Lou Reed's Pre-Velvet Underground Recordings Compiled For New Album

A Lou Reed singles album compiling his songwriting before his tenure in The Velvet Underground is set to be released.

‘Why Don’t You Smile Now: Lou Reed at Pickwick Records 1964-65’ is set to drop on September 27 and boasts the songs he penned for artists on Pickwick Records, including 'The Ostrich' by The Primitives, for which he supplied lead vocals.

The collection is comprised of four sides and is available to pre-order now via Light In The Attic.

Earlier in the year, Keith Richards was among those featured on an album to celebrate Reed's enduring influence.

The iconic musician died from liver disease in October 2013, aged 71, and several of his friends and fans - including Keith, Rosanne Cash, Lucinda Williams, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, The Afghan Whigs, Bobby Rush, Maxim Ludwig and Angel Olsen, Mary Gauthier, and Automatic - created 'The Power Of The Heart: A Tribute To Lou Reed'.

The Rolling Stone - who features on the track 'I’m Waiting for the Man' - dubbed the musician a hugely influential figure.

He said: "To me, Lou stood out. The real deal!

"[He was] important to American music and to all music! I miss him and his dog."

Record producer Bill Bentley also has fond memories of the star.

He explained: "There are many moments when Lou Reed’s soul still rushes through me like a warm wind on a motionless day.

"It might be a certain chord I hear, a word spoken with his distinct New York accent, or even just a glancing memory of the way he smiled when he was happy followed by a restrained cackle which assured all was right in Reed’s world ... His spirit is there, undiminished with a worldly peaceful wisdom he had never quit seeking."