John Cale
Fear Is A Man's Best Friend - John Cale

The Velvet Underground

The legend refuses to die

OK, you know all about this group which was/is a mayor source of inspiration for every decent music lover on this planet.

Cale played on the first two albums, and is featured on a couple of albums with outtakes. And yeah, there was a reunion tour in 1993. There is a box set and all four studio albums were re-released twice in expanded formats. Just buy them, yes all of them. And listen.

Lou Reed: Words & Music

Lou Reed: Words & Music

Early demos of Lou Reed penned songs see the light of day on August 26, 2022 via Light In The Attic Records in conjunction with the Lou Reed Archive. Words & Music contains recordings of songs that would turn up on albums by the band and Reed's solo albums. He recorded the songs with John Cale on May 11, 1965, and on his own at home in 1963/64.

Reed had mailed the five reel-to-reels to himself to get the copyright for early renditions of tracks like Pale Blue Eyes, Heroin and I'm Waiting for the Man. Also of note is the Cale sung Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams, a song that would wind up on Nico's debut album Chelsea Girls. The true oddity however is the inclusion of Gee Wizz, which Reed recorded by as a teenager in 1958.

More ...

Want to know more about the Velvets? Plenty of books out there, but there is only one truly great website about the band that matters:

Subtitled Electricity comes from other planets, it covers the whole story. Includes an up-to-date news section. Maintained by Olivier Landemaine.


© 1999- Hans Werksman