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Lou Reed

By: Anthony DeCurtis
Narrated by: Peter Coleman
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Summary

A GUARDIAN AND CHOICE BOOK OF THE YEAR

'A walk on the wild side with the alt-rock pioneer' GQ

'DeCurtis is well placed to trace Reed's five-decade career, drawing on insider knowledge but skilfully balancing it with detailed research and fascinating interviews' Mojo Magazine

As lead singer and songwriter for the Velvet Underground and a renowned solo artist, Lou Reed invented alternative rock. His music, at once the height of sanctity and perversity, transcended a genre, speaking to millions of listeners, inspiring a new generation of musicians, and forever changing the way we think of that iconic era of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll.

Throughout his five-decade career, Reed embodied artistic self-awareness and captured the beauty, paranoia, and vivacity of his time into an array of hit songs, experimental albums, and a larger-than-life persona. With such masterpieces as 'Sweet Jane' and 'Walk on the Wild Side', Reed exerted an influence on popular music rivaled only by the likes of Bob Dylan and the Beatles and is recognized to this day as one of the greatest musicians of the 20th century.

Now, just a few years after Reed's death, comes the thrilling, provocative story of his complex life. An acclaimed Rolling Stone contributor, Anthony DeCurtis interviewed Reed extensively and knew him well. With unparalleled access to Reed's friends, family, and dozens of other intimate relations, DeCurtis brings Reed's story compellingly alive and deepens our understanding of his indelible music. We travel deep into the underground artist clubs, listen along in the studio as the Velvet Underground record their signature work, and revel in Reed's relationship with legendaries like Andy Warhol, Patti Smith, and David Bowie. Insightful, revelatory, and intimate, Lou Reed is a gripping tribute to a quintessential American icon.
©2017 Anthony DeCurtis (P)2017 Hachette Audio
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What listeners say about Lou Reed

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    4 out of 5 stars

Good book, bad audiobook

This is a well written and researched book, but the narration is so poor I cant work out if it is a good computer generated voice or a very bad human one. It's robotic.

Still listenable to though so I'd recommend it none the less.

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Uncompromising story, dodgy foreign accents.

An interesting chronicle of Lou Reed’s life although the author appears to be a bit too awe-struck. Good narration except for some of the voicing, fake Welsh accent of John Cale was cringeworthy.

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Great story but ...

This is great story, well told. The narration is general very good, but someone should tell the narrator about those accents. Some of the accents, especially the British ones, are truly appalling. It would be much better not to try.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

A great biography marred by poor narration

This exhaustive account of an interesting life is rendered almost unlistenable by poor narration. The readers voice is drawling and monoton

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1 person found this helpful