All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print, 1966-1971 [Paperback]

Clinton Heylin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 28, 2006

The Velvet Underground, among the most influential bands of all time, are credited with creating a streetwise, pre-punk sensibility that has become inseparable from the popular image of downtown New York. "Discovered" by Andy Warhol in 1966, the VU - with their original line-up of Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Mo Tucker - would soon become the house band of the avantgarde, composing songs simultaneously furious in their abrasiveness and beautiful in their pathos, standing in striking contrast to the prevailing flower power of the era. All Yesterdays' Parties gathers for the first time almost all of the published writings contemporary with the band's existence-from sources as mainstream as the New York Times to vanished voices of the counterculture like Oz, Fusion, and Crawdaddy! The book is a revealing snapshot of an era by trailblazing rock writers such as Lester Bangs, Robert Greenfield, and Paul Williams. With photographs, posters, and other visual evocations of the period throughout, All Yesterdays' Parties is an invaluable resource, a trove of lore for anyone interested in the VU, their roots, and legacy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highlights include a gloriously rambling Lester Bangs-penned piece for Creem...All Yesterdays' Parties is essential." -- Record Collector, June 2006

About the Author

Clinton Heylin is the author of Despite the System: Orson Welles Versus the Hollywood Studios, Can You Feel the Silence?: Van Morrison-A New Biography, Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades, From the Velvets to the Voidoids, and many other books. He lives in Somerset, England.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press (February 28, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306814773
• ISBN-13: 978-0306814778
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,152,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is what it says it is!, October 1, 2005

By 

Roger "rsarao" (Howell, NJ, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print, 1966-1971 (Hardcover)

I felt compelled to write this review after reading some of the negative reviews about this compilation. There are better books on the Velvets available (e.g., Uptight!), yet this volume is indispensable to anyone seriously interested in the Velvets and how they were perceived by their contemporaries. They are now, and forever will be, well known as cutting-edge, avant-garde artists who helped shape a unique sound in the rock and roll arena. But when the Velvets first hit the scene, not everyone "got it." And that is what this book documents. This is an exhaustive reprint of almost all the known writings about the VU, in chronological order, from '65 - '71. Peppered throughout are photos of concert posters, press releases, etc., as well as a well-researched discography of all known songs from the period (though such lists are always subject to debate among fanatics), and a handy index. Heylin is a fantastic writer, particularly his stuff on Dylan and Reed/Velvets. He plays the role as the editor of this book -- not the author -- and in this role contributes an interesting and enjoyable introduction. If you are looking for the definitive biography of the band, check out Uptight! If you already know and love the Velvets, check out this volume and see what the press were saying about them at the time. It's amazing what time does to perceptions.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars yellow pages yellow babanas, September 30, 2005

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S. miralles "santi waka" (madrid spain) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print, 1966-1971 (Hardcover)

all yesterday's papers _ clinton heylin

what more can be said about the velvet underground, that has not been already been written? Well, since my own point of view, very little or nothing, unless lou, john or mo decide to publish their own memoirs on the matter, which seems quite improbable. So meanwhile, here comes clinton heylin & decides to recompile most of what was written about them during their heydays. Long before they became a myth, at a time when they really stood for what they were, a simple n.y. city rock & roll band. So take a trip in time, be able to read & try to feel how it was first time around, when the velvet underground were pushing boundaries that most of the today bands have their backs to.
By clinton heylin i strongly recommend -bootleg! the rise & fall of the secret industry & from the velvets to the void-oids (the book that inspired please kill me)

4.0 out of 5 stars thorough collection, July 29, 2008

By 

M. Bauer "M." (Colorado) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print, 1966-1971 (Paperback)

This book is a thorough collection of press releases during the time of The Velvet Underground's years with Lou Reed. It's interesting to see the style and progress of rock journalism over that period. Not a lot of new information for Velvet fans, but interesting reading.