Lou Reed: The Life

by Mick Wall

'This "sincere speed-written, blood-spattered tribute" strings together the raciest anecdotes...and does it rather well' SUNDAY TIMES

'Mick Wall has written in a rough and unsentimental style that suits his subject' THE TIMES

Lou Reed died in 2013. This is the critically acclaimed biography of the songwriter, Velvet Underground member and musician.

Rock 'n' roll was Lou Reed's life. From recording one of the most critically acclaimed albums of all time with THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO (1967), to heavy drug abuse and performing in front of the Pope, Lou Reed's story is one of great peaks and deep lows. Forever dedicated to his art, he became one of modern music's most legendary and seismic figures.

Although a controversial, outspoken and undoubtedly misunderstood musician, Lou Reed's influence on popular culture cannot be overstated. He brought avant-garde to the mainstream with the Velvet Underground and his solo work was pronounced a revelation. Hit albums such as TRANSFORMER, SALLY CAN'T DANCE and BERLIN have cemented his name in the rock pantheon.

A testament to his strength of character and true spirit, he was a creative and performer until the end, playing benefit gigs, featuring on new releases and, most poignantly, declaring that he was looking forward to 'being on stage performing, and writing more songs to connect with your hearts and spirits and the universe well into the future.' A true icon of rock 'n' roll - his legacy will live on in this book.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Mick Wall is an author, journalist, film, television and radio writer-producer, who’s worked inside the music industry for over 35 years. He began his career contributing to the music weekly Sounds in 1977, where he wrote about punk and the new wave, and then rockabilly, funk, New Romantic pop and, eventually, hard rock and heavy metal. By 1983, Wall become one of the main journalists in the early days of Kerrang! magazine, where he was their star cover story writer for the next nine years. He subsequently became the founding editor of Classic Rock magazine in 1998, and presented his own television and radio shows.

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

felt this biography just missed something and was more run of the mill

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Damn, I just wrote a review of this and Goodreads lost it. Too late to rewrite it.

In brief: a hack bio, but still interesting in its story of almost endless failure, hidden from fans like me who assumed he was secure in his pop-culture divinity. Far from it; as I suppose should have been clear from his permanent prickliness.

Badly written in some ways: poor grasp of language, hackneyed style, several factual errors I noticed (so how many I didn't?) and an arrested post-teen mentality, at least as written. But still illuminating and informative to the non-obsessed fan and an easy, quick read.

I do think that Lou Reed looks less interesting now than he did when I was a kid, mainly because he took a long time to grow up and when he did, around 1980, he (unlike Bob Dylan) became dull.

And worst of all, beyond question, he went from being what they call an "icon of cool" to a mullet-sporter. Perhaps the most perverse act of a wilfully perverse life.

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Chronology of his music with little analysis of personal relationships. A long music review...

[David Vanbiesbrouck · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick. Dirty. A no bullshit book that needed to be written. One gets a feel for Lou the person, and how intolerable and dreadfully volatile he might've been. Maybe the book was even too nice.

Lou wouldn't have wanted someone to take his life and try to make something out of it. He wasn't a metaphor or a resemblance. Like the blurb at the tail end of the extras on Transformer, "In the midst of all the make believe, madness, the mock depravity, and the Pseudo-sexual anarchists, Lou Reed is the real thing." Mick Wall got that.

This book isn't for those "fucking assholes who yell out for me to do Vicious and Walk on the Wild Side." It's for people who can understand that a rocker can be misunderstood without being ironic.

A short, to the point, and extremely funny and well-written profile on the last person on earth who would've ever volunteered to be profiled.

What's not to like about that?

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a classic book and I don't think it was meant to be, given the hurried nature in which it was written and published after Lou's death. It is an easy read and a good overview of his life and work taken from various interviews and books written about him over his career. It is probably fair to say I am a little obsessed with 'Transformer' at the moment, so I enjoyed learning about what led to its creation, but I felt the book lacked real depth or personal insight into 'the man'.

[Peter O'Connor · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one does seem banged together pretty quickly given that it followed so soon after Lou Reed's death in 2013. That doesn't make it a bad book though - on the contrary. I actually enjoyed reading it as a kind of fast-paced primer to the life of the former Velvets frontman. Sure, it is a little uneven in spots and skips around a bit but that only matters if a strict chronology is important to you as a reader. In short then, it is like the McDonalds cheeseburger of music biographies - it is fast, mucky and even enjoyable. Once you have finished it though, you might wish you had ordered something better.

[Mark Rubenstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wonderfully illustrated the importance of an editor.

[Ruby Lyons ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Perfect Night has that magic and it has the raw energy that grabs you by the throat."

[David Frödin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the book low-key boring until I was two-thirds into the book. Then it switched and I suddenly started to enjoy it a lot.

The book is mostly a discography with a few personal anecdotes thrown in here and there. I was expecting something more in the style of Keith Richards book: “Life”, which is mostly everything else but a discography.

Some things that I learned from reading this book are that; (1) David Bowie and Lou Reed was a thing, for a while, until Lou hit David during a dinner. (2) Anohni from Antony and the Johnsons was kind of a protege of Lou Reed in the beginning.

[Anna Birath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Såklart blev han chockbehandlad

[Fatts · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing!!! will read any rock bio from mick wall after this. it seemed almost at times an autobiography written by Lou himself. Amazing!

[Jesús Santana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lewis Allan Reed mejor conocido como Lou Reed fue uno de los músicos que supo componer el soundtrack perfecto para los junkies, personajes sórdidos, homosexuales transgresores, transexuales y cualquier otro ser que fuese y se considerase un mala conducta en la sociedad común y corriente de los años ’60, ’70 y ’80. El periodista británico Mick Wall especializado en biografías de músicos y bandas se lanza en este libro llamado “Lou Reed – Su vida” a contarnos con lujo de detalles la vida de este gran músico que supo mover todas las bases de lo que se estaba haciendo musicalmente en todo Estados Unidos con su banda “The Velvet Underground” y luego en su etapa solista como Lou Reed.

Pionero de lo que llamaron posteriormente Rock Alternativo, del Rock Avant Garde y del Glam. Lou Reed se movió durante décadas en la música reinventándose con cada grabación (unas con mas éxito que otras) desde sus inicios con los inolvidables “The Velvet Underground” y con su siempre particular voz mas sus directas letras sobre perdedores, drogadictos y todo lo oscuro de las calles. Reed supo moldear parte de la música que estuvo sonando en la radio, en especial entre finales de 1960 y 1970, una década completa donde su nombre siempre estuvo al lado de los mas innovadores creadores.

2 de marzo de 1942. Hijo de un contador judío y una reina de belleza, es marcado desde muy pequeño por el carismático Elvis Presley pero la originalidad de Little Richard o Fats Domino es la que despierta en Lou Reed el verdadero interés y la vena artística, su padre al ver esto decide meterlo en clases de piano y de guitarra muy joven aprendiendo ambos instrumentos casi que de manera inmediata y sin mostrar muchos deseos. A los 15 tiene su propia banda y comienza a explorar su sexualidad junto con una forma de ser muy rebelde, sus padres al ver esta “enfermedad” no se les ocurre nada mejor que internar a el joven de 17 años para que le apliquen unas largas sesiones tres veces por semana, que duraban unas cuantas horas de terapia electroconvulsiva (TEC) esto le causaría una destrucción de sus nervios dejándole de por vida problemas motores y nerviosos quedando con temblores permanentes en las manos (su firma de contratos hasta sus últimos días necesitaba de testigos porque jamás pudo firmar igual como consecuencia de esta abusiva terapia) Reed siempre ha recordado como quedaba reseteado luego de cada sesión y “el asco de la cosa que le metían en la boca para que no se mordiera la lengua”.

Lou Reed y su rebeldía llegan a la Universidad haciéndose muy amigo del poeta Delmore Schwartz y comienza su relación con quienes se convertirían en unas inseparables amigas las anfetaminas y la heroína, se cree que en una de las primeras picadas en las que probaba heroína contrajo hepatitis la misma que mucho tiempo después sería parte de lo que causa su muerte aunque siendo relativamente joven y también en uno de esos excesos con las anfetas casi queda paralitico por la gran cantidad que llegó a usar en una oportunidad. Delmore Schwartz le presenta y lo hunde en la literatura polémica de los beats y otros, autores como William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Raymond Chandler y Hubert Selby Jr son los que se convertirían en sus principales influencias como escritor e inspiración para muchas de sus letras con el pasar de los años. Un dato curioso es su interés en querer ir a Vietnam pero luego de sus exámenes psicológicos los médicos determinaron que no se encontraba apto para prestar servicio militar ya que era un loco peligroso para si mismo o para todo el que lo acompañe.

Su encuentro son el genial John Cale vuelve a dar un vuelco a su vida y junto con Sterling Morrison y Maureen Tucker crean un grupo inolvidable que pasaría a la historia llamado “The Velvet Underground”, quienes ellos mismos se definían al compararse con los cuatro de Liverpool diciendo “The Beatles son pura diversión, The Velvet Underground somos el vete a la mierda!”. En lo que respecta a la larga historia pero no larga carrera musical de “The Velvet Underground” el autor Mick Wall profundiza en todo lo que significó tener entre ellos a un artista que al igual que cada uno de la banda se destacó no solo por su increíble talento sino también por ser un artista totalmente transgresor llamado Andy Warhol y con lo que se bautizó con el nombre de “The Factory” que posteriormente explotarían en su relación llena celos artísticos con la modelo, actriz y cantante alemana Christa Päffgen mejor conocida como “Nico”. La relación entre Lou Reed, “The Velvet Underground”, Andy Warhol y Nico pasó por todo tipo de situaciones y gracias a este libro muchas quedan aclaradas, algunas ya eran conocidas y otras no tanto. Lo que si queda claro y todo conocedor de la música debe aceptar es que Lou Reed junto con “The Velvet Underground” resultaron ser unos artistas que estuvieron muy pero muy avanzados para la época y que me atrevo a decir que no es sino hasta hace poco que muchos de los que los destruyeron y no entendieron en su momento se están arrepintiendo de lo que llegaron a escribir sobre ellos.

Luego de la violenta y polémica ruptura entre Lou Reed y John Cale haciendo que la banda se separara este comienza a deambular sin saber mucho que hacer, abandona por un tiempo la música, se dedica a escribir poesía y regresa a vivir con sus padres causándole esto una inmensa decepción ya que había jurado no regresar con ellos jamás. La música vuelva a aparecer en su vida y es David Bowie en una de sus presentaciones quien lo ayuda a construir una nueva carrera como solista que mucho menos estaría exenta de todo tipo de titulares por la prensa amarillista con ganas de vender. Gracias a Bowie se hace la exitosa grabación de un disco que posee dos grandes clásicos de la música “Perfect Day” y “Walk on the Wild Side”, gracias a esta producción comienza la otra faceta de Lou Reed dentro de la música con una vez mas un sube y baja de grabaciones, unas con mucho éxito otras que fueron destruidas por la critica totalmente saltando de géneros como el Glam Rock, Art Rock y algunas cosas experimentales. Los abusos y excesos como se nos cuenta en esta biografía llegaron al punto de que en mas de una oportunidad a Lou Reed tuvieron que montarlo en el escenario, bajarlo y darle de comer sin que en ningún momento se encontrara sobrio, todos los críticos al compararlo con otros artistas contemporáneos expresaban “Iggy Pop se corta el cuerpo con vidrios y es muy violento en el escenario, David Bowie es puro glamour pero Lou Reed es todo lo que uno puede imaginar que se encuentre en el inframundo haciendo música”. Otra anécdota era su incomodidad por artistas como Jim Morrison, al enterarse de su muerte lo que expresó fue una mofa sobre morir en una bañera es también conocido que Morrison copiaría un polémico gesto que hizo primero Lou Reed en tarima, dicho gesto era como estar inyectándose heroína en pleno concierto.

Hay una gran profundidad de datos que no se pueden contar todos por aquí en los que el respetable periodista Mick Wall se dedica a relatar en la discografía solista de Lou Reed. Todo amante de la historia de la música y de alguien que fue y sigue siendo según muchos melómanos uno de los padres del Rock Alternativo tiene que hacer el intento aunque le disguste el hombre, el personaje o el artista de acercarse a esta biografía para poder entender parte de todo lo que es un movimiento actual que seguirá dando frutos con los años pero que siempre tendrá el nombre de un padrino o un padre llamado Lou Reed.

Lou Reed fue un artista que jamás deseó ser parte de la mass media, siempre quiso romper todas las barreras que se le imponían y lo lograba, cuando tuvo éxito decide grabar una opera rock con una pareja de junkies como protagonistas que algunos la llamaron “punk negativo” ganándose fuertes criticas por atreverse a contar algo tan intenso y destruyó todo lo bien que le había ido, cuando vuelve a levantar cabeza graba el increíble “Metal Machine Music” que el mismo Reed llamaba “música de tortura” en el que se escuchan casi setenta minutos de música Noise, Industrial y sonidos improvisados contemporáneos hechos con solo feedback de guitarras, este disco resultó ser uno de los trabajos que mas compradores devolvieron apenas lo llegaron a escuchar en sus casas. Se dio el gusto de grabar un CD de nombre “Hudson River Wind Meditations” un disco hecho para meditar y para practicar T’ai Chi, como si fuese poco la “Revolución de Terciopelo” llevada a cabo en Checoslovaquia se llamó de esa manera gracias a la banda “The Velvet Underground” y finalmente tuvo el atrevimiento de llamar a la banda “Metallica” y graba una obra de arte llamada “Lulu” basada conceptualmente en la obra que lleva el mismo nombre de Frank Wedekind, muchos detestaron “Lulu” y a riesgo de que me insulten y se indignen los mentes cuadradas en lo personal “Lulu” me parece una de las mejores creaciones que se hayan hecho en años, tiene riesgo, polémica, arte, pasión, feeling y se unen unos artistas que saben amar la música como pocos. Cuando a Lou Reed le preguntaban sobre los que odian (o la verdad es que no entienden) un trabajo tan complejo y apasionado como “Lulu” respondía palabras mas o palabras menos “ya he perdido a todos mis fans con el pasar de los años, si no les gusta este disco la verdad da igual lo que digan”.

Recuerdo bien que hacía el día que murió Lou Reed, venía de comprar unas entradas para el teatro y al prender la computadora leí la noticia, sentí tristeza porque músicos como Lou Reed quedan pocos ya. No todos se atreven a romper barreras y romperlas bien, en este mundo de redes sociales y de quien hace o dice algo que sea mas transgresor que otros pero que como creadores sus composiciones son nulas o una mas del montón es cuando uno extraña a músicos tan intensos y con el atrevimiento de decir “esto soy yo hoy, mañana ni idea, váyanse a la mierda!” algo así se resume lo que hizo el gran Lou Reed.

El comunicado escrito al día siguiente de su partida de este mundo por su esposa Laurie Anderson quien lo ayudó a encontrar la perfección y la estabilidad dentro de si mismo luego de tantos años es precioso, resume todo lo que significó Lou Reed para todos los que disfrutamos y seguiremos disfrutando su música.

[Darren · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lou Reed: The cash in. The one good thing about this book is that it lead me to conclude that there must be a good Lou Reed biography out there and this is one crossed off of the search list. This is a glorified discography with some hastily gathered footnotes from other sources, rushed out just after Lou passed away. Useful if you need a primer, though i'm not sure how useful a Lou Reed primer is?

Lou is famous for quoting that "I do Lou Reed better than any one else" and that is the problem with trying to look at him in depth, you have to look past the mask. Mr Wall here doesnt look much past his own pay cheque. The book is called "Lou Reed: The Life" well tell me something about his life, i'm not interested in your opinion of his music, i want to know something about the man.

There are several biographies which try to create a sensationalism based on anecdotes of his behavior and exploits. That's exceptionally lazy. The music business is a circus, the press and fans can wear out an artist expecting them to keep producing such antics like performing monkeys. This pressure on youngsters in their twenties or even thirties should be considered mental torture. So many greats have been burnt out by this treatment. Lou might have had issues from electric shock treatment but i imagine that was less scarring than world press treatment.

This biographer, like many others wants to tell us Lou thought he was a failure because he failed to penetrate the top 40 more than a handful of times - are you kidding me? Lou constantly kept risking everything to produce new and innovative ways of listening to music and story telling. There is so much humor in it too, Lou is a very funny guy, but his jokes, often delivered from behind a mask were taken too seriously. He worked hard to create a persona and to get people to buy into it, i want to read about the man behind the mask, maybe he hid himself too well?

[mollie]

There are some really great insights into TVU/Lou Reed early on in this, with some great commentary on specific tracks and production too. It’s informative and covers the huge discography of Reed’s work with TVU and as a solo artist.
However, these insights were overshadowed by this book’s overwhelming need for an editor. The writing style (especially in the second half) is rushed, lacking in depth and, at times, feels clunky and poorly constructed, with some paragraphs feeling incomplete, as though Wall gave up making a point half way through. This is essentially a glorified annotated discography, rather than a biography, and you can feel Wall losing momentum after the halfway point of the book. There were also a few descriptions - mainly of women (e.g ‘chicks’) and trans people, though the choice to refer to Reed’s hair as n*zi blonde at one point shouldn’t be glossed over either - that felt gauche with their blatant ignorance and insensitivity. I can only assume Wall was attempting to write in a way he somehow considers reflective of the hedonistic and misogynistic attitudes prevalent in mainstream ‘rock & roll’ in the 60s/70s, but I fail to see how this was necessary, relevant, or anything but borderline offensive when Reed himself was unapologetic in his embrace of people of different genders and sexualities. It’s safe to say that I’ll be using this as a jumping off point for finding more in depth (and hopefully better written) work on TVU and Lou Reed, and as nothing more.

[Sam Pratt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mick Wall’s “Lou Reed: The Life” offers an unflinching and vivid portrait of one of rock’s most enigmatic and polarizing figures. Known for his no-nonsense approach to rock biographies, Wall doesn’t shy away from exploring Reed’s contradictions, his brilliance and abrasiveness, his tenderness and cruelty and mainstream frustrations.

The book delves deeply into Reed’s tumultuous personal life and career, from his groundbreaking work with The Velvet Underground to his often volatile solo career. Wall’s narrative has many anecdotes from those who knew Reed best, and the result is a raw, unsentimental examination of a man whose music reshaped rock and challenged its boundaries.

For fans of Reed or those interested in the darker, uncompromising corners of rock history, Wall’s biography is a compelling read. It balances respect for Reed’s artistry with an honest portrayal of his flaws, making it as layered and complex as the man himself.

[Keith Astbury · Rating 4 out of 5]

I made the mistake of looking at the reviews not long after I started reading this. And some weren't very flattering, but you know what. I enjoyed it. Sure it's more about The Music than The Life that features in the title, but that's OK with me.

Some of the writing is a bit lazy - was Walk On The Wild Side really the USA jukebox hit of the year and does Mick Wall really know what different types of people were putting their hard earned money in the machines? He doesn't really does he!

Wall skips through some of the later albums but then raves over the final album, that collaboration with Metallica. He might be right. It might be a great album if you give it time. I only listened to it once and frankly couldn't bring myself to ever listen to it again!

There's also a fairly comprehensive discography at the back, though strangely (especially since a sizeable part of the book deals with the Velvets records) it starts with a 1970 compilation. Very odd! x

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were moments where I liked this book less, and moments where I liked it more, but overall I think it's an excellent biography. I love Lou Reed's music, the very little I've listened to as of now, and I'm even more excited after reading this to listen to more, and really be able to appreciate and understand it. He's such an interesting man with a fascinating life, and I loved getting more backstory. It's fairly accessible, and generally written in an easy-to-understand style, which I always like. The thing about biographies is that they can sometimes be a bit dry, but this wasn't. It had a lot of humour; I can't think of a better way to write about Lou Reed.

[Alex Laycock · Rating 2 out of 5]

first chapter excellent and then the decline into an endless list of music accomplishments, lacked depth and any insight into who he was as a person, but it did give me good reason to cross it off the list and then go out and search for a decent book about this man, if i can be bothered after wading through Mick Wall's laborious pages..at least it had pictures otherwise a chore....

[Antonis Moras · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fast reader written almost on demand of Lou Reed's death by someone who does this professionally and this way he doesn't fail in his promises. This is not the best book about Reed that I have read but definitely it functions well as an introduction. It focuses more on the artist Reed but it does not leave much out. The language is everyday and sometimes it seems to address Lou's writing but there is no comparison. It has some photographs. It is an introductory book.

[Book Grocer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The legendary Lou Reed, voice of the NYC underground music scene of the 1960s and 1970s, is given a worthy remembrance with this biography. A very easy read, which will delight fans of Reed but also bring in new fans, who will hopefully seek out some of his classic tunes after reading - Elisa, Book Grocer.

Purchase this classic here for just $10.00

[Samita Sarkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not just about Lou. It's about the entire 1960s -- a holistic bird's eye view of a period and a movement, the rock and roll scene, Andy Warhol, East Coast artists and hippies... all of it in very close detail, making me feel like I was there and I lived it with them. This book has been so helpful to me. I used it a lot when I did research on The Velvet Underground for my historical fiction novel.

[Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lou Reed es el rock Star para muchos (me incluyo). Una persona que no dudó en expresar en sus letras todos esos sentimientos y pensamientos como una forma de terapia a las duras cosas que le hicieron pasar sus propios padres.
Entender cómo se cayó y levantó varias veces, se resume a una moraleja de la vida.
Sin embargo, sentí que por ratos el relato solo me daba datos discográficos que uno puede encontrar en Spotify.

¡Grande, Lou! Quizá mañana sea mi perfect Day!

[Andy Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you know all there is to know about Lou Reed, this may seem a break neck synopsis of the artist and his incredible career, overly brief. If you're just a fan, it's the perfect length, with musical creativity at the heart of the narrative; Reed's circumstances and influences only analysed in its relevance to his output.

Clearly a muso journalist's offering and none the less for that.

[Conor Morgan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lou is my life and it's a respectfully enthusiastic book, though the stylistic choices sometimes get in the way of factual information. As in, he compromises legitimate facts to make broader, more artistic statements. Still, it's fun!

[Ran Levy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written engaging summary of the brilliant artist life.

[Diana · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bloody awful. Don't waste you time on this. Clearly the writer just didn't like the guy and decided to cash in in his death regardless by putting out this poorly researched pile of dirge.

[John Owen · Rating 4 out of 5]

No frills, straightforward account of Lou Reed's life. Sympathetic without being sycophantic.

[Kåge Klang · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book for a long journey by train.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lou Reed The life. Was Lou Reed’s amazing creativity and output caused by the brain damage via electro shock therapy inflicted on him by his parents because of their fears of having a gay son?

Was his prodigious drug use including meth and heroin a contributing factor to his genius or did it hinder him?

I guess we will never know. All I really know is that I loved the Velvet Underground. When I found Velvet Underground and Nico in Sam the record man’s store on Yonge Street, I was ecstatic. I already knew and loved this record. I thought everyone loved it. Little did I know. It was already 1976 by then and this kid from Winnipeg bought every Velvet Underground record I could find. I still have them too. I followed Reed’s solo career and the highlight was always Berlin. I admit I wore out my 8 track copy and was never able to find a replacement until his live version on CD. I would still love to get a copy of the original Berlin. Sheer musical genius that took 20 years for the rest of the world to catch up to.

I have just been listening to Lulu, his collaboration with Metallica. This record is sheer Velvet Underground. Awesome! Of course, everybody hates it but that is all right, give them another 20 years to discover it. Reed was always white light years ahead of everybody.

This book was a quick satisfying read for a Reed fan. I am sure all the rest of you will hate it but will discover it in another 20 years.

A fascinating portrait of a deeply troubled person who always did what he wanted to do. I admire that in an artist. I have been playing all of my Reed vinyl records and what a treasure it is. Tying the music and his story together has been an amazing adventure over the past few weeks.

[Ralph Burton · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's ironic the very day I began reading this, the summer sky above the UK darkened and everything felt black-and-white. For while you might associate Lou with the nuance of technicolor, instead his writing was the monochrome misery of life, winners and losers, addicts and dealers, police and criminals, on the streets and off, even as he was incredibly one of the first artists to encourage a non-binary lifestyle with his hard, hyper-masculine image belying blatantly homoerotic, homosexual, even, lyrics that embraced the Gay community with open arms. He was, for many, and for me, a hero. And while he may have been an asshole, as Mick Wall judges, he never abandoned the LGBT community like Bowie did. And his music, while inferior, gave birth to Bowie in the first place. Mick Wall has a good assessment of Reed's overall career, but he can't sum up or respect a truly legendary artist enough. Now, more than a decade after Reed's death, we're trying to wrestle with his colossal impact. He made rock and roll for adults.