Various - The Power of the Heart: A Tribute to Lou Reed

Includes newly recorded covers from Keith Richards, Maxim Ludwig and Angel Olsen, Rufus Wainwright, Rickie Lee Jones, Joan Jett, Mary Gauthier, Bobby Rush, Lucinda Williams, Automatic, The Afghan Whigs, and Rosanne Cash. Liner notes by Bill Bentley

Lou Reed told the whole truth for his entire life as a rock and roll pioneer. From the Velvet Underground's debut in 1967 all the way to the end, the New York City wonder never thought about doing it any other way. Beginning with his earliest songs, that was Reed's mission. He once said, "If you can do it in novels, films, plays, then you can do it in music." What made the man from Brooklyn so unique was the way he did it. In 50 years, Lou Reed took life to the limit and beyond.

The Power of the Heart is a tribute to all those who Reed showed the freedom of expression when he began. Beginning with one of The Velvet Underground's groundbreaking songs, the other ten tracks from Lou Reed's majestic solo career are a glorious extension of adventure that always personified the Rock and Roll Animal's soul. The way he could match brain-shaking lyrics with the absolute power of rock's velocity was brand new when Lou Reed began, and was never really equaled as he kept pushing the borders outward until his passing in 2013. He was the ultimate uncompromiser, and never thought twice about taking chances on songs that span a half-century.