Light in the Attic Records has released another tantalizing piece of Lou Reed and Velvet Underground lore in the form of the earliest known recording of the song “Heroin.” The track will appear on the upcoming archival Reed collection Words & Music, May 1965, due out on Aug. 26.
Put to tape by Reed in May 1965, nearly two years before its release on The Velvet Underground’s landmark debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, this version of “Heroin” finds the artist accompanying himself on guitar. Structurally, it is essentially the same as the album version although it is more than three minutes shorter than what was eventually released
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