The Life of Lou Reed: Notes from the Velvet Underground

In this admiring biography, music writer Sounes (Down the Highway) offers a measured chronicle of the life and music of Lou Reed (1942–2013). He traces Reed’s life from his childhood and youth in New York City and his early forays into performing music to the heights of his work with the Velvet Underground, his career as a solo artist, and his ceaseless creativity. While the Velvet Underground struggled through its seven-year existence, the band gave Reed an opportunity to develop as a songwriter and performer, skills that allowed him to embark on a successful solo career. Sounes examines Reed’s life alongside his recordings—for example, 1973’s Transformer, with its single “Walk on the Wild Side,” launched Reed into international stardom; two years later, a lawsuit against him by his manager slowed Reed’s songwriting for Coney Island Baby. In Sounes’s workmanlike prose, Reed emerges as an artist who refused to compromise, often to his own detriment (early in his career, he refused to play at a fraternity party and punched a glass door to ensure he wouldn’t have to). While there’s not much new here, Sounes proves to be an amiable narrator who successfully reveals Reed as an innovative, influential musician. (Sept.)