On the 45th anniversary of the infamous Velvet Underground, the band led by
Lou Reed and managed by Andy Warhol with such songs as “Waiting For The
Man” and “Venus In Furs,” Chicago Sun Times reporter
Jim DeRogatis has put together The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated
History Of A Walk On The Wild Side.
The very first thing DeRogatis told me about this book (see my interview)
is that it is a collaboration. With critical pieces Amazing photographs and
memorabilia unearthed by the book’s publisher, along with the author’s
painstaking research and flowing 10,000- word essay, this near 200-page tome
is the last word on what this often controversial band was all about.
In many ways, The Velvet Underground’s story is the often-too-common
tale of excess, indifferent record companies, cult-like fan adoration and creative
differences. Beyond their dark, brooding music and common upbringing, the group,
much like contemporaries the Jefferson Airplane or Grateful Dead, represented
the place they came from: New York City and its suburban environs. I’m
really not sure there has ever been a band that typifies the city as well as
the Velvet Undewrground. As DeRogatis points out: “It struck me that three-quarters
of the band grew up in Long Island in the late 50s and early 60s. Talk about
a madman existence of late 50s suburbia — all that is nice and polite
and the Velvets’ railing against all that.”
DeRogatis gathered plenty of quotes from VU members Maureen Tucker, Sterling
Morrison, John Cale and Reed, but the book is more a tapestry of the time, a
lush illustration by pictures and words of lower east side Manhattan during
the 1960s. It was the antithesis to the flower power be-ins of the West Coast
(a world-view the Velvets despised).
At the time, Andy Warhol’s Factory was producing iconic images, film
and music. His Exploding Plastic Inevitable “happenings” featured
the Velvet Underground with the German-born beauty Nico. Reading the book you
really do feel those dingy places and events the Velvets played; you sense the
tremor of the times, as the band twists and turns and progresses, during which
Nico leaves and Cale and Reed constantly spar. Some brilliant music was produced
of course, but you never lose sight that this band was part and parcel of their
environment — not just the weird novelty act DeRogatis reminded me they
were usually known as.
What I especially like — beyond the fantastic photos (some from Factory
photographers Nat Finkelstein, Stephen Shore and Billy Name), quotes from famous
musicians and reviews of the specific VU albums from writers like Greg Kot or
live performance itineraries from Olivier Landermaine — is the lengthy
contribution from Andy Warhol himself. Taken from interviews with the famous
artist, this alone makes the book absolutely priceless.
DeRogatis has truly done his research, as you’d expect from a guy with
his pedigree. There are reproductions of vintage concert posters, handbills,
memorabilia plus the author’s well-written overview of each band member’s
personal history.
The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History Of A Walk On The Wild
Side is a splendid coffee table art book from Voyager Press, a book
that DeRogatis says he was honored to be asked to contribute to and one you’ll
be happy to read.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
