"No kinds of love are better than others"
- THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO
- LOADED
Maybe one of the most famous albums in rock history and, as
usual in these cases, overrated; however it's a milestone and I recommend you
to buy it. This album, their debut album, represents the peak of The Velvet's
experimental period (you may say underground as well) and the experimentation
wouldn't be as good as here in the following album (I think so because for me
it's more worthy when experimentation goes together with a bit of tradition)
mainly because there it becomes too underlined (how many groups did fall into
self indulgence?). Maybe a little also the Beatles with "Magical Mistery Tour"...
hey wait a moment before flaming me, this is the Velvet's page!. According to
most of people the good features of this album are:
a) Experimentation
b) Lyrics
c) Hey, what a bunch of excellent songs!
Let's analyze them in order:
a) Yes the music is very experimental and, unlike someone may think, the song
had been written before they knew A. Warhol (who didn't contribute in any way
to their sound); but stop and have your thoughts now, please. Is the music really
experimental? After all, it was 1967, many other groups used things like feedback,
walls of sounds... and so on. VU were surely inventive, I can't deny it, and
they completed their sound with some unexpected instruments like viola (but
for me Cage is a so-so player), plus the simple percussion section, added something
strange and fascinating to VU's sound. But the feedback... The Who did it first
and Hendrix did it better; Cage and Reed seem a bit childish in their use of
feedback, at least when they use it without a backing melody (otherwise their
feedback can be quiet worthy, as in "Venus In Furs"). The melodies are often
well built and catchy, but not outstanding at all. VU are for me mainly good
composers, more than wild and extremist innovators, as often I hear them called
(just listen to their later production, like Loaded and The Velvet
Underground).
b) Affected by a singular (for the 60's) punk attitude, but without the mannerism
and the commonplaces of the 70's punk; this is surely one of the most memorable
and best innovations by the VU. The lyrics are shocking, wise, sometimes quiet
Dylanesque but surely good and well written. Personally I prefer the more confessional
and humble mood of the later production but also here the lyrics are very imaginative
and extremely original.
c) Excellent songs? Where? On this ground I mostly disagree with the so called
"common opinion"; for me VU are not so great songwriters. Or better, they are
surely good but not so diverse, imaginative and catchy as a great songwriter
is expected to be. Most of the songs, like "I'm waiting for the man", "Venus
in furs", "Heroin", are built on repetitive chords, uniform percussion, backing
viola's feedback (in this album Cage doesn't do anything different from simple
chords and childish feedback, and if the purpose of a song isn't to hypnotize,
well, you may be bored).
Especially for the lyrics, the VU are often seen as an example of proto-punk.
This doesn't convince me so much; this album has its particular mood, attitude
and a personal sound that makes it so outstanding and eventually original, even
for the 1967. But this is art rock, not punk; punk isn't only a matter of attitude
(and in this case the nihilism of the band can be seen as punk) but also in
the music and VU are too sophisticated to be real punk. You see, "Sunday Morning"
is one of the best soft-rock songs, with smooth chords, a confessional mood
in singing and that glockenspiel.... ah, that glockenspiel! The pure rock numbers
here are limited to "I'm Waiting For The Man", with a steady beat courtesy of
Moe Tucker and terrifying riffing by Morrison. A catchy song, with some lightweight
but groovy lyrics. The female singer of the band, the Warholian singer and actress
Nico, shines on "Femme Fatale" with her slow, majestic and emotionless vocals;
if you don't like her voice you have to admit that it's more skilled than Lou's
one. The first really Velvet-ish song here is "Venus In Furs" a song about sado-masochism,
with brainstorming viola and guitar feedback and smooth vocals; in this case
the repetitive chords and the continual wall of sound manages to pull you out
of your head. Sadly (for me) the best of this album ends here. The other rocking
song here, "Run, Run, Run", apart for some evident debts with the Who's song
(mainly in the bass lines and in some part of the guitar-feedback solo) has
a weak vocal section and it's not well arranged as the second track ("I'm waiting
for the man"). However, the album has at least other two gems. The first is
the majestic and grotesque "All Tomorrow's Parties", sung by the always good
and cold voice of Nico; the melody is very good and this time it makes you to
put apart the repetitive chords, and for me this song represents the peak of
Cage's viola (not a so high peak, but it's very solemn and well produced -in
fact in songs like "Venus In Furs" viola is similar to T. Banks keyboard in
the sense it overwhelms the other instruments-).The other gem is "European Son"
; yes you heard right. This is an improvisation, a feedback based jam, but it
has its melody and the feedbacks, even if they can't achieve the peaks of Hendrix's
ones, are surely impressive because there is always something similar to a melody,
maybe the bass, or the uniform and distorted beat; try to listen it very close,
following for sometimes one instrument and other times another: the sense of
bewilderment that this song is able to create is fantastic and groovy (at least
for a freak like me!). And this song is very diverse, unlike the monotonous
"Heroin"; yes, you heard right another time! The beginning riff is quiet good
and the progressive fall into chaos is perfectly built, maybe too perfectly
and the result is that the song seems to me quite... uhm..."forced" and unnatural
I'd say; the lyrics certainly add something interesting to the song but it's
overlong and monotonous; however, the percussion, simulating an heart under
the effects of the heroin, is very groovy, maybe the best work by Tucker. And
Lou's dirty voice is also good, sometimes similar to Dylan's one. "There She
Goes Again" is a plan and unmemorable rock song, sure it has a so so riff and
Lou's singing on here is enough convincing, but the music is quiet trite and
generic: in my humble opinion the Kinks are much better in their falsetto choruses.
The other song sung by Nico, "I'll Be Your Mirror" is remarkable mostly for
the usually good singing, but at this point the monotonousness of most of the
songs makes me sick. "The Black Angel's Death Song" (cool title) has very good
lyrics and is similar to "The Murder Mystery", but for my tastes here the viola
is really obnoxious; however, this song is fascinating and fits perfectly with
the mood of the album. A very good album but overrated as hell; it has its moments
(and the beauty of this moments is something really, really cool) but in its
entirety the fillers have their part in making the album not a masterpiece.
Send your comments and reviews of "The Velvet Underground & Nico"
If The Velvet Underground And Nico represents the peak
of the experimental period, this album marks a change of musical direction,
but without losing their typical sound, as will happen on Loaded: it's
the peak of their "introspective period". In fact, VU left behind the noisy
experimentation of the previous album, and even if that can be seen as a betrayal
by the hardcore fans (similar to what the Doors' fans felt when they put out
Waiting For The Sun), the result is surely not inferior to, for instance,
their debut album and neither less experimental; J. Cale quit and was replaced
by Doug Yule on bass, organ (well, after all they need an instrument able to
create a wall of sound) and occasional lead voice (good voice, not outstanding
but soft and delicate, a great counterpoint to Reed's one): a good acquisition
for VU. I said that this album is experimental and I go on this way: it's also
innovative but its innovations are less evident than the ones of The VU &
Nico.
The music is totally different from the two previous albums: it's more relaxed,
soft, never intrusive and the pure rock numbers are reduced to "What Goes On"
and "Beginning To See The Light", but both are not so heavy. The instrumental
part is based mainly on a smooth and soft guitar, acoustic or electric but always
slow and sweet; the percussion is simple and the bass lines are often inoffensive;
the organ sometimes is used to gently fill the sound. The production, you see,
is very simple and often this leads to underline the monotonous structure of
certain songs (in fact there isn't the Cage's viola to fill and diversify the
sound): the songwriting hasn't improved since the previous album, they continue
to built songs on repetitive chords and notes with a childish percussion section;
but this time it's very enjoyable. For me the main innovation of this album
consists mainly in the mood and lyrics; just look at the cover: there is the
band, relaxing on sofa, they look not like rock stars. And so the album, that
presents itself as a sort of humble confession, the tone is relaxed and smooth;
on this line also the lyrics, focused on communicating states of mind, emotions
and feelings, with simplicity but also with wisdom and some nuances of melancholy;
goes without saying that often Reed tries to imitate Dylan, but at this point
most of the beat-vibes disappear.
Aaah, how can I go on now without saying each moment "this is soft, this is
smooth, this is sweet..."? It's hard but I try. "Candy Says" one of the best
songs here is a delicate portrait of a girl, based on repetitive (and I'm going
to be too repetitive TOO!) notes; the following track, "What Goes On", is the
most heavy numbers here and at the beginning it's very catchy, thanks to the
powerfully driving organ but the instrumental part is too long and uniform for
my tastes. "Some Kinda Love" is a lightweight consideration about love, full
of joy transmitted by the original percussion and the particular riff. "Pale
Blue Eyes" is my favourite song here, with a music very similar to "Candy Says"
maybe just more monotonous, but the lyrics are among my favourite of a love
song (and you know, I think we don't need another love song after "Here, There
And Everywhere") and never trite or expected, starting from the beginning and
especially for the lines "...thought of you as everything I have but I couldn't
keep..."; very cool, don't you think so?. "Jesus" is a desperate question for
misty help: this is a true and accurate prayer, with cool guitar lines and a
particularly smooth vocal part (especially for the choruses). The other rock
number here, "Beginning To See The Light", is very catchy, at least for me,
and the lyrics are quite interesting; it's remarkable because I think it's useful
to break your nerves after the misty and hazy "Jesus". "I'm Set Free" it's another
very good song, with a cool guitar/keyboards intro and relaxed vocal parts (as
usual!). "That's The Story Of My Life" is the most diverse song in here, it's
different from the others and has an instrumental part short and quite different
from, for instance, "Pale Blue Eyes"; for me it's the most Dylan-esque song
here. "The Murder Mystery" is, after all, hypnotizing (if you want to say boring,
I can understand) and the lyrics are quite interesting; the music is monotonous
but it's the most experimental of the album and the most "psychedelic" (really,
it's not psychedelic). "After Hours" presents us the voice of the percussionist
Moe Tucker; nothing remarkable but this song it's a perfectly fitting end for
this kind of album. Maybe the best album by VU.
Send your comments and reviews of "The Velvet Underground"
For all intends and purposes, this is the last VU album (no,
don't expect me to consider that Doug Yule Squeeze crap a legitimate
release). And what better way to end such a unorthodox career than with a honest
to goodness, plain, rocking bang? Listen, the Velvets have been so far a shocking
avant garde band backed by a viola and a German singer, and a folkish, stripped-down
outfit, and have hardly enjoyed commercial success. So the record company says
"Lou, we want an album loaded with hits". And what's the kinky guy's
reaction? "Alright, I'll do it, but in a manner it won't sell too much anyway".
Because at first sight one has to wonder how an album with "Sweet Jane" and
the dizzy "Rock And Roll" on it wasn't propelled to the top of the charts. Actually,
this isn't as much of a sell-out as it may seem, as you'll soon realize.
Just imagine the surprise of the few freaks who bought this album back in 1970,
only to find that the first cut is friggin' melodic sixties pop. That's right,
"Who Loves The Sun" is as innofensive as the Velvets get, with a warming chorus
and childish acoustic instrumentation. But listen to the coda. The chorus is
repeated over and over and then... a "sun-uh-uh-uh-un" part proceeds to fuck
up the whole song. That's the point behind the album, and why it can be rightly
be considered a parody: due to the off-key harmonies, the ocassional Philly
soul afectation ("I Found A Reason"), the lightweight country influences ("Lonesome
Cowboy Bill") and Lou's hoarse vocal deliveries ("Head Held High", "Train Round
The Bend"), the whole thang will have you going "man, this could have
been a good album". And it could have been, indeed, with just a more polished
approach. "Cool It Down" seamlessly swifts from a double-tracked disturbing
vocal in the verse to a smooth, memorable refrain, and the subtle "New Age"
only reveals its charms after a couple of listens, but it's well worth it. A
different matter altogether is the controversial "Oh! Sweet Nuthin": Yule goes
for a "Hey Jude"-like build-up, and, as expected, fails. But hey, don't dismiss
it: it's catchy, if agraviatingly slow, and as good a way to close an album
like this as any other. And what do I mean by "an album like this", you may
wonder. To hell if I know.
Send your comments and reviews of "Loaded"