Words & Music, May 1965

by Lou Reed

Overview

Just as much as Bob Dylan, Lou Reed changed how rock songs were written when he emerged as an artist in the mid-'60s. Reed brought a bold emotional maturity to his lyrics that was absent from rock songwriting when the Velvet Underground first surfaced in 1966, and he tackled subject matter verboten in pop music at the time. However, while Dylan seemed to emerge fully formed after the hiccup of his first album with 1963's The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (the first LP where his original tunes dominated the set list), it took a little longer for Reed to find his voice as a tunesmith. He had recently started working with John Cale when he made a rough tape in May 1965 to document songs he'd been working on, which he mailed to himself as a "poor man's copyright" and then set aside. After Reed's death, archivists discovered the tape in his offices, and found it included the earliest known recordings of several VU classics, along with tunes previously lost to the ages. Words & Music, May 1965 allows fans to hear this music for the first time, and it's historically priceless stuff. Reed is backed just by his acoustic guitar, and this music suggests the influence of the folk-leaning singer/songwriters of the time in a way his work with the Velvets would not. These songs were works in progress, and hearing "Heroin" and "Pale Blue Eyes" while he was still toying with the lyrics is fascinating. If "Too Late," "Walk Alone," and "Men of Good Fortune" (the latter not the song that would appear on 1973's Berlin) weren't great Lou Reed songs, they're certainly good ones, and they add a wealth of detail to this portrait of a songwriter honing his craft. It's also a warts-and-all demo recorded on an amateur tape recorder in someone's apartment, presented here with all the flubs, false starts, and bursts of laughter left in. This isn't the work of a musician striving to preserve his work in its best light, but a lo-fi tape meant to document his rough drafts while they were still fresh in his mind. Devoted fans will note that this bears a certain resemblance to the acoustic demos that appear on disc one of the Velvet Underground box set Peel Slowly and See, except this is a noticeably rougher, sloppier performance. Most importantly, this shows that while Reed was close to the goal line in terms of his songs, musically he hadn't formulated the bracing electric sound that was so important to the Velvet Underground (or if he had, he wasn't trying to capture it that evening). This is a major find and a fascinating document for serious fans, but from a strictly musical standpoint, the average listener will only find this enjoyable for so long. If you're a historically minded Lou Reed completist, Words & Music, May 1965 is a must. Others are advised to approach with caution and keep their expectations in check. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	10/21/2022
Label:	Light In The Attic Records
UPC:	0826853418843
Rank:	42348

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Lou Reed   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Patrick McCarthy   Project Assistant
Traditional   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Don Fleming   Producer,Liner Notes,Lyric Transcription
Lou Reed   Arranger,Composer
Julian Schnabel   Photography
Josh Wright   Executive Producer
Hal Willner   Producer
Steve Rosenthal   Transfers,Tape Transfer
Laurie Anderson   Producer
Greil Marcus   Liner Notes
Matt Sullivan   Producer,Executive Producer
Masaki Koike   Design,Art Direction
Tyler Hubby   Cover Photo
Ryan Wilson   Project Assistant
John Baldwin   Mastering,Restoration
Drew Carroll   Mastering Assistant
Lydia Hyslop   Proof Reading,Lyric Transcription
Ed McEntee   Tape Transfer
Jim Cass   Lyric Transcription
Jason Stern   Producer,Liner Notes,Lyric Transcription
Alex Slohm   Tape Transfer