I really liked hearing from all the different voices and perspectives throughout this book, and the narrator did a great job. It covers a long time frame and you really get to know many interesting characters: Andy Warhol, Nico, Lou Reed, and John Cage primarily, with a hefty dash of David Bowie.

Dylan Jones’ recent release Loaded: The Life (and Afterlife) of The Velvet Underground is a must for fans of VU, Warhol, Bowie, and NYC punk scene of the 1980’s. Centered heavily on Andy and his Factory crew, Loaded is a winner for me.

Jones does focus quite a bit on Lou and John - in fact, there were scads of new stories I’d never heard before. The secondary sources are extremely vast (talk about everyone getting their fifteen minutes of fame lol). I enjoyed how Jones weaves together all the input from the various players.

As far as the audio version is concerned, it is super fun listening. I got a kick out of how Dylan Jones and Robert G. Slade make up unique voices for each of the players. Though I have a feeling I might have missed out on viewing the pictures which I’m sure accompanied the print version of Loaded.

Velvet Underground are a seminal rock band and this the best book I read/heard about them. Plenty of details, voices, facts.
It brought me back in time and let me know the artists since the beginning.
A great audiobook
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I had wildly different expectations about what this was going to be like. The audiobook was fantastic, a really great performance, and the material was kind of unorganized, but in a fun way where I felt like I was living through the time period.
Thanks to NetGalley

This book is much more than an account of this famous cult band. It tries to capture the spirit of the factory with Andy Warhol and all who orbited around him.
On top of this, the reader can follow the band from its very beginning, through different band members and changing music styles. The author also follows individual band members after they leave the band to their later stage in their career or even their deaths, like Nico’s.
What makes it an interesting read is the firsthand accounts of eyewitnesses who give their lively impressions and descriptions of the atmosphere and people. What was also interesting was how many benefactors the band had along the way and how many new bands they influenced.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grand Central publishing for an advanced audio copy of this book.
Loaded is the comprehensive history of musical pioneers of the punk rock movement of the Bank The Velvet underground, its members and those that surrounded them.
I have to be honest being a child of the 90s I had never even heard of the band and I'm usually quite versed in history but I guess seeing as this is one of those music genres I'm not too familiar with this type of things happen. Having said that once I started listening to the book I had heard of some of these people in and out of the band.
The book is well narrated although at times did feel like a history textbook. It might have to do with the way ots written in third person. It is not a memoir, although there are clips here and there of certain people using direct quotes which proved quite colourful. Overall an interesting read especially for those who loved and know the band but even for those like me who wish to know more.