New book on first VU LP just released !
Posted: 23 Mar 2004 05:12
Just letting everyone know that "The Velvet Underground and Nico" is out as of March 15. It's part of Continuum Publishing's 33-1/3 Series, which consists of books written by musicians about one album that was important to them. I think it's pretty cool, but then, I wrote it. Of special interest to fans 
should be the material I got interviewing Norman Dolph, the often-overlooked "other Producer" who manned the control room full-time on the first LP during the NY sessions at Scepter Studios. He clarifies a lot of the confusion about the length of the sessions and the various roles played at that pivotal event. You can order it at http://www.continuumbooks.com ... here's the blurb from their site, and if you get it I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it:
Description
Available in the UK and rest of world after May 2004
The Velvet Underground and Nico has influenced the sound of more bands than any other album. And remarkably, it still sounds as fresh and challenging today as it did upon its release in 1967. In this book, Joe Harvard covers everything from Lou Reed's lyrical genius to John Cale's groundbreaking instrumentation, and from the creative input of Andy Warhol to the fine details of the recording process. With input from co-producer Norman Dolph and Velvets fan Jonathan Richman, Harvard documents the creation of a record which - in the eyes of many - has never been matched.
Excerpt
In 1966, some studios, like Abbey Road, had technicians in white lab coats, and even the less formal studios usually had actual engineering graduates behind the consoles. Studios were still more about science than art. Clients who dared make technical suggestions were treated with bemusement, derision, or hostility. The Velvets were a young band under constant critical attack, and the pressure to conform in order to gain acceptance must have been tremendous. Most bands of that era compromised with their record companies, through wholesale revamping of their image from wardrobe to musical style, changing or omitting lyrics, creating drastically edited versions for radio airplay, or eliminating songs entirely from their sets and records. With Andy Warhol in the band's corner, such threats were minimized.
BIO: Joe Harvard, Asbury resident, former archaeologist and Saint soundman, was co-founder and owner of legendary Fort Apache Studios, home of scores of seminal alternative LP’s. As head honcho until '93 Joe captained the studio through a golden age of recording that included releases by Buffalo Tom, the Blake Babies/Juliana Hatfield, Uncle Tupelo, Big Dipper, the Lemonheads, the Pixies, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mission of Burma, Morphine and tons of other great bands. His personal engineering and production work includes sessions with Tanya Donnelly, the Breeders, the Connells, Syd Straw and Peter Halsapple, Dumptruck and Gwar. A promoter and host of succesful variety nights at Boston's Rat and Plough and Stars, he was co-founder of Helldorado Productions, the 3-man team that brought rock bookings to the now-venerable Middle East Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, and more recently co-founder of World Tribal Soundz in NYC's East Village. Voted Boston’s Best Producer, his guitar, lap steel and gtr. synth playing appears on numerous records including Dinosaur, Jr., Throwing Muses and the Pernice Brothers. Creator of the Boston Rock Storybook (http://www.rockinboston.com), he recently used his considerable gift of the gab to win the first annual Moth Story Slam NYC. He does windows, too.
should be the material I got interviewing Norman Dolph, the often-overlooked "other Producer" who manned the control room full-time on the first LP during the NY sessions at Scepter Studios. He clarifies a lot of the confusion about the length of the sessions and the various roles played at that pivotal event. You can order it at http://www.continuumbooks.com ... here's the blurb from their site, and if you get it I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it:Description
Available in the UK and rest of world after May 2004
The Velvet Underground and Nico has influenced the sound of more bands than any other album. And remarkably, it still sounds as fresh and challenging today as it did upon its release in 1967. In this book, Joe Harvard covers everything from Lou Reed's lyrical genius to John Cale's groundbreaking instrumentation, and from the creative input of Andy Warhol to the fine details of the recording process. With input from co-producer Norman Dolph and Velvets fan Jonathan Richman, Harvard documents the creation of a record which - in the eyes of many - has never been matched.
Excerpt
In 1966, some studios, like Abbey Road, had technicians in white lab coats, and even the less formal studios usually had actual engineering graduates behind the consoles. Studios were still more about science than art. Clients who dared make technical suggestions were treated with bemusement, derision, or hostility. The Velvets were a young band under constant critical attack, and the pressure to conform in order to gain acceptance must have been tremendous. Most bands of that era compromised with their record companies, through wholesale revamping of their image from wardrobe to musical style, changing or omitting lyrics, creating drastically edited versions for radio airplay, or eliminating songs entirely from their sets and records. With Andy Warhol in the band's corner, such threats were minimized.
BIO: Joe Harvard, Asbury resident, former archaeologist and Saint soundman, was co-founder and owner of legendary Fort Apache Studios, home of scores of seminal alternative LP’s. As head honcho until '93 Joe captained the studio through a golden age of recording that included releases by Buffalo Tom, the Blake Babies/Juliana Hatfield, Uncle Tupelo, Big Dipper, the Lemonheads, the Pixies, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Mission of Burma, Morphine and tons of other great bands. His personal engineering and production work includes sessions with Tanya Donnelly, the Breeders, the Connells, Syd Straw and Peter Halsapple, Dumptruck and Gwar. A promoter and host of succesful variety nights at Boston's Rat and Plough and Stars, he was co-founder of Helldorado Productions, the 3-man team that brought rock bookings to the now-venerable Middle East Restaurant in Cambridge, MA, and more recently co-founder of World Tribal Soundz in NYC's East Village. Voted Boston’s Best Producer, his guitar, lap steel and gtr. synth playing appears on numerous records including Dinosaur, Jr., Throwing Muses and the Pernice Brothers. Creator of the Boston Rock Storybook (http://www.rockinboston.com), he recently used his considerable gift of the gab to win the first annual Moth Story Slam NYC. He does windows, too.
seriously, tho', sorry you can't get the book there yet, that sux. i checked it out, & looks like it's available in the u.s. now, and "in the u.k. and the rest of the world" [as the publisher's website sez] in may. guess it takes a while for the books to float across the ocean, huh 
.... jh