The Velvet Underground: An Illustrated History of a Walk on the Wild Side

by Jim DeRogatis

Hardly anyone bought the Velvet Underground’s albums when they were released, but most everyone who did formed a band.This was the kind of influence the Velvets exerted, and it persists to this day in the sounds of groups as diverse as Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Sex Pistols, R.E.M., My Bloody Valentine, and Sonic Youth--all of whom claim the Velvets as their most important influence.And then there are such soundalikes as Yo La Tengo, Luna, and the Strokes, to name a few.Published on the forty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Underground’s founding, this is the first illustrated history of the band that rocked rock--one of the most inspired and influential rock ’n’ roll bands of all time. The book follows this icon of Sixties rock from its heady first days with Lou Reed, John Cale, German chanteuse Nico, drummer Moe Tucker, and guitarist Sterling Morrison; through its management by pop artist Andy Warhol, who made the band the siren of his Factory and part of his traveling multimedia show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable; to its later incarnations in the early Seventies.“They opened wounds worth opening with brutal imagery, without apology,” Patti Smith said, upon the band’s 1996 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.And this book offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at how the Velvet Underground did it.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Art, Biography, Photography

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 6, 2009

About the author

Jim DeRogatis is an associate professor of instruction at Columbia College Chicago and the host, with Greg Kot, of the nationally syndicated public radio show Sound Opinions. The author of Let it Blurt: The Life and Times of Lester Bangs and other books, he spent 15 years as the pop music critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. He lives in Chicago.

Reviews

[Andrea DeAngelis]

Wow. Blew my mind. Every NYC musician should read this. My only complaint is I wanted more.

[Shanaz Sukhdeo]

For some coffee table books research, I stumbled on this one and decided to give it a go. This is hands down the most interesting, well-designed, coffee table book I have ever read. Each page turn was a mystery, not knowing what to expect with it's layout, pictures, words and more - usually different from the preceding page. Will read/peruse again, and again.
(Another coffee table book about cars was so predictable from page to page, I could predict the angles and almost always, if there would be drivers in the car, yet no photos of people milling around the cars].

[Mary]

I picked this book up randomly at the library because it was big and had a nice cover. Upon closer examination I realized the author is a teacher at Columbia and my reviewing the arts teacher mentioned this book in class a couple weeks ago. I've always loved the Velvet Underground since my dad used to play their songs on gutair and I would dance when I was three to when he would play their albums in the car when I was in middle school.

The book chronicled the band from conception to reunion tours. I've read a couple books about Andy Warhol and the factory and it was interesting to read about his involvement with the band in this book. It was a simple and informative read with lot's of good pictures of concert posters and rare album covers. If you like the band you'll probably enjoy this book.

[Dana Jerman]

If you knew nothing about the Velvets, this book would totally make you want to check them out. It's a little copied-over-from-an-old-interview heavy. (I would have preferred more of DeRo's writing.) But its a lovely collector piece and worth having around esp. if you want to investigate the Velvets a bit deeper than the average listener.

[Aaron Badgley]

Wonderful pictures, cool artifacts, just a bit more text would have been preferred.

[Johnnyboy]

l'unico libro che abbia letto in lingua originale.....fortuna che le immagini siano stupende!