Rating: 
Summary: Emperor has no clothes
Review: Hardbound lyrics from a hard-edged man. Some of the lyric-stories felt so intensely personal, it seemed almost as though I were trespassing on a personal experience. How brave and bold he is. Others were so visceral and raw, they were a challenge to read. (A challenge you should meet.) This book requires a lot of time and attention and it is so worthwhile. Thank you, Mr. Reed.
Rating: 
Summary: Thru the Fire with Sweet Lou
Review: Hardbound lyrics from a hard-edged man. Some of the lyric-stories felt so intensely personal, it seemed almost as though I were trespassing on a personal experience. How brave and bold he is. Others were so visceral and raw, they were a challenge to read. (A challenge you should meet.) This book requires a lot of time and attention and it is so worthwhile. Thank you, Mr. Reed.
Rating: 
Summary: Lou Reed - Linger On
Review: I have to admit that I loved the book. It provides, in one place, lyrics from I assume all Lou's albums going back to his earliest work with the Velvet Underground(and some previously uncollected poems and songs). Lou Reed has recorded almost 30 albums since the mid-60s. Albums and songs that have changed lives and the course of both rock and roll. Delmore Schwartz and Andy Warhol might have changed Lou's life, but he has had an impact on countless numbers of songwriters and bands and ordinary everyday people, who lead the kinds of lives that he has at times railed against and rejected (and then written about). Much has been written about Lou's frostiness. It is very difficult not knowing the context to be able to comment, but it is not necessary to like him as a person to like his music or appreciate his writing. It was joy (this made be a strange term to use considering the sometimes chilling content of the lyrics) to be able to thumb through and locate a particular song lyric. Reading the lyrics I felt the rhythm of the words and heard the music in m head. I was particularly pleased that his early work with Velvet Underground was included. These "short stories" still resonate today 30 odd years on. The only bone I have to pick is the formatting/layout, which in places I initially thought was as a result of poor printing. Lets just say someone must have received an early Christmas present and taken psychedelic liberties with the printed word by means including stretching and bubbling etc. But this is really a small price to pay to have this work collected in one portable volume (anyone who doesn't want their copy let me know especially if it's a first edition hard-cover).
Rating:
Summary: Lou Reed - Linger On
Review: I have to admit that I loved the book. It provides, in one place, lyrics from I assume all Lou's albums going back to his earliest work with the Velvet Underground(and some previously uncollected poems and songs). Lou Reed has recorded almost 30 albums since the mid-60s. Albums and songs that have changed lives and the course of both rock and roll. Delmore Schwartz and Andy Warhol might have changed Lou's life, but he has had an impact on countless numbers of songwriters and bands and ordinary everyday people, who lead the kinds of lives that he has at times railed against and rejected (and then written about). Much has been written about Lou's frostiness. It is very difficult not knowing the context to be able to comment, but it is not necessary to like him as a person to like his music or appreciate his writing. It was joy (this made be a strange term to use considering the sometimes chilling content of the lyrics) to be able to thumb through and locate a particular song lyric. Reading the lyrics I felt the rhythm of the words and heard the music in m head. I was particularly pleased that his early work with Velvet Underground was included. These "short stories" still resonate today 30 odd years on. The only bone I have to pick is the formatting/layout, which in places I initially thought was as a result of poor printing. Lets just say someone must have received an early Christmas present and taken psychedelic liberties with the printed word by means including stretching and bubbling etc. But this is really a small price to pay to have this work collected in one portable volume (anyone who doesn't want their copy let me know especially if it's a first edition hard-cover).
Rating:
Summary: The layout of this book is horrible.
Review: I own all of Lou Reed's CD's and was thrilled to receive this book as a gift because I was genuinely looking forward to reading the lyrics in book form of my favorite song. The conceit that the designers of this book took is unforgiveable, however. Pages printed upsidedown or backwards aren't clever. They just show a lack of caring towards the reader. I got frustrated with this book and probably will put it on the shelf where it will collect dust.
Rating:
Summary: The layout of this book is horrible.
Review: I own all of Lou Reed's CD's and was thrilled to receive this book as a gift because I was genuinely looking forward to reading the lyrics in book form of my favorite song. The conceit that the designers of this book took is unforgiveable, however. Pages printed upsidedown or backwards aren't clever. They just show a lack of caring towards the reader. I got frustrated with this book and probably will put it on the shelf where it will collect dust.
Rating: 
Summary: Read this to your kids? You've gotta be kidding me.
Review: I think Lou Reed is (or at least was) a terrific songwriter. I even think he is a pretty good lyricist. But honestly, when will people realize that rock lyrics only very rarely qualify as poetic? This stuff is absolutely horrid on the printed page! What made the Velvets great was the menace of their sound, not Reed's pretentious dreck. Yeah, so he studied under Schwartz, therefore he's a poet. The power of rock music lies in the raw power of the music, not its lyrics. As Nietzsche would see it, it's the Dionysian vigor of music that makes it great, not stupid lyrics saying how great speed is. Lou Reed's a great rock star, but a lousy poet. Read this to your children? Are you kidding me? Do you want them to grow up to be self-hating, smack-shooting "street poets," or worse -- pretentious hipster narcissists? They'll hate you for it someday. -MD "The poet should not try to be admired as a poet." -Hegel on music
Rating:
Summary: Read this to your kids? You've gotta be kidding me.
Review: I think Lou Reed is (or at least was) a terrific songwriter. I even think he is a pretty good lyricist. But honestly, when will people realize that rock lyrics only very rarely qualify as poetic? This stuff is absolutely horrid on the printed page! What made the Velvets great was the menace of their sound, not Reed's pretentious dreck. Yeah, so he studied under Schwartz, therefore he's a poet. The power of rock music lies in the raw power of the music, not its lyrics. As Nietzsche would see it, it's the Dionysian vigor of music that makes it great, not stupid lyrics saying how great speed is. Lou Reed's a great rock star, but a lousy poet. Read this to your children? Are you kidding me? Do you want them to grow up to be self-hating, smack-shooting "street poets," or worse -- pretentious hipster narcissists? They'll hate you for it someday. -MD "The poet should not try to be admired as a poet." -Hegel on music
Rating:
Summary: Emperor has no clothes
Review: If you believe the flap-copy hyperbole of PASS THRU FIRE ('one of the great American masters' or some such rock journalism psycho-babble), then this is the book for you. The over-zealous interior design does a good job of covering up the lack of substance within, the same trick used in recent books by John Cale and Marilyn Manson. Somewhere along the line Lou Reed started to believe his own hype. I challenge anyone to find any song (or lyric) in Reed's post-VU career to rival the great VU songs such as 'Pale Blue Eyes,' 'Mirror,' 'Candy Says,' 'I Found a Reason,' 'Sunday Morning,' 'Femme Fatale,' 'New Age' (original version), etc... I mean, 'Possum Day?' Eliot was a great American master, Hart Crane, Kerouac, even Dylan (his new single 'Things Have Changed' easily buries any lyric found in 'Pass Thru Fire') ... not this over-rated, pretentious, cranky, litigious, self-involved blowhard.
Rating:
Summary: Contains Some Of The Best Lyrics Ever Written!
Review: Lou Reed is an incredible songwriter. His style is unlike any other. One of the best things about Lou Reed's music is his lyrics. Reed's lyrics are really brilliant. This book shows that. Pass Thru Fire is something fans of Lou and The Velvets should own. It contains almost all of the songs Lou has ever written from The Velvet Underground & Nico, to his latest masterpiece, Ecstasy. I am very happy that it contains his lyrics from his days with the Velvets, which is when he wrote some of his best lyrics. This book even contains some very rare songs, including the early versions of Sweet Jane and New Age, and little known songs such as Temptation Inside Your Heart and Ferryboat Bill. Also, having the lyrics printed in the strange ways that they are just adds to the experience of reading it. I think the book would be a little boring without that. Anyways, all fans of Lou should own this book.
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