Tell your friends about this item:
Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964 -1965
Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964 -1965
Light in the Attic, in cooperation with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive, is thrilled to announce the forthcoming release of Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65. Due out September 27th, the latest installment in LITA’s critically acclaimed Lou Reed Archive Series is a compilation of pop songs penned by Reed during his mid-60s stint as a staff songwriter for the long-defunct label Pickwick Records. The compilation follows on the heels of Lou Reed’s Hudson River Wind Meditations (2023) and Words & Music, May 1965 (2022).
One of the most original and innovative figures in music history, Reed (1942-2013) first gained recognition as co-founder and frontman of the massively influential Velvet Underground. Over the course of his five-decade career, the two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Famer brought his singular vision to an eclectic expanse of musical endeavors, including era-defining albums like 1972’s Transformer and wildly experimental works like the 1975 avant-garde noise classic Metal Machine Music. But before establishing himself as an enduringly iconic singer, songwriter, musician, and poet, Reed got his start as an in-house songwriter (and occasional session guitarist/vocalist) for Pickwick Records—a label specializing in sound-alike recordings that emulated the major pop hits of the day. Encompassing everything from garage-rock and girl-group pop to blue-eyed soul and teen-idol balladry, Reed’s output for Pickwick ultimately offers a fascinating early glimpse at his ever-evolving and truly limitless artistry.
The album has been restored and remastered by GRAMMY®-nominated mastering engineer John Baldwin. Both the 2xLP & CD editions feature in-depth booklets with unseen photos, liner notes by Richie Unterberger (renowned music journalist and author of such acclaimed titles as White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground day-by-day), and an essay by Lenny Kaye (the legendary guitarist, Patti Smith Group co-founder, writer, producer, and curator of seminal garage-rock anthology Nuggets).
Media | Music CD (Compact Disc) |
Number of discs | 1 |
Released | September 27, 2024 |
EAN/UPC | 0826853212205 |
Label | LIGHT IN THE ATTIC LIAA212.2 |
Genre | Pop |
Dimensions | 137 × 141 × 10 mm · 108 g |
Track list
-
- The Primitives
- The Beachnuts
- The Hi-lifes
- The Hi-lifes
- Ronnie Dickerson
- Ronnie Dickerson
- The Hollywoods
- The Roughnecks
- The Primitives
- Terry Philips
- Spongy and the Dolls
- The Foxes
- The J Brothers
- Beverley Ann
- The All Night Workers
- Jeannie Larimore
- Robertha Williams
- Robertha Williams
- Terry Philips
- Terry Philips
- The Surfsiders
- The Surfsiders
- The Beachnuts
- The Beachnuts
- Ronnie Dickerson