Words & Music, May 1965 (Pink Vinyl)

Released in tandem with the late artist’s 80th birthday celebrations, the album offers an extraordinary, unvarnished, and plainly poignant insight into one of America’s true poet-songwriters. Capturing Reed in his formative years, this previously unreleased collection of songs—penned by a young Lou Reed, recorded to tape with the help of future bandmate John Cale, and mailed to himself as a “poor man’s copyright”—remained sealed in its original envelope and unopened for nearly 50 years. Its contents embody some of the most vital, groundbreaking contributions to American popular music committed to tape in the 20th century. Through examination of these songs rooted firmly in the folk tradition, we see clearly Lou’s lasting influence on the development of modern American music – from punk to art-rock and everything in between. A true time capsule, these recordings not only memorialise the nascent sparks of what would become the seeds of the incredibly influential Velvet Underground; they also cement Reed as a true observer with an innate talent for synthesising and distilling the world around him into pure sonic poetry.

LP and CD include booklets featuring lyrics, archival photos, and liner notes by Greil Marcus, Don Fleming and Jason Stern (LP: 20-pgs, CD: 60-pgs); CD and Cassette include six unheard tracks recorded between 1958 and 1964, including early demos, a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” and a doo-wop serenade recorded in ‘58 when the legendary singer-songwriter was just sixteen-years-old.