|
Lou Reed One of Rock music's greatest legends with a story that could fill a book, Reed first came to prominence as the guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of the classical rock band "The Velvet Underground" (1965-1973). It is an undoubted fact that, while the band has never really been that successful on the mainstream charts, it has still been highly influential in the transformation of Rock and particularly as proponents of emerging Rock genres, including: experimental, post-punk, new wave, and Indie rock.Reed in particular broke new grounds having written songs on such topics that, while there were present in the Rock scene, they were seldom ever referenced in the music. Such topics as bondage and S&M ("Venus in Furs"), transvestites ("Sister Ray" and "Candy Says"), drug culture ("Heroin" and "I'm Waiting for the Man"), and transsexuals undergoing surgery ("Lady Godiva's Operation"). More so, as a guitarist, he was a pioneer in the use of distortion, high volume feedback, and nonstandard tunings. The band however, disbanded in 1973, following disputes between Reed and band-member John Cale. Reed then embarked on a long and experimental solo career with different colliding styles, genres and aesthetics befitting the rage of the time or decade that, while it did produce such hits as "Walk on the Wild Side" and albums as "Sally Can't Dance", it has been largely deemed as frustrating by both critics and some fans alike, hoping for a return to Velvet Underground-style music. The band would eventually get back together in later years for touring duties but history would repeat itself again unfortunately. Reed's turbulent music could be seen as a reflection of his personal life, which goes to say that the artist has had more than a good share of "Walking on the Wild Side". Back to Lou Reeds Index |