The Velvet Underground: New York Art [Hardcover]

Johan Kugelberg (Editor), Lou Reed (Foreword), Vaclav Havel (Contributor), Maureen Tucker (Contributor), Jon Savage (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 9, 2009

The Velvet Underground is an astonishing assembly of rare objects and artworks and the first book of its scale to document the formative years of the band Time Out magazine named the greatest New York musicians of all time. From never-before-seen photographs of the band’s first live show in New York to Andy Warhol’s cover and poster designs, Lou Reed’s handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and controversial reviews, flyers, handbills, and posters, the materials here comprise a uniquely comprehensive survey of the first rock group ever to transcend the genre and embrace underground popular culture. Including a conversation recorded especially for the book between founding members Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker, this beautifully illustrated book is the first to present a definitive picture of the band’s genesis and development in the extraordinary New York scene of the mid- to late-1960s.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a handsome book with more full-color images than a strong acid trip.  If you dig on The Velvets, you should buy it." ~Dazed & Confused

"The book has minimal text (including an exclusive interview between bandmates Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker).  The strength lies in the knockout imagery.  It visually traces the narrative of the group, and of the '60s era itself.  The wraparound-sunglasses, all-black amphetamine cool of their early days as Andy Warhol's house band, to the bell-bottom jamming of their swan song period." ~Raw

“The Velvet Underground: New York Art is the ultimate visual biography of the greatest rock band in history. The new hardcover tome was lovingly and exhaustingly compiled by Johannes Kugelberg who managed to unearth a staggering amount of never-before-scene images.” ~VMAN

“The reunion of the legendary New York band comes on the heels of the publication of The Velvet Underground: New York Art, a compendium of previously unseen photographs, poster and cover designs by Andy Warhol, Lou Reed's handwritten music and lyrics, underground press clippings and other reviews, flyers, handbills and posters.  The book, published by Italian book house Rizzoli, also contains a recorded conversation between Reed and Tucker, as well as contributions from former Czech president Vaclav Havel and author Jon Savage.” ~Billboard

"The Velvet Underground is now the subject of a hefty coffee table book from Rizzoli. As could be expected for a volume commemorating perhaps the first and definitely the ur-art rock band, it’s handsome and heavy and comes in a limited edition of 400, complete with a seven-inch 45, for $300. (There’s also a trade edition for $50).  The book is a collection of Velvet Underground ephemera: posters, screen prints, photographs, ticket stubs, record covers, alternative record covers, film stills, letters and lyric sheets — essentially a lavishly printed and protracted set of liner notes... But perhaps the most poignant parts of the monograph are those wistful moments when you can see that the rock gods are mere mortals after all" ~New York Times

About the Author

Lou Reed, and Maureen Tucker were key members of the Velvet Underground.

Johan Kugelberg is the author of Born in the Bronx, also published by Rizzoli.

Vaclav Havel is a playwright and author, and was the first president of the Czech Republic.

Jon Savage is the author of several books, including England’s Dreaming.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; First Edition edition (October 9, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847830845
• ISBN-13: 978-0847830848
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 1.3 x 12.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #592,104 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional Book of Photos & Interviews, April 19, 2010

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wrbtu (Long Island Motor Parkway) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Velvet Underground: New York Art (Hardcover)

Wonderful book full of rare & well-reproduced photos, on heavy high quality pages. How about Lou Reed performing at Syracuse University for rare? How about the Falling Spikes (with Lou, Sterling, Sterling, & Angus, before Mo) on the streets of New York City, for rare? The photos are of every imaginable aspect of the group's history (including a contract with MGM Records, July 1966, signed by Christa Paffgen & the others). Probably more than a casual fan of the group would want, but a real goldmine for the most velvet of Underground fans. Includes several interviews with Velvet Underground members that are interspersed throughout the photos. A chronology, compositional music sheets (including "Heroin"), publicity photos, record labels/covers, are among the photos. My only complaint is the lack of an index.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Velvet Underground - New York Art, April 8, 2010

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BlogOnBooks "BlogOnBooks" (Los Angeles CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Velvet Underground: New York Art (Hardcover)

When people speak of the work of New York's first underground art-rock band, the word that usually comes to mind is 'seminal' - after all this is the group that later influenced an entire NY rock scene from Television to Sonic Youth and many others (their influence extended well beyond these shores to most of Europe as well.)

In this new book, edited by Johan Kugelberg, the word that most comes to mind, is `art.' Kugelberg, in his love and devotion to this early NY rock ensemble, has assembled the first and only monograph of the band's formative years. This unique, coffee-table format art book compiles an impressive collection of rare photographs, handbills, press clippings, flyers, posters and handwritten lyrics from the beginning and early days of the Velvets journey.

Known in the beginning as `Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground,' (the book begins with a classified ad that Warhol placed offering to associate his name with products, bands, etc, in the New York area), the band made their name largely by playing `events' rather than mere concerts, that revolved around places like Warhol's loft parties and Steve Paul's NY club, The Scene.

While this volume's focus is primarily on the early days of the band, there is also an updated interview with the VU's Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker (the band's Sterling Morrison has since passed away while Reed and John Cale remain somewhat distant) as well as an extensive band chronology which adds the perspective of time to the mix. Several of the other reprinted articles and interviews (from Lester Bangs and others) provide a window into many of the thoughts of the band at the time of their ascent (Beatles, good - Zappa, bad.)

Kugelberg's research and rendering give way to a feeling that given the highly visual nature of rock'n'roll - and the notion of rock music as art, that there are many groups who would benefit from the almost catalog raisonne nature of this book. Hopefully, this will be a harbinger of things to come.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Ultimate Velvet Underground Book, Vaclav Havel liked it!, March 27, 2011

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Old Saratoga Books "The Book Trout" (Upstate New York, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Velvet Underground: New York Art (Hardcover)

A delightfully dense coffee table book to pore over, documenting the development of the Velvet Underground as a band (and collection of performance artists), as well as a time capsule of the New York City arts scene in the early to late 1960s. Early on, the "Velvets" were a house band for Andy Warhol, but quickly carved out their own identity as proto-Punks and avant-garde rock and rollers.

Rizzoli has put together a great assemblage of contemporary and new interviews, criticism, photos, movie stills, manuscript lyrics and even a laudatory preface by playwright, former Czech President and rabid Velvet fan Vaclav Havel. The flow from text to images is impeccably laid out with the right amount of white space and interesting typography that gives the feel of being at a museum exhibition.

The highlight of the book is the visual feast of water-stained, tape-repaired artsy posters, handbills, album covers, set lists and other rare ephemera. Nostalgic Baby Boomers and Velvet Underground fans will treasure this compilation, but it is also an art, music and popular culture reference for a larger audience that effectively evokes the work of this highly influential group.