The Velvet Underground and Nico
 

The Velvet Underground and Nico

Side One:
1. Sunday Morning (2:56)
The albums opening track was the last to be recorded. It is a smooth melodic and deliberate track which was the first single released. It features Nico and Lou Reed on vocals, while Reed wrote the song along with John Cale who provides the memorable celesta rhythm backing the envisioned radio-friendly tune. It’s a bizarre and misleading beginning to the album but somehow a perfect fit amongst the beautiful chaos that is “The Velvet Underground and Nico”.

2. I’m Waiting for the Man (4:39)
The electric introduction of the captivating Reed on lead vocals comes in “I’m waiting for the man” A detailed, thinly veiled account of a heroin score in Harlem. The less then delicate incorporation of a bar room style piano as backdrop to the distorted electric guitar rhythms give the song an unmistakable and almost palpable feel.

3. Femme Fatale (2:39)
Another Nico led track and my personal least favorite on album. The credited Producer of the album Andy Warhol requested that Reed write the song about Edie Sedgwick. “Producer” Warhol must have been insane to have been around while this album was made. His most tangible contribution was the albums Banana sticker cover. (You gotta see it to believe it)

4. Venus in Furs (5:12)
If the Acid hadn’t kicked in yet, well here you go. “Venus in Furs” is a trance like sadomasochistic romp into the surreal. Inspired by a book of the same name that made an impression on Reed, who tuned all his guitar strings to same note for this song. There is also a piercing viola that haunts you throughout the track. The Bridge is among my favorite moments of the album.

5. Run Run Run (4:22)
A Blues driven New York City drug\hipster pop culture inspired cry. According to the legend, Reed wrote the song on the back of an envelope on the way to a gig. The vocals on the track are out of character for Reed and the most mainstream part of the song. A nice transition from Venus to the A side finale.

6. All Tomorrows Parties (6:00)
A sort of Ode to Andy Warhol from Lou Reed who specifically wrote the song about Warhol and his friends. Nico, a Warhol creation in a sense was a model and singer who broke through with Brian Jones of the Stones, was the lead singer on this tack as well. A marching beat guides you through the purposeful lyrics and powerful open D guitar leads of Lou Reed. The song was Warhol’s favorite.


Side Two:
7. Heroin (7:12)
Heroin is my favorite song on this and most any album: Poignant and painful, honest, a brutal masterpiece. The emphatic drum beat of Maureen Tucker forces your heart to follow and you almost can’t fight the delightfully melancholy that pulls you into its wake. The gradual crescendo of both its tempo and psychedelic nature make “Heroin” a resonant and impressive footprint in the Velvet Underground experience.

8. There She Goes Again (2:41)
A guitar riff taken from Marvin ***e is the most memorable part of this track in which Lou Reed vaguely details the accounts of a prostitute with a seemingly ironic sort of admiration in the narrative tone. My favorite line of the album “you better hit her” The doo-wop era harmony style lyrical backing and guitar serve to expand the eclectic repertoire of The Velvet Underground.

9. I’ll Be Your Mirror (2:14)
“Please put down your hands, ‘cause I see you.” I’ll be your mirror is a song you’ll be ashamed to like as much as you do. The willowy vocal provided by Nico in her final track is captivating and final validation of her inclusion and the unique dimension it brought to the album. Lou Reed loved this freaking song.

10. The Black Angel’s Death Song (3:11)
An avant-garde effort to be proud of; John Cale pushed this song both through the writing process and with his electric viola that drives the song. The feedback and conflict created by Cale throughout the track is its identity. The fierce ranting vocals of Reed complete the song’s eerie bouquet of sound and seemingly pay homage to Bob Dylan all at once.

11. European Son (7:46)
Despite being the longest song on the album it has the fewest lyrics, and this is by design as the song was intended to pay tribute to Delmore Schwartz a writer whom again Reed was fond of. The track is in essence a short few stanzas of verse and 6 and half minutes of feedback motivated free jazz improvisation by the band.

On the Whole “The Velvet Underground and Nico” is among the greatest albums ever recorded. It is chalked full of oddity and intrigue and has all the characters of a dramatic cinematic epic. Lou Reed is as unstoppable and entrancing a front man as could ever be and his singular creativity in song writing sets this album apart from other cutting edge 1960’s Rock music. John Cale’s instrumental creativity adds an even more idiosyncratic edge to the avant-garde rockers 1967 debut.

Great review, I find that this album gets a lot of undeserved criticism because of Nico's vocals, which I personally think fit well. Beautifully written review, would like to hear a bit more personal opinion though... European Son, for instance, most people could tell its six minutes of free improv... do you think it's amazing and groundbreaking or do you curse and turn off the record?

Um... yeah, I don't know why nobody else has responded to this. Great album, great review.

In Regards to the European Son Free Jam

I wouldn't call it groundbreaking and it's not my favorite part of the album, but I am glad they choose to end it like that. I understand the reasoning for doing so as Schwartz did not care for lyrics or repetitive melody in music, and I have often claimed that it was the fact that each song on the album was written with a specific purpose in mind that makes it such an effective collaboration despite it's eclectic nature.

Nice work. Cool album.

My fav of this album is Venus In Furs

Man, that one is a brain scrambler

Well written. I agree with you as far as Heroin being my favorite track on the album.

Indeed, excellent review. John Cale has always been my fav member of the Velvets; his Island albums blow the best of Lou away imo

Cool review. The Underground had a mix of art and music from their work with Warhol. Great band with a distinct sound.
I like the way comments on the way each side flows. That's a part of the lp experience.

While on acid in '67, Brian Jones locked Nico in a bathroom for three days. He shoved crackers under the door for her to eat. She wrote a song about it called: 'Janitor of tyranny'.

Its not an immediate album but after a few listens it certainly pays off. Femme Fatale is one of the great heartbreak songs.

Song is so good. I remember the first time hearing it, completely floored by it.

I'm bumping this just because I listened to this album the other day, and Venus In Furs still kicks my ass

Giving this one more bump in case the newbies haven't seen it.

I forget who said it, but someone told me Maureen Tucker was more attractive than Nico.

I disagreed.

when I first heard this it was tough to get past the songs with Nico's singing. I love 'Sunday Morning', 'Venus In Furs', and 'Heroin'. 'All Tomorrow's Parties' sticks with me too.

Sunday Morning is by far my favorite song. Its so melodic, peaceful but satirical, the lazy guitar solo is so relaxing. This is one of his best vocal jobs with V.U.. Also, Venus in Furs, Heroin, I'm Waiting For My Man, Femme Fatale are all great as well.

I like how this album is brutally honest, new ideas, and mixes German influences (Nico) with Indian influences (Venus in Furs, Heroin) with the current music they had a created a masterpiece. Truly a classic album and symbol of 1967.

Extremely well put and so succinct I'm chartreuse with envy. How do you feel about the rest of the VU disco'?

White Light/Heat is one of those controversial albums where it's sort of like a test - whether you are a diehard VU fan or not. Most of my friends dislike this album.

I always liked it though. It's like a 'disaster album' where they played something that no one ever really did before. This is one of the first musically 'ferocious' albums ever made apart from crazy jazzmen (I believe). White Light/White Heat is the most accessible and probably most people's favorite, but I am a huge fan of 'Here She Comes Now' and 'The Gift'. The Gift almost is the epitome of early VU lyrics, where it sounds like a regular song but if you look deep and listen to the lyrics it's one of the most depressing songs ever. The guy went to surprise his GF and gets cut in half - I mean what's worse than that.

I think this is just a step below the debut because of the lack of Nico (love her voice) and its a wee bit unlistenable at times. But if you can appreciate the experimental stuff they were doing, it's an another amazing album.

I need to listen to their 3rd album again because I haven't listened to it in awhile, but I thought it was a drastic change because Cale left they band and most his innovativeness left the band. Coming soon though.

White Light/White Heat is their best I think, then their self-titled then VU&Nico. Sister Ray is possibly my favorite riff though.

Great review. I love their debut and White Light/White Heat almost equally, though lately I've been leaning towards White Light/White Heat.

Thanks streetwaves

I'm not a White Light kinda guy. I will listen to it every now and then but I'm mostly impartial.

You're welcome sir. I was the same way for a while but it grew on me a lot. Still, I'm listening to TVU&N right now and it's winning be back over. They're both brilliant in my opinion.

I feel like The Gift takes up a bit too much space, but otherwise White Light/White Heat is pretty much perfection.

Great review of one of the finest albums that I have ever heard. In terms of influence The Velvet Underground & Nico has been massive with me and obviously many artists. The minimalistic approach of Cale on this album left an indelible stamp on my approach to music over the years. I constantly hear the influence of The Velvet Underground in so much that I listen to.

Just to add to the OP I am sure that I read years back that Reed considered Dylan an influence and the track that I can say that shows that is Run Run Run. I also consider Cale to be genius. I have a fair bit of his music. I had the pleasure of seeing him live last year on his Circus Circus tour. He was outstanding. Are there many better 65 year old rockers out there? The interesting thing is that I actually consider Cale's last 2 albums Hobo Sapiens and Black Acetate to be as strong as anything that he has done since his 2 VU albums.

Vu3
 

"Murder Mystery" late on side 2 carries some experimental, sort of an extension of Lady Godiva's Operation concepts in a way. Otherwise you could say 1) it's a chance to explore Lou's songwriting which had been somewhat obscured prior or 2) to make such a chill album (well, sort of - it's a weird one when you look lyrically at "Jesus" and "I'm Set Free" and "Candy Says" and then there's "Some Kindsa Love" and "Beginning To See The Light" and "What Goes On" which all rock and have either a weird lyric or a weird sound per each) after such a noise-pit as White Light / White Heat is a pretty insane move on its own

:whythis:

I thought this performance far outshined All Tomorrow's Parties. It's probably my 2nd favorite on the album next to Heroin.

EDIT: Oh, and I was just revivng this because I searched for a review of this album. And now that I think about it, I haven't seen JJJ on much, so good luck to me if I get a reply :\

I concur; great review. I really love Nico and am a huge Andy Warhol fan.
I wish I were around to see them live in late 60's. I have heard such amazing stories about the Velvets and days of The Factory. Cheers for this! :-)

I love the brutal honesty in "Heroin"; also the elastic rhythms of the song emulate the heartbeat adrenaline rush of a street junkie married to his drug.
It is a visceral and painful piece of urban poetry in a gem of a song.

First songs I learned on guitar were from this album. The simplicity yet complexity of it is just great : )

I love this album, as well as their self-titled, and Loaded (each so different, yet all awesome). Been kind of apprehensive about shelling out money for White Light/White Heat though because I hear such mixed reviews of it. I'm sure I will get around to it at some point though.

This is a great album. I really love Sunday Morning. I think it's a perfect introduction to everything that follows.

Absolutely classic album. I used to ramp up my teen angst by listening to Heroin over and over again.