John Cale has identified ‘I’m Waiting for the Man’ as the 1967 Velvet Underground song that best captures Lou Reed’s vocal abilities. His assessment highlights the track’s direct, abrasive rock ’n’ roll energy and Reed’s role in carrying its narrative of a trip to Harlem, illustrating why the band’s early experimentation remains influential.

Cale said the group’s performance was deliberately forceful: he hammered the piano, Maureen Tucker’s drums avoided a conventional backbeat, and Reed devised the riff and played “crazy” solos. He compared its sound to mid-1960s British pop, particularly The Honeycombs, and credited producer Tom Wilson’s TTG re-recording with giving the track more sonic weight.