A new Velvet Underground book reveals previously unheard song

When biographer Richie Unterberger dug through Velvet Underground frontman Lou Reed’s vast archive, he uncovered no shortage of fascinating material: inscriptions in Reed’s senior yearbook, letters and drawings sent to his college girlfriend, the heinous nickname he gave to his Black backing vocalists. But, refreshingly, his new book, Do What You Fear The Most, focuses not on Reed alone but on John Cale and the cast of ancillary characters that helped propel the Velvet Underground into the center of New York’s avant-garde scene. 

But those findings may be overshadowed by another revelation: Unterberger appears to have unearthed previously unheard music by the band. In a Tumblr post describing the biography, musician and writer Ryan H. Wash shared a blurb he wrote for the book, one that included this mouth-watering fact: “During the pandemic, Phil Milstein, founder of the Velvet Underground Appreciation Society, reached out to me to see if I wanted to work with him on a VU mystery he had stumbled upon, and that this led to the discovery of an unheard Velvet Underground recording, and, most astonishing of all, a ‘new’ VU song no one has ever heard before that is pretty darn fantastic? Phil and I were calling it ‘I Don’t Really Care About You.’ Richie’s going with ‘I Don’t Much Care for the Things That You Do.’”

Walsh also posted excerpts from the book that focused on the recording. One passage provides context: “Probably while they were in the Boston area, an unreleased tape of reasonable fidelity was recorded by the Harry Miller Express Company around this time.” Unterberger suggests the recording may date back to August 1967 and may have captured either a rehearsal, studio session, or concert. “Although it suffers from imperfect sonic balance,” the author continued, “it’s a fair snapshot of how they sounded and what they played in the months following Nico’s departure, featuring a few songs they wouldn’t release on any studio albums, one of which doesn’t seem to exist in any other form.” 

The other passage includes Unterberger’s description of the song itself, which “features a herky-jerky melody and an ominous instrumental break with collapsing, slightly chaotic rhythms, as if they’re detouring into ‘Son Of European Son.’ Moving suddenly back to a vocal section, it winds to a frenzied climax before suddenly cutting off.” Unterberger also notes that the song hints at the fluid sexual identity that later became a hallmark of Reed’s VU and solo writing. While the author concedes that it is “not nearly as memorable as their best tunes,” the song is “vicious.” Regardless of what it sounds like, its potential uncovering may well be the most exciting thing to happen to the band since Todd Haynes’ documentary. Do What You Fear Most: The History of The Velvet Underground is out now. Watch Lou Reed perform “Sister Ray” at New Jersey’s Captiol Theatre in 1976 below.

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