Artist: Lou Reed

About

Long before he was at the forefront of New York’s underground music scene, two-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee and Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed (1942-2013) was a young songwriter, seeking to navigate his sound and establish his career. A self-taught guitarist, the shy, Long Island-bred artist spent much of his youth seeking refuge in rock‘n’roll. As a teenager, Reed released his first single with his high school doo-wop group, The Jades. Yet, aside from that 1958 single and a narrow selection of Velvet Underground demos, there has been little opportunity to experience the full scope of Reed’s early artistic development. In their notes for Words & Music , Don Fleming and Jason Stern recall finding two particularly exciting tapes in the offices of Reed’s company, Sister Ray Enterprises. The first captured several of the artist’s formative recordings, including a 1958 rehearsal with The Jades (also known as The Shades). The tape also offers a snapshot of Reed’s foray into folk music around 1963-1964 while he was attending Syracuse University. Accompanied by his acoustic guitar and harmonica, the artist covers Bob Dylan’s ”Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” plus an instrumental rendition of “Baby, Let Me Follow You Down” and “Michael, Row the Boat Ashore.” Reed also delves into the blues with the brief “Lou’s 12-Bar Instrumental” and his “W & X, Y, Z Blues." The second tape that Fleming and Stern uncovered was even more intriguing: a 5-inch reel-to-reel that had been sitting in a sealed, self-addressed envelope for nearly five decades. By notarizing and shipping the package—postmarked May 11, 1965—Reed was securing a “poor man’s copyright” on his recordings while avoiding the costs of filing official paperwork. As evidenced on Words & Music , the artist also protected himself by introducing each song with “Words and music [or lyrics and music] by Lou Reed.” But what was most remarkable about this tape was that its contents bridged the gap be