Before becoming a rock legend with The Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, Lou Reed worked as an in-house songwriter for Pickwick Records, the San Francisco, CA-based record label notorious for its soundalike pop recordings and cheap reissues.
It turns out Reed, as Rock And Roll Globe points out, had the skills to emulate any style of the day: garage rock, blue-eyed soul, girl group pop, surf, doo-wop, and teenage heartbreak. It was at this cheesy label where he was able to experiment with different sounds and genres under the cover of such acts as The Primitives, The Hollywoods, and The Hi-Lifes. Working in collaboration with chief Pickwick songwriter Terry Philips.
Previously, these recordings have found their way on the grey market, but now, reissue specialists Light In The Attic are coming up with an official release of these titled Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65. The release date is set for September 27 (digital) and October 4, 2024 (2xLP/CD).
Curated by Nuggets expert and Patti Smith Group co-founder Lenny Kaye, the collection includes 25 tracks and liner notes from acclaimed author/journalist Richie Unterberger.
The title track, by The All Night Workers’ “Why Don’t You Smile” marked the first commercial release featuring the name of Reed’s future Velvet Underground partner John Cale as a composer, with songwriting credit given to Reed, Cale, Philips, and Jerry Vance.
You can pre-order Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 in various configurations here.
