got to drive their nihilistic style home, this account shows how the band's bohemian ways introduced the world to psychedelic rock, fusing Warhol's subversive art with Lou Reed's lyrics, John Cale's beat, and German-born singer Nico's voice. Artistic differences split the band up, but they became the model for David Bowie and punk rocker Sid Vicious and continue to forge an edgy path for vocal artists, songwriters, and musicians today. VERDICT A captivating audio, following the evolution and devolution of a seminal rock band. It is a must-listen for fans of the Velvets and for those who are just becoming acquainted with the band's groundbreaking surge of sound.--Sharon Sherman

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

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. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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