Compared to other 33 1/3 books this one does not stand out. Unless you are a big VU fan it's hard to wade through the dry unimaginative writing. ( )

This is an adequate look at the creation of a great album, and I applaud the author for his meticulous citing of sources and avoidance of rumor and innuendo. However, it suffered from too much unnecessary information, particularly Jonathan Richman anecdotes. I realize that Jonathan Richman loves the Velvet Underground and apparently had a connection to John Cale at some point. I’m also guessing that the author knows Jonathan Richman, and seems quite proud of that fact, but really, who cares? Yes, lots of bands and artists are and were influenced by the Velvet Underground. I would have preferred a more thorough examination of the album. ( )

Just discovered the "33 1/3" series of books, where each volume takes one noteworthy & influential album and delves into it in excruciating detail - the band members, their history, the making of the album, thoughts & explanations on all of the songs, etc. It's not perfect - at times, the author's prose gets a little too full of its own cleverness - but for music geeks like myself, this is a fantastic discovery. (And I can't help but note they have a volume on Aqualung...!) ( )