Transformer - The Lou Reed Story - Victor Bockris

 

This is another book from our "library" that I apparently read well before I had this blog so I thought that I would revisit it. Bockris worked with Andy Warhol and has written about him, the Velvets, Patti Smith, William Burroughs, and many more - often with some first hand knowledge of the subjects.

Here he does his best to flesh out the image of Lou Reed - or, at least, to give us an explanation and a history of that image. Opening with Lou's shock therapy treatments and subsequent distrust of his parents, Lou's childhood is one of rebellion, gay tendencies, rock'n'roll, writing and art. He tends to create his own world where his father is an ogre, his mother is submissive and he is a victim - most of which is denied by anyone who knew the family. Nonetheless, he manages to get to college where he finds both a male and female muse'n'inspiration and continues to dominate and subjugate his "friends" and continues to create the Lou Reed that we know from the media.

At the same time, he is also writing short stories and poems ("The Gift" is written for his college girlfriend) and, as he continues to work with his guitar, he branches out to songs, as well - at least several of which he later records. He does even find time to put together a rock'n'roll band and also becomes an acolyte of writer Delmore Schwartz, who encourages Lou to write seriously, not dabble in r'n'r.

Over the years, I have learned to not take biographies as the literal truth as they stem from various personal recollections directed through the bias of the author, but I still want to believe in the legends, although I now take them all with a barrel of salt. Of course, we all know about Lou's time at Pickwick and the Primitives and finding Cale at a party cuz he looked right but then discovering that they each had something musically and inspirationally to offer the other. It really came together when Lou ran into a college acquaintance, Sterling Morrison, and they blended Lou literary lyrics, their love for doo-wop, rock'n'roll and free jazz with Cale's more esoteric musical leanings, joined by Moe Tucker and forming the VU.

There's some good stories about recording the debut of the Velvet Underground and the dynamics of the group at that time and, naturally, plenty of gossip about how the relationships failed and how Lou's ego caused him to expel Cale and bring in Doug Yule. The personal anecdotes are the most interesting to me, since I'm familiar with the basic story of the band, but had no idea the extent of Lou's bisexuality (if Bockris is to be believed), for instance, or the extent of his drug use and his manipulations. 

Of course, after Cale left and Yule came in, Lou lost his real musical foil and floundered until he left the band and floundered some more at his parent's house until salvaged by Lisa and Richard Robinson for his first solo album, which basically flopped as it was simply inferior versions of leftover VU tunes. Enter David Bowie and Mick Ronson who helped to fabricate Transformer into a top selling album with one of the most improbable hit singles of all time, "Walk on the Wild Side". Lou being Lou, he followed this up with one of his least commercial albums, Berlin, which flopped. Funnily, Bockris thinks this is Lou's masterpiece while I agree with the masses who found it ok, but nothing special. I know that this is supposed to be Lou's personal statement but regardless of the themes, the songs as songs are just not that strong and are pretty forgettable, compared to much of his other work.

Ironically, his "throw away" albums, Rock'n'Roll Animal and Sally Can't Dance, are an immense improvement on the forgettable Berlin and became major hits (although, frankly, I didn't realize that Sally was that big at the time), which just made Lou all that more depressed since he didn't think much of them, and, according to Bockris anyway, he delved even deeper into drugs as well as a relationship with Rachel, the infamous transvestite that Lou had a long affair with.

But really, after Transformer, Lou's 70's work was sub-par until Street Hassle, a Reed-ian reaction to the NYC punk rock scene, but done his way, of course - that even included a cameo by Bruce Springsteen! There are lots of ups'n'downs from then on, with personal'n'musical partnerships coming'n'going, including a marriage (to a woman), musical endeavors with Robert Quine, his final love interest in Laurie Anderson and much more, while Lou actually makes millions and - gasp - becomes comfortable - as much as someone like Lou can be.

Published in 1994, the book is, naturally, an incomplete story but is an entertaining'n'informative read on Reed. Certainly recommended for fans of the man!