Words and Music May 1965 - Lou Reed

[Driven Insane]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHuw97AA0No

[hkmartin]

First review I've seen, though the release seems to have been delayed to October.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/words-mu ... 0003736982

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.

[bradski]

.
Interview with Laurie Anderson about the 1965 tape
https://www.theguardian.com/culture/202 ... n-his-past

[MartinVU]

Another review. Makes me look forward to hearing this version of Wrap your troubles in dreams

https://www.clashmusic.com/reviews/lou- ... -may-1965/

[msatlof]

Light in the Attic announced that the music will be streaming this Friday and that there will be a "surprise" with the physical stuff coming in October.

[gazatthebop]

The Cale Unauthorized facebook page have posted the Cale vocal "Wrap your troubles...." audio today

[DavidH]

It's out on Australian Spotify now, and listening to it properly for the first time.
WTFM - sounds just like the version on the Peel Slowly and See. A different take, perhaps - I'll need to A/B it - but really the same arrangement and way of performing. As i said to my wife when we heard it on radio this morning, it's like getting around a campfire to take heroin.

Men of Good Fortune. Even more of a Dylan knock off than the songs we've heard before. I actually love it.

Heroin - I love this too. It makes me wonder again how different the world would be if this was the version we all heard first.

Too Late - Holy shit - an actual missing link between the Primitives single and the first VU record. I love it.

Buttercup song - aka Never Get Emotionally Attached to Man, Woman, Beast or Child. A weird one. Reminds me a bit of the jokier Fugs music. Not a Velvets song to me, but still fascinating. I can't tell if they're doing a parody of musicals or folk rock.

Walk Alone - we've known this song for a while, but it's a nice recording.

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz - A charming throwaway.

Pale Blue Eyes - It is what it is - a wonderfully played early version of one of the true masterpieces of rock and roll. The harmonica solo is brilliant (emotionally if not technically) but only hints at what Sterling would add to it, and then decades later what Cale would do on viola. Some strange ultra violent lyrics towards the end too.

Stockpile - A kinda throwaway. I didn't hate it.

Wrap your Troubles in Dreams - Less sparse than the PS&S version, but still a little tedious. Could have been the first industrial folk song if released at the time. I still prefer the Nico version.

Waiting for the Man version 2 - Another version ...

All in all a great record. I'm not sure how often I'll listen to it, though.

[dial4]

https://itsonlyrockandroll.info/lou-ree ... 1965-2022/

(11 tracks only !)

[mangue]

All 11 demos 1965 May at

https://loureed.bandcamp.com/

imho the best site for distribution of [independent] music

[bradski]

.

Five star review in today's Observer newspaper
.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/ ... early-cuts