DO WHAT YOU FEAR MOST

The history of a band that never became a household name, but changed rock music forever.

You might have rarely heard their songs on the radio, but the Velvet Underground was one of the most influential bands in music history—the alternative and indie rock genres would not exist in their present form if it hadn’t been for Lou Reed, John Cale, and their bandmates. Unterberger, a longtime fan of the Velvets, explores the band’s history in this sprawling book, which takes its title from a line in the song “Some Kinda Love.” He begins by charting the early lives of Reed and Cale, and recounts their meeting in the mid-1960s, where they formed the Primitives, and later added Sterling Morrison to the lineup, changing their name to the Velvet Underground. Eventually Maureen “Moe” Tucker would join the band and Andy Warhol would come on board as manager; in 1967, they released their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, now considered a classic. By the time they disbanded in 1973, Cale, Reed, and Morrison had already left, each going their separate ways. Unterberger has done serious and exhaustive research into the band, and he does a wonderful job exploring the troubled dynamics among the band members and between the group and Warhol. His portraits of each member are nuanced, particularly his look at the prickly Reed, whose relationship with interviewers was mostly icy. Fans of the band will love the inside looks at songwriting and record production, which he breaks down for lay readers who’ve never been in a studio. This is a revealing look at a group that, in the author’s words, “broke more ground than almost any other rock band.” That’s a strong claim, to be sure, but Unterberger ably backs it up.

First-rate research and writing make this a book that lives up to its legendary subject.