The Velvet Underground is a band that, once you listen to them, you will forever remember. Their music is a violent assault on the senses. You will either be appalled or utterly mesmerized. Personally, I fall into the latter category. I can recall the first time I heard "Lady Godiva's Operation" and "Venus in Furs". To this day "Sunday Morning" and "After Hours" still live in my head, rising up again at opportune moments to elicit a certain knowing half-smile.

Koren Shadmi understands the way this band affects people. More than that, Shadmi understands the mystique that surrounds them. They only released a handful of albums - only one album with Andy Warhol producing in spite of the way he is partially responsible for their rise to fame. They were a violent force. Hell, only two of their albums actually contain John Cale who was such a driving force in the band. This biography showcases just how bizarre and brief their tenure was, and how thoroughly they influenced all music that came after.

The artwork is great, as is the attention to detail. Andy Warhol is in a large part the frame of this story via his death causing the brief reuniting of the band. All too brief, but then again, how are you going to keep Cale and Reed together in the same room without murdering one another?

This is a great introduction to the complexities of the band, and a fine refresher for those of us who are fans. There is no sugarcoating just how difficult the various members were to get on with, including Warhol, but there is a fondness for it all that serves as a great undercurrent to the story.

Long live The Velvets, and may a new generation find them and be inspired.

Thank you Netgalley, for giving me an advance copy of this book. Thank YOU Koren Shadmi, for writing it.