Reed, Lou

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LOU REED

Born: Lewis Alan Reed; Brooklyn, New York, 2 March 1942

Genre: Rock, Pop

Best-selling album since 1990: Magic and Loss (1992)

Lou Reed is a pivotal figure in the creation of the New York rock sound. As a founding member of the Velvet Underground in the 1960s, he chronicled that decade with songs that journeyed into the worlds of drugs and sexual hedonism. His bleak urban street tales countered the sunny optimism associated with the psychedelic scene blossoming on the West Coast with bands like Jefferson Airplane and the Grateful Dead. Reed's primitive song structures, groove talking vocals, and experiments with white noise cemented his image as the original art rock hipster. Even though the Velvet Underground was never commercially successful, it proved greatly influential. Reed's solo career was marked by sharp turns in image and musical style. He entered the 1990s on the heels of New York (1989), a critically praised comeback.

Reed grew up in Long Island, New York, and moved to Manhattan after college to pursue a career as a songwriter and a poet. In 1964 he met John Cale, a classically trained violinist. After recruiting drummer Moe Tucker and bassist Sterling Morrison, a year later the group met Andy Warhol, a founder and major figure in the pop art movement. Warhol became their manager. He added singer/actress Nico to the band and pushed them to explore more primitive themes. The band's best work utilized minimal chords and tempos. It spoke of alienation and the discord of modern urban life. The Velvet Underground's albums sold poorly but are now considered ahead of their time, foretelling the abrasion and stripped-down ethos that would define punk rock.

Reed's solo career began in 1971. His debut, Transformer (1972), produced "Walk on the Wild Side," his only Top 20 single. Over the years, he would prove to be rock's most reliable chameleon, changing his public image as much as he did the music he made. Reed's subsequent albums included heavy-metal, commercial pop, glam rock, singer/songwriter folk, and grating electronic noise. By the time the 1980s rolled around he was touted as an innovator by bands including Sonic Youth and R.E.M. Reed kicked off the third chapter in his career with New York (1989), a gritty but accessible collection of songs that assessed the problems plaguing his hometown in recent years: the AIDS crisis, racism, and homelessness. New York signaled Reed's renewed viability and it was his first Top 40 album in fifteen years.

Reed entered the 1990s an established icon. He and Cale reunited to release Songs for Drella (1990), which they dedicated to Warhol who died in 1987. He organized a reunion of the Velvet Underground, which toured Europe and recorded a live album. Back in the United States, the band dissolved a second time after a dispute over who would produce their upcoming MTV Unplugged special, which was promptly cancelled. Upon their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996, they reunited a second time to play the ceremony.

By this time, Reed assumed the role of an art rock intellectual who demonstrated that dark and complex sentiments can be expressed clearly using the basic framework of two guitars, bass, and drums. He published two books of his lyrics over the years and went on spoken word tours. He also made some of his most harrowing music. Magic and Loss (1992) contemplated mortality and the many dimensions of loss. Tapping into both pain and humor, the album is considered one of Reed's best. Although Set the Twilight Reeling (1996) moved in a nostalgic pop direction, he returned to making raw rock music with Ecstasy (2000). Horns, electric violin, and a massive amount of guitar distortion complement the despair, rage, and overt sexuality in the lyrics.

The Raven (2003), released both as a single and double album, was originally conceived as companion music to POE-try, a theater project with stage director Robert Wilson. It married Reed's bleak vision with the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, an American writer who greatly influenced the French symbolist poets. The album features Reed originals and Poe's fiction and poetry read by actors and set to music. The sparse production, backdrop of distorted guitar and electronics, and mixture of overlapping voices are all ratcheted high with the dramatic tension of a surreal radio play. The album was considered a fascinating, if peculiar, musical journey.

Reed elevated hedonism to high art. As the founder and lead singer of the Velvet Underground, he used rock music to find the poetry in modern-day misery and urban decay. Throughout his unpredictable career, he relentlessly explored new styles in a multitude of genres.

SELECTIVE DISCOGRAPHY:

Transformer (MCA, 1972); Berlin (RCA, 1973); Sally Can't Dance (RCA, 1974); Metal Machine Music (RCA, 1975); Street Hassle (Arista, 1978); The Blue Mask (RCA, 1982); New York (Sire, 1989); Magic and Loss (Sire, 1992); Set the Twilight Reeling (Reprise, 1996); Perfect Night Live in London (Reprise, 1998); Ecstasy (Reprise, 2000); The Raven (Reprise, 2003).