“I’d give anything”: the Bob Dylan songs Lou Reed wishes he had written
New York City has produced a wealth of America’s greatest songwriters over the years, but one of its most beloved sons actually hails from Minnesota. It was only in 1961 that a young Bob Dylan relocated to Manhattan’s East Village, but it was the inspiration of those surroundings which helped to establish the folk devotee among the greatest songwriters of all time. During that process, Dylan earned the adoration of one notably difficult-to-please musician, in the form of Lou Reed.
By the time that Lou Reed formed experimental heroes, The Velvet Underground, alongside John Cale in 1965, Bob Dylan was already one of the most renowned and beloved songwriters across the United States. Despite their obvious differences in styles and songwriting techniques, Dylan’s penchant for individualism and experimentation, typified by his determination to ‘go electric’ at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, endeared the singer towards Lou Reed for many years.
Reed himself went on to pen a litany of utterly groundbreaking tracks, ranging from the abrasive innovation of The Velvet Underground to the glam rock mastery of his early solo material. Although he rarely crossed paths with Dylan–both artists were on their own distinct paths within the music industry at that time–they were both united in the inspiration that was provided to them by the city of New York, which they both called home for many years.
As the king of underground music, Reed was expectedly ambivalent towards most of his fellow artists, regularly denouncing songwriters and disgustedly discussing the latest fads and trends within New York’s music scene. At points, he made even the most miserable of elitists look like beacons of joy and happiness. Even still, the songwriter never made an attempt to hide his deep appreciation and envy for Dylan.
During a 1989 interview with Rolling Stone, by which time both songwriters had arguably reached their peak in productivity, Reed heaped praise on the folk singer. “I always go out and get the latest Dylan album,” he declared. Expanding on the appeal of the songwriter, Reed bowed down to the lyrical genius of his fellow New Yorker. “Bob Dylan can turn a phrase, man,” he said, bewildered by Dylan’s genius.
Highlighting a particular example of Dylan’s appeal, Reed said, “Like his last album [Down in the Groove], his choice of songs. ‘Going ninety miles an hour down a dead-end street’ – I’d give anything if I could have written that one or the other one, ‘Rank Strangers To Me.’” He added, “The key word there is rank.” Both of those Down in the Groove tracks were covers (‘Ninety Miles An Hour’ was written in 1963 by Don Robertson and Hal Blair, while ‘Rank Stranger’ was penned by the gospel composer Albert E Brumley).
According to Reed, however, Dylan managed to imbue both of those tracks with his own unique appeal, adding entirely new layers to the decades-old tracks through his ability to turn a phrase and add unparalleled emotional weight to a track. Of course, Reed is also a disciple of Dylan’s original material, with the beloved ‘Brownsville Girl’ being a notable favourite. “Dylan continuously knocks me out,” he affirmed. “‘Brownsville Girl,’ the thing he did with Sam Shepard, he said, ‘Even the SWAT teams around here are getting pretty corrupt.’ I was on the floor.”
“I have that same reaction to some of my own stuff,” the ever-modest Reed concluded. “And the only other person I can think of who does that for me is Dylan.” High praise indeed, but particularly from somebody who went to great lengths to decry many of his fellow songwriters and artists throughout his career.
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