Before co-founding Velvet Underground, Lou Reed was a songwriter for hire at a company called Pickwick Records. Now, the songs penned by Reed during his mid-60s stint have been compiled on a new anthology, Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65. It’s slated for release on September 27 by Light in the Attic, in partnership with Laurie Anderson and the Lou Reed Archive. The album’s opening track, the Primitives’ ‘The Ostrich’, is out today, and it features Reed on lead vocals. Check it out below, along with the cover artwork and tracklist.
John Baldwin restored and remastered the new album, which comes with liner notes by Richie Unterberger, an essay by Lenny Kaye, and more. Of ‘The Ostrich’, Unterberger writes, “It’s as much a parody of dance craze rock ’n’ roll as an entry into its overcrowded field. Yet it isn’t without the kind of hooks aimed at sparking a hit single, performed with the all-out élan of a youngster living and breathing rock ’n’ roll at its most devil-may-care corner.” Co-written by Reed, the track even led to the formation of the Velvet Underground when John Cale joined the Primitives’ live band for a promotional tour.
Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 is the latest installment in Light in the Attic’s Lou Reed Archive series, following Hudson River Wind and Meditations Words & Music, May 1965.
Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 Cover Artwork:
Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65 Tracklist:
Side A
1. The Primitives – “The Ostrich”
2. The Beachnuts – “Cycle Annie”
3. The Hi-Lifes – “I’m Gonna Fight”
4. The Hi-Lifes – “Soul City”
5. Ronnie Dickerson – “Oh No Don’t Do It”
6. Ronnie Dickerson – “Love Can Make You Cry”
7. The Hollywoods – “Teardrop In The Sand”
8. The Roughnecks – “You’re Driving Me Insane”
Side B
1. The Primitives – “Sneaky Pete”
2. Terry Philips – “Wild One”
3. Spongy And The Dolls – “Really – Really – Really – Really – Really – Really Love”
4. The Foxes – “Soul City”
5. The J Brothers – “Ya Running, But I’ll Getcha”
6. Beverley Ann – “We Got Trouble”
7. The All Night Workers – “Why Don’t You Smile”
8. Jeannie Larimore – “Johnny Won’t Surf No More”
Side C
1. Robertha Williams – “Tell Mamma Not to Cry”
2. Robertha Williams – “Maybe Tomorrow”
3. Terry Philips – “Flowers For The Lady”
4. Terry Philips – “This Rose”
Side D
1. The Surfsiders – “Surfin’”
2. The Surfsiders – “Little Deuce Coupe”
3. The Beachnuts – “Sad, Lonely Orphan Boy”
4. The Beachnuts – “I’ve Got a Tiger in My Tank”
5. Ronnie Dickerson – “What About Me”
