"Of all the books I have read on the story of the Velvet Underground, Richie’s is probably the best. He brings us the voices of the people who were also important to those times, but who either go unmentioned, unheard, or not written about in a balanced way. I also like the way he writes, and some of the many reviews of recordings and live shows were insightful in a way l have not come across in the work of anyone else. Bravo, Richie!" Jonathan Richman
No band has reshaped the possibilities of popular music like The Velvet Underground. Formed in New York in 1965, the Velvets emerged from the nexus of art, fashion, politics, music and counterculture.
Although widespread popularity and acclaim evaded them during their four-album lifespan, their enduring, cross-generational appeal meant the Velvets could count iconic contemporaries like Leonard Cohen, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix as fans, alongside future legends such as Roxy Music, the Pretenders and Sonic Youth.
Do What You Fear Most chronicles how an unlikely group of upstarts came to define the musical zeitgeist. In a sprawling and engrossing narrative, Richie Unterberger follows the group from their disparate origins to their ascendancy as Andy Warhol's Factory house band in New York City. It explores the creative alchemy between the core trio of Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico, the shocking exits and ever-changing lineups, as well as the wider New York cultural scene of the period.
Rigorously researched and packed with previously undocumented insights, this book features many first-hand interviews with the group's associates, as well as material newly unearthed from the Lou Reed Archive and the Andy Warhol Archive, alongside never-before-seen images and ephemera. This is the most complete story of The Velvet Underground to date.
'A tome finally worthy of Lou Reed's gang. Do What You Fear Most is the most comprehensive and compelling yet on the stealthy, stupendously influential band' Record Collector, 5*****
About the Author :
Richie Unterberger is the author of around a dozen rock history books, including Unknown Legends of Rock'n'Roll; Won't Get Fooled Again: The Who from Lifehouse to Quadrophenia; and a two-volume history of 1960s folk-rock, Turn! Turn! Turn!/Eight Miles High. His book The Unreleased Beatles: Music and Film won a 2007 Association for Recorded Sound Collections Award for Excellence in Historical Recorded Sound Research.
He has contributed to numerous publications, including Record Collector and MOJO. He's written liner notes for several hundred album reissues, including the extensive notes for the super deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico and Why Don't You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65.
He gives regular presentations on rock and soul history throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches courses at several universities in the US.
Review :
'A tome finally worthy of Lou Reed's gang. American writer Richie Unterberger can now safely say that his latest book Do What You Fear Most is the most comprehensive and compelling yet on the stealthy, stupendously influential band of the title'. Record Collector, 5*****
'Unterberger has done serious and exhaustive research into the band... [W]onderful...Fans of the band will love the inside looks at songwriting and record production...First-rate research and writing make this a book that lives up to its legendary subject'. Kirkus Reviews
'It's hard to imagine any future book on the Velvets coming close to rivalling the wide-ranging, all-inclusive approach of Do What You Fear Most'. Shindig!, 5*****
'Everyone gets their flowers in Do What You Fear Most, Richie Unterberger's excellent history of the Velvet Underground, the beloved and iconoclastic New York rock band... [A] devout, expansive history of their music worth relishing'. Foreword
