The arrival of modern rock in the 1960s that was led by none other than the Beatles had sprung different kinds of bands in its wake.A lot of people were experimenting,trying new things and a lot of different styles were being invented.The old rockabilly of the previous decade was swiftly passed on,though many of these groups couldn't be thankful enough for the artists before them who had started all these madness.
The 1960s saw all these garage bands bidding for territory and by the middle of that awesome decade, a different variety of styles went along as one individual can easily point out that rock music is reinventing itself during this time period,with an album being released almost every month,an album that no one has ever heard of,an album that will change your life forever.With modern rock in its infancy,some bands from that decade can be categorized as punk bands even before the term itself came into acceptance.The hippies,often called as "freaks" by non-believers were flower children loathed with peace,love and eternal brotherhood fueled by their love of weed,acid and other substances that were ready to be abused,thus,the massive experimentation and creativity soon followed.Bands like Moulty And The Barbarians and Crazy World Of Arthur Brown,to name a few,were way ahead of their time.
Another band from the sixties in that category which continues to influence latter day rock groups in the decades that soon followed was The Velvet Underground. The group was founded by Reed along with bass player John Cale in 1965,though the band was somewhat short-lived, but like most of the Beatles' and the Rolling Stones' contemporaries in that decade,became one of the most influential and appealing bands of all time and space.
The Velvet's debut album was known at the time for its strange cover-with the picture of an unpeeled banana which was designed and produced by none other than Andy Warhol--an artist and filmmaker who got famous for designing the cover of Campbell's canned soups and for his most expensive paintings and artworks.
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| Cover of the Velvet Underground's debut album,1967 |
The album was noted not only for its strange cover but its music content as well.The album was credited to The Velvet Underground And Nico,the German model/singer whom the band had met and was invited to join in and sing on the album. Nico,whose real name is Christa Paffgen was rumored to be a lover of Reed's and several guys in the rock biz,namely,David Bowie,Brian Jones and Jim Morrison.Nico left the band and had a moderately successful solo career.She later died of a drug overdose while on holiday in Spain in 1988.
One of the few people who became instant fans of the said album was the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein where an impromptu arrangement was done by none other than Danny Fields himself.Though Reed showed no interest,it could've been a great honor to be managed by the Beatles' manager and one could imagine what the Velvets' musical direction might've been if Epstein had managed them.Brian would go on to manage other bands including the short-lived rock group The Cyrkle whose name was spelled out by John Lennon.
Having charted but completely unassisted by radio airplay,the Velvets' music became the antithesis of whats going on in the late 1960s-lyrics of sadomasochism,oral sex,bisexuality and drag queens were most of the song's contents.The band had parted ways with Warhol and Nico after the much controversial debut.Their second album in 1968 White Light/White Heat became less popular commercially though it still remains a staple as far as punk rock is concerned.The band eventually became a less interesting figure after Reed fired Cale from the group--John Cale,was said to be a classically trained pianist and viola player though he opted to trade his craftsmanship for a bass guitar and was said to be one of the geniuses the band has ever had when it comes to writing musically.However,the band's self-titled third album,fared well with the rock critics describing it somewhat more melodic compared with their earlier efforts.The Velvets disbanded in 1970 after one more album.
Lou Reed had a successful solo career though with his second album Transformer produced by his friend and mentor David Bowie.Like Bowie,Reed loved to write songs about bisexuality,mental illness,violence and darkness.A single Walk On The Wild Side became a hit on both sides of the Atlantic.Though Reed wasn't far to the music critics' wrath and much controversy as far as the music business is concerned, he later appalled everyone by releasing the useless,if not musically significant album called Metal Machine Music in 1975,it consisted of avant garde noise of feedbacks and metallic drones that had similarities to John Lennon's debut album in 1968 called Two Virgins ..Copies were said to have been returned in droves and his label RCA was forced to issue a public apology.Though Reed himself defended the album in all terms,saying that his album is so close to absolute perfection.Nevertheless,Reed's live performances were also noted for its shock tactics fueled by booze and drugs that would later be followed by bands like the Sex Pistols.
The controversies didn't stop there and Reed continued to release more solo albums throughout the 80s and 90s.His last was a joint effort with Metallica entitled Lulu released in 2011.The album was critically acclaimed though it didn't fare well much commercially.In early 2013 Reed had undergone liver transplant and was said to be on the verge of recovery,but somehow things were not as it seems to be.Several eulogies and tributes were made after his passing,and one of them came from John Lennon's widow Yoko Ono who was a close friend of Reed's.Ono described Reed's music as full of anger and yet remembered him as a warm,talented, and beautiful person.
(c) Keith Vernon Adagio
