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It can be hard to find something new to say aboutLou Reedmore than 60 years after his debut.
With abundant surprises,Words & Musicis far more exciting than a typical demo release.
We just continue to find things that are somewhat mind-blowing in the collection, Fleming says.
Even now, things pop up.
The last thing we wanted to do was approach it as a Hard Rock Cafe thing, Stern says.
Much to our surprise, when we first heard it, it wasnt that at all.
We dont know who the personnel are.
So were just listening for context clues.
The first time you hear Johns voice, I remember us going like, Thats a Welsh accent!
We went in pretty much blind.
We knew it had happened, but no one had heard it before.
Some of the songs that were never released are super-fun and playful.
I love Buttercup Song, and theres the moment of laughter in Too Late.
What do you make of this side of Reed coming out?
JS:Im always pleased to hear Lou laugh.
He was a guy that liked to joke around.
So yeah, I love hearing on this tape the part where he starts cracking up.
Thats all great; thats all realistic, too.
DF:And it does show the camaraderie between him and John.
The call-and-response stuff where Lou seems to be just making stuff up.
John knows all those harmony parts.
Its not off the cuff.
And Buttercup Song was a great find because we knew of its existence.Sterlinghad talked about it in interviews.
As soon as it started, it launches right into that line.
I just knew it right away, like,Oh shit, we found it!
The lost song is here.
Its like a British ballad.
Thats whats so remarkable.
What do you make of Lou giving it to Nico to be recorded instead?
This is the bridge where Johns influence is in there.
JS:Its by virtue of being the least-strummy song on the record.
DF:They did a version of it as a demo also at Johns apartment on Ludlow Street.
That was on thePeel Slowly and Seeboxed set.
JS:Its one of those tapes from Johns basement.
DF:For whatever reason, they didnt record it themselves and then they gave it to Nico.
Its maybe one they thought about having her do in the Velvet Underground but just didnt do it.
JS:Yeah, we can only speculate.
So Lou was writing stuff sometimes years in advance of actually putting it out on an album.
He would, I dont know, let the song marinate or revisit it.
And since these things often come out after peoples deaths, it just never gets articulated.
The lyrics were completely different from the one we have but still not the final ones.
Lou really did like to make the words fit, like he said, like jewels in a setting.
He just had to keep going to get it right sometimes.
John Cale keeps coming up throughout this, and hes still with us.
Did you have a chance to discuss this tape with him?
DF:Yes, we talk with Johns team pretty often.
I played him this tape; I played him Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.
I had a million questions for him, and instead, he just sang along.
That was the most we got out of him.
He just either doesnt remember or doesnt really want to talk about it.
JS:This is another tape, but we found this one thats titledElectric Rock Symphony.
The first half is all guitar feedback that sounds like a demo ofMetal Machine Music.
DF:The collection is really his business paperwork.
We found the tour forRock n Roll Animal.
On the cover, Lous wearing a spiked dog collar; we found the receipt for the collar.
JS:Its from the Pleasure Chest in the West Village, which is still there.
You talk about Lou keeping all these papers.
Jason, you were working with him toward the end of his life.
What was his interest in his archive and in wanting to cultivate that?
JS:Honestly, almost nonexistent.
This is just for me to guess at after the fact.
I think surely he understood the value of his archives, but he was so forward-thinking and forward-facing.
He hardly looked back.
I was only around him for like two years.
Im sure hed considered such things before I knew him.
But I didnt even know what was in the storage unit.
So I just knew there was this unit full of stuff; I didnt know what was in there.
Lou never mentioned it.
Other archival releases have come out, and there wasa Velvet Underground documentaryrecently and a covers compilation.
It feels like this never-ending fascination with Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground.
JS:He was really prolific.
His career spanned five decades, and he never rested on his laurels.
He was always evolving.
Kate Bush is having this huge renaissance cause Running Up That Hill was inStranger Things.
Some people are turning their nose down at it.
Im just like,Shes timeless!
Of course, theres going to be a whole new generation discovering her for the first time.
Thats what happens with great artists: Their work lives forever.
Were seeing it happen.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
