| The Velvet Underground And Nico | review #2 | 1967 |
| White Light/White Heat | review #2 | 1968 |
| The Velvet Underground | review #2 | 1969 |
| Loaded | 1970 |
| Live At Max's Kansas City | 1972 |
| 1969: Velvet Underground Live | 1974 |
| VU | 1985 |
| Another View | 1986 |
| Best Of The Velvet Underground (compilation) | 1989 |
| Peel Slowly And See (boxed set) | 1995 |
Oh yes, now here's a band that everyone can be divided about in terms of actual musical merit. Of course, no one can deny the Velvets' influence on underground and alternative rock as a whole (particularly with the sound of their first couple albums), but from the standpoint of evaluating the material they did from a listenability angle, well, in recent years, there's been a serious backlash against them. You know the reasons - they often stick to a dreadfully slow tempo, they use all sorts of nasty feedback and abrasive instrumentation, they had that awful German singer on their first album, they wrote some atrocious pop sellout songs on their last one, they were lyrically 'shocking' for the sake of being so, their lead vocalist can be obnoxiously unemotive, blah blah blah. Yup, from the getgo, this band has a lot of stuff potentially going against them, and the fact that professional critics rate everything they did as 'classic' doesn't help the backlash.
And yes, I will agree that the VU have their huge flaws, as a lot of bands do. Yes, some of their more 'rocking' stuff gets incredibly monotonous. Yes, their more revolutionary feedback-ish music is some of the least listenable stuff I've ever heard. Yes, none of their albums were consistently mindblowing from start to finish, unlike what some people will tell you. But that doesn't mean they don't have quite a few great songs in their catalog. And not only is it because their extremely unique sound (mostly displayed to great effect on their debut) created some utterly fascinating results, particularly in the overall atmosphere and lyrics, but quite a few of their better songs have simply fabulous pop melodies. Yup, when they really wanted to, this band could seriously rival other competitors in the 60's in that department.
And to thank for that, of course, is main songwriter and vocalist Lou Reed, maybe the coolest Dylan imitator out there. His singing/speaking vocal style and intriguing approach to poetic lyric writing was one of the trademarks in the early years of the group - no one sang about the darker side of the 60's 'druggy' vibe as openly as he did. And of course, the more conventional poppy material he wrote just proves his utter talent for melody writing. But there were a couple other (more or less) stable members of the band as well, both of them very unorthodox instrumentalists, as Maureen Tucker's metronomic, bass-drum heavy style and Sterling Morrison's trademark oddly tuned guitar work.
The other members that had spent time with the band, though, are easily among the more intriguing in their history. First and foremost was multi-instrumentalist John Cale (bass, organ, viola) who, on the first two albums had helped realize Reed's vision of fusing avant-garde style with rock. Cale is certainly a huge part of the Velvets' uniqueness (though also a huge part of their more crappy experimental work), and it was no surprise that he inevitably had serious creative tensions with Reed that led him to be sacked. His replacement, Doug Yule, is probably the most hated character in the band's history, as his initiation into the band was followed by a much more poppy direction on the final two albums, though remember that Lou Reed had a lot of pop songwriting ability in him as well, and I really believe the 'poppier' side of the Velvets' to be the superior one, anyway. Oh wait, there's also one more character that was around in the earlier years of the band when they were associated with artist Andy Warhol, some German singer called Nico, who is for some reason one of the most frequently despised singers ever, an idea which continues to baffle me, but that's for the next review.
And that's basically The Velvet Underground. Brian Eno once said something to the effect that hardly anyone bought their records at the time, but nearly everyone who did started a band. And modern rock history is all the better for having The Velvets as a sort of inspiration. Even though the results of their most influential work were somewhat iffy at times, they must be respected for having a one of a kind sound and some timeless material to go along with it.
--Nick Karn
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(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Sunday Morning, Venus In Furs, All Tomorrow's Parties, Femme Fatale, I'm Waiting For My Man. LOW POINTS: European Son, The Black Angel Death Song.
What a year for interesting albums 1967 was, eh? Not only had The Beatles released Sgt. Pepper to kickstart the 'Summer Of Love', but look who released their debut albums that year - The Doors, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix, enough said. This album, however, can certainly rank up there as one of the most interesting products of the time, though it was released nearly a year after it was actually recorded due to delays and stuff like that. Basically, the sound that this album goes for is a mystifying combination of avant-garde experimentation, very explicit dark and disturbing lyrics with an intriguing atmosphere, straightforward rock and roll, and a really weird, German-influenced vibe even apparent in the poppier stuff here. In fact, that influence is apparent in the three songs sung not by Lou Reed, but by vocalist Nico, a model and one-time 'sort of' member of the band who sung at album cover designer Andy Warhol's suggestion.
Probably the most striking thing about this album is the incredibly wide range of material. Either that, or the opening "Sunday Morning". Wow, what more is there to say about this one? With one of the most gorgeous ballad atmospheres ever conceived by mortal man (the xylophone embellishments and delicate singing here just completely rule!) and a completely brilliant shattering melody, it still remains my favorite Velvet Underground song of all time, and quite possibly the best career-starting song ever written. Can't say it's too representative of the remainder of the album, though - "Waiting For My Man" couldn't be further from it stylistically, as it's dominated by a ridiculously incessant drum beat and a very trance-like uptempo atmosphere that gets the listener involved in Lou's drug dealing tales. Really interesting....
And then there's two nearly undefinable experiences here. The freaky sadomachistic tune "Venus In Furs" is perhaps one of the most depressing and mopey, but yet incredibly scary, songs I've ever heard. What provocative lyrics... what atmosphere. I can easily see how it could put one to sleep, but that drone just keeps me hypnotized the entire time. I'm not as big a fan of the 7 minute "Heroin", but I can't deny how cleverly done it is - the way the really slow pace of the song interacts with the drowsy melody and unconventional drumming and then all of a sudden speeds up without warning perfectly captures the instability of a heroin user in song. And they follow both of these songs with straightforward R&B and rock and roll exercises as if nothing happened, with "Run, Run, Run" (a neat, though extremely sloppy groove) and "There She Goes Again", a pretty generic guitar pop song that's nevertheless catchy.
The remainder of the the album, however, is what seems to draw the most controversy. For whatever reason, many people are bothered by the German 'storm trooper' lead vocals of Nico on three songs, but don't count me in as one of those people. In my mind, she's got a really unique and kinda charming voice that perfectly fits these sort of not exactly normal pop songs, and besides, the melodies on these things are way too phenomenally written in the first place. Well at least the first two are - "Femme Fatale" just has one of those breathtaking ballad melodies that seems like it's existed forever, with those backing vocals only adding to a beautiful experience, and the irresistible repeating piano bit alone makes "All Tomorrow's Parties" gorgeous, though the melody itself is as first-rate as anything, and it has a very pleasant atmosphere that works in contrast with the not so pleasant lyrics. And "I'll Be Your Mirror" is at least a cute little number - it's not as impressive melodically as the other two, but still has a charm of its' own.
Now, if the album ended at "I'll Be Your Mirror" with just these nine songs (and that would still be over 37 minutes of music), I would probably call this the Velvets' best album easily, but being the frustrating experimental band they are, the guys just didn't quit while they were ahead. And it leads to disaster - the Dylan ripoff "The Black Angel Death Song" is bad enough with its' abrasive viola and almost melodyless rambling, but the nearly 8 minute closer "European Son" is just atrocious. Sure, it starts out with such a great bassline in the opening minute, but the way it just piles on pointless noise and feedback-ish stuff on the listener for the rest of the time is truly headache inducing and damn near unlistenable. Well, at least if you dislike avant garde experimentation like I do - apparently some people really like this 'song'! Good for them! I just think these two songs pretty much ruin the classic potential of an otherwise damn revolutionary and highly enjoyable piece of work, even if the final result is still very excellent.
HIGH POINTS: Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale, Venus In Furs. LOW POINTS: European Son, Run Run Run.
This astronomically influential and revolutionary album was actually recorded in mid-1966, about a full year before it was released. From the album cover, with its' 'peel slowly and see' banana sticker against a white background, to the content of the wildy experimental music (especially in the innocent days of 1966) inside, this record is all about 'artiness'. Whether that translates into good quality music all the time depends on the song, but I'll get back to that later. But the band of Lou Reed (guitars, lead vocals), John Cale (viola), Sterling Morrison (guitarist who would be around for two albums), and Maureen Tucker (on drums), are certainly something of a phenomenon. What makes them this way is that during the time they were recording this, no one in the pop music sphere was making music as unique, weird, arty, or heck, revolutionary as they were (except some of those British biggies). The lyrics are certainly one aspect, as themes of the underground 'dark' side of life such as heroin use, Sado-Maschism, and drug-dealing were never subjects to be sung about in Rock 'n' Roll.
Still, the music is another aspect, and this is where it gets weird. The playing can be either very primitive and sloppy (with elementary chord progressions and a tribal punkish sound), experimental and out of control (with lots of screeching viola and guitar noise-experimentation), or charming and tame (with innocent and very solid pop melodies). It seems like it would be a hard album to get into if you are put off by such strange diversity. A mixture of the dark and innocent it is. Plus German singer Nico, who sings on three of the poppier tunes, is an interesting choice. It can be said that she brings a crystalline vibe and wildly different mood to parts of the album with her pleasant voice. And at least one of them is an outright classic. This would be the beautiful ballad "Femme Fatale", which has Nico go from an attractive whispery vocal in the verses to a louder confident vocal in the choruses against low-key guitar, bass that sometimes interferes with her vocals (eh, kinda unfortunately), and nice tambourine. It's the superb pop melody that makes it as great as it is though.
Actually, I'm completely convinced that it is these poppier numbers that work the best and stand out the most on this album. This is mainly because Lou Reed, at least on here that is, had a knack for constructing wonderful and pretty melodies in the three-minute frame-work. Falling into this category is the utterly gorgeous opener "Sunday Morning", which I wholeheartedly agree has a fantastic and stunning atmosphere crowned off by the xylophone embellishments and the 'early morning' and warmingly relaxed Reed vocals. It also has an irresistable melody, easily the best on the album and maybe of The Velvet's career. The other two 'pop' numbers sung by Nico are not as good as these two though, with the cute "I'll Be Your Mirror" containing a noteworthy, but just decent melody, and the majestic "All Tomorrow's Parties" forging ahead rather clumsily and containing a running time of nearly six minutes, which is just too long. The problem is that the melody (which is actually rather good), is not tightly constructed or compact enough, allowing the tune to drift at an annoyingly slow pace that makes the tune quite boring. Nico saves it with some adequate singing, but it could have been much better (in fact, they did do a short single of it, which is quite great).
The main problems of the record, however, lie in a few of the 'darker' or experimental tracks. The first one that comes to mind is the seven minute "Heroin", a revolutionary and reckless track that through its' simple and dirty guitar riff shows the uncontrollable nature of a Heroin user by speeding up and slowing down. The art aspect of it works, but musically it's fairly inadequate. When it speeds up the primitive drumming can't keep up (it's embarrisngly tribal-like) and the conviction is lost in all the racket-making, guitar noise, and general clumsiness. For the most part though, the lyrics and slower sections are pretty good. True awfulness is saved for the nearly eight minute closer, the experimental free for-all "European Son", which is a bunch of extremely unpleasant viola and guitar feedback, disorderly note-playing, and pure ugliness. It brings the record rating down at least half a point.
The often dis-liked "The Black Angels Death Song" fares much better, with a weird viola sound (you decide if it's annoying!) combined with Dylanish vocals by Reed. It sorta works..yeah, It's OK. What really works well is the straightforward, pre-punkish, and up-tempoish trance-like "I'm Waiting For the Man" (about drug-dealing no less) and the hypnotic "Venus In Furs" (with interesting and excellent Sado-Maschism lyrics against a heavy-handed back-drop of dreary and depressive viola - this is where art works well, man). As you can see, along with the diversity, comes a wide range of quality. In the end, the bands' debut album can be looked upon as a defintely ground-shaking, albeit just good album, because of these inconsistences (some tunes horribly fail and some wonderfully succeed). Minor throwaways like the lil' generic mid-60's rocker "Run, Run, Run" (lame and hookless) and the poppy "There She Goes Again" (those pleasant mid-60's-ish falsetto harmonies are nice though) further constitute to the general rating the record is given. Even so, factors like sheer originality and the like raise the record half a point.
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COMMENTS
I'm surprised you didn't mention "I'm Waiting For The Man" as a highlight of the album! If something is obvious, it's that! :o)
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: White Light White Heat, Here She Comes Now, Lady Godiva's Operation. LOW POINTS: Sister Ray.
Apparently, the band decided to have a little bit more fun with feedback and 'white noise' this time around, and the end result probably inspired many underground and alternative bands in the future (most notably Sonic Youth). As you can may have noticed from my opinions on avant garde noise experiments of the 60's (or the last two songs on the previous album for that matter), though, this certainly isn't my type of thing (hell, I don't even like Pink Floyd's efforts in this field much, and I love them to death), and the result is frustrating as hell. Yes, it's a highly innovative and original album, but I have to confess something - on first listen, I was so turned off by the noisy tendencies and atrocious production of this thing (as well as the infamous 17 minute "Sister Ray") that I would have given it a 3, and oh boy would the flames have been on then. Well, maybe not, judging by the serious lack of Velvet Underground defenders in the web reviewing community. But hey, I can't help it if the sheer difficult listening experience here turns me off in many places.
Luckily, though, I'm the kind of reviewer that gives albums more of a chance, and further listens have indeed improved my feelings toward it quite a bit. Not that there isn't anything immediately likeable here, though. For starters, the opening title track is a great way to kick things things off, a solid pop number with an effective sing-along melody that's backed by incessant repeating piano line. It's not really anything overwhelmingly great, but it's got the most top-notch melody on the album, and more effective feedback usage than anything else. "Here She Comes Now" is a wonderfully beautiful guitar ballad that's as accessible as anything off the debut (and just as catchy - I also dig the funny chorus of 'she looks so good / she's made out of wood'), and "Lady Godiva's Operation", while not very involving musically, has interestingly twisted lyrics, a fabulously memorable melody and hilarious out of nowhere yells of selected words in the lyrics toward the middle of the song.
The remainder of the 'songs', though, are not such an easy nut to crack. "I Heard Her Call My Name" has a solid melodic structure that's again marred a bit too much by feedback induced soloing, and the 8 minute number "The Gift" is basically a story written by Lou Reed and read by John Cale whose plot really intrigues me (it's about a guy named Waldo who mails himself to his long-distance girlfriend Marsha in a package and the plan's end result), but the music is rudimentary and boring as hell, with occasional bursts of feedback over the same monotonous guitar line - my advice is to pay attention to the story and not so much to the musical backing, and even though that's hardly a good approach for listening to it, since it's basically the same story read over and over again (what? you actually think it changes?), it's about the only way you won't fall asleep.
Speaking of falling asleep, how about that disaster on the second side called "Sister Ray", probably 0the worst 10 minute plus track I've ever heard as of this writing? It's basically a really long excuse for the band to go nuts with their white noise and feedback creating, and I absolutely hate it. It doesn't start off too badly, with its' initial simple riff and melody a quite acceptable enough basis for a short song, and even at 5 or 6 minutes, it would probably sound tolerable as a decent filler, but 17? There doesn't seem to be any logical structure to it whatsoever, there's tons of pointless droning and feedback, and you get to hear Lou Reed babble about sucking on ding dongs and God knows what else. In the end, the other songs besides this one are probably good enough to give the album really high 7 or low 8 (though that's not even 25 minutes of music), but this monstrosity drags it down to a very low 6, or maybe a slightly higher variation of that rating since the album is in fact influential and all.
HIGH POINTS: I Heard Her Call My Name. LOW POINTS: Sister Ray.
The first album was finally released (after a very long delay), so the Velvet Underground were more than ready to go into the studio in late 1967 and record a follow-up. This is where you realize that the band takes on the description of a chameleon, changing musiccal styles so drastically over the course of each album that you wonder how they do it - not unlike the ever-changing personas of David Bowie, who is known to be greatly influenced by them anyway. Here the Velvets venture into the underground world of 'white noise' (as it's so called), where they get rid of anything resembling the engaging atmosphere of the last album and replace it with backing tracks that contain lots of dim, staticy, and filthy-sounding guitar noise and experimental feedback. It's all mixed pretty low and poorly too. I'll go as far to say that this is by far the worst-produced Velvets studio album out of the measly four, and they were never a band who cared about good 'production' anyway.
That not alone is what makes it the weakest Velvet album (as the poor production can enhance the wonderfully dirty image of the band sometimes), as you'll see later. But sometimes the production is extremely primitive and cringe-worthy, resulting in experimental ideas that just don't come across effectively, and also, one wonders if the band had enough songwriting material to even put out an entire album. For example, there is an eight minute story entitled "The Gift" that tells of a guy named Waldo who mails himself to the mid-west to see his much-longed girlfriend. When he arrives she has trouble getting it open, so she gets an electric saw to do it, which ends up going through the box and right into Waldo's head, splitting it slightly (yeppers, something like that). While certainly a worthwhile story, it's nothing more than just a story set to a Rock instrumental backing filled with semi-interesting guitar licks and noises. No doubt, it wears thin after several plays - I mean, who listens to (or reads) a story over and over like a song unless it's actually a classic? I guess the idea of the guitars in one speaker (very low) and the vocals in another works alright, though the guitars irritatingly stay in the right speaker at the end when the story stops.
The grungily shabby "Lady Godiva's Operation" is definitely better simply because it is an actual song; it's a clumsily-moving mid-tempo number with the usual feedback drenched sound and a good, well-constructed melody. Of course, the horribly sloppy production messes with it (at the three-and-a-half minute mark it sounds like it's fading out when in fact it's not), the vocal effects are ameturish (helicopter sounds?), and the whole thing is turned into a rather goofy experipence when Reed, Sterling, and Moorison take turns as lead vocalist. Still, it probably has the best melody of the lot. The songs that work the most effectivly in this experimental vein, however, is the arty title track, a simple piano-led Rock 'n' Roll shuffle with 'white noise' in the background that builds up into a cool, sloppy, and staticy guitar noise-fest at the end, and "I Heard Her Call My Name", a quicker-paced tune that runs amock in a wild frenzy with all sorts of guitar feedback/sounds/soloing... but in a very good way. Then there is the pretty melodic ballad "Here She Comes Now" (a rather tender ballad), which sits quietly in-between the others on the first half. Not so bad, eh?
Well, not until the monolithic seventeen minute groove named "Sister Ray" is approached, that is. Without a doubt this is the second worst Velvet Underground 'song' after "European Son" from the last album. It's not that it could have been bad either. The groove that starts it off is solid, strong, and ass-kicking, the keyboards are tormenting, meandering, and ear-striking, and the "she's sucking on my ding dong" lyrics from Reed are 'interesting'. The problem is that it's only hypnotizing and trance-like (which is what the purpose for it was, basically) for the first, oh about, six-and-half minutes, where it then takes a turn for the worse and soon becomes a tired and repetitive groove that provokes impatience with more irritating "sucking on my ding dong" lyrics, tinny drums that aren't hypnotizing, aimless keyboard playing, and whatever else. Eleven utterly wasted minutes. This substantially drops the record rating, which wouldn't have been all that great in the first place (considering side one isn't exactly up to snuff with "The Gift" and the general faulty production).
Unfortunately, this turns it into the worst Velvets album, which at best is fairly mediocre - but very brave. Fortunately though, the Velvets would take a turn in the completely opposite direction and come up with an album that was sparse, tender, quiet, adequate, and beautiful. Such a change of style wasn't to be expected. All for the better though...
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COMMENTS
To see a 6 for this album and a 8 or a 9 for Pink Floyd's Saucerful Of Secrets is unbelievable. You don't make a difference between genius and shallow prog music...
WRONG. "Sister Ray"'s the best damn thing on here. The other five songs (particularly "White Light/White Heat", "Lady Godiva's Op" and "I Heard Her Call My Name") are pretty catchy, though extremely loud, distorted, and ugly, but "Sister Ray"'s what keeps this album from being merely average. I love Cale's organ groove on it, and its interminable length really gives the impression of a psycho, drugged out, blown out, crack-drenched, decadent, orgy-filled party on the Upper West Side. It's the ATMOSPHERE, dangit. And the absolutely horrific production accentuates that. What the hell did they use, a zero-track recorder?
(Nick Karn's review)
HIGH POINTS: Candy Says, Pale Blue Eyes, The Murder Mystery, I'm Beginning To See The Light, After Hours. LOW POINTS: None.
It seems to me that the Velvets' debut was very much a blueprint of things to come in an interesting way, almost splitting the two distinct sides of the band's sound showcased there into the next two albums. As my review for White Light/White Heat indicates, that album was more focused on the feedback and droning portion that proves to be more revolutionary, but in many cases unlistenable. This album, however, seems to be modeled on the debut's gorgeous pop songs like "Sunday Morning" and "Femme Fatale" and the like. This change in sound was probably caused by the departure of the noisy John Cale and his subsequent replacement Doug Yule, but while hardcore fans might argue, I'd say this was the best move the VU could have ever made. The overall tone of this record is so relaxing and great for putting on at night, with excellent pop melodies on nearly every tune, the 'rockers' are engaging, and even their experimental track here is a success!
The opening ballad "Candy Says" marks Yule's first attempt at the lead vocal spot, and it's quite successful and beautiful, with a truly great, almost lullaby-ish melody probably even better suited for his voice than Lou Reed's, with the 'doo doo ahhhhh' coda being a gorgeous addition to the song (which might be the best one here). Speaking of Reed's voice, though, he handles the other classic ballad "Pale Blue Eyes", which is pretty much done in the same style, except there's more of an emphasis on the lyrics like 'thought of you as my mountaintop, thought of you as my peak', and the hypnotizing atmosphere. Although it's slightly overlong, it's still a great, great tune. The more straightforward pop of "That's The Story Of My Life" and "After Hours" are also short, but excellent, gems - the first one is a quirky and engaging catchy tune, and the second serves as the closer of the album, with Maureen Tucker's naive and charming vocals and fine melody actually giving the death themed tune a contrasting beauty.
The rock songs here, of course, are done in the usual fashion where the guitar parts are often repeated over and over to the point where it could annoy some, but even so, the exceptional vocal melodies of "What Goes On" (which also has effective organ in there, especially towards the fadeout) and particularly "I'm Beginning To See The Light" (a hook I challenge you to get out of your head once you've heard it a couple times) make these two songs even better than anything they'd done previously in this department. There's even a lyrical ode to kinky sex in the provocative and even still homely-sounding "Some Kinda Love" - another fine melody here, and it's interesting hearing Reed trying not to crack up singing some of those 'dirty' lyrics.
Of course, they couldn't stay away from an experimental track even on an album like this - however, I must insist that the nearly 9 minute "The Murder Mystery" is miles ahead of the utter crap of "European Son" and "Sister Ray" from before, since the ideas it's based on are so incredibly cool. Basically, it's built on a fast guitar part with Sterling Morrison and Doug Yule singing really random and odd phrases at the same time (one of them speaks over a really dumb and hilarious melody in particular), then a slow, organ groove with Lou Reed and Maureen Tucker doing the same. Maybe it does get a little repetitive after awhile, but I just think it's really cool to discover new lyrics and intonations in the mix with every listen, and the silly piano coda where the random lyrical babbling continues rules. I'm definitely not afraid to say that not only does this song not suck, it might actually be one of my favorites on the album! So there.
The only two songs I didn't mention to round out the album are the first half closing ballad "Jesus", which really does help to epitomize the laid-back, beautiful and melodic feel of the album as much as any of the other songs, especially with its' sincerity coming through, and "I'm Set Free", which is probably the only slight letdown on the album, mostly because I can never remember how it goes after I hear it, but it still sounds as nice as the other tracks while it's on. Basically, this is the VU album that makes me believe they deserve at least a good amount of their acclaim, and it's probably their shining moment. The only thing that possibly keeps this from a 10 is that not many of the songs are absolutely classic, but taken together, they create a special 'sitting on the couch' experience, which makes me really recommend it.
HIGH POINTS: Candy Says, Jesus, Pale Blue Eyes, What Goes On. LOW POINTS: The Murder Mystery, Some Kinda Love
The Velvet's third release is well-known for being quite a departure from anything that they were doing two years ago on the debut album. Going from singing about "Heroin" and creating noisy experiments like "European Son" on the first album to singing about "Jesus" and making quiet and peaceful ditties like "That's The Story of My Life" on here? Quite a terrifying change! Luckily, the band had enough geniality and talent to make the album still sound like it was created from the same four people as before (well, except for the replacement of violist John Cale with Doug Yule that is). And, even better, this is the best album the band ever put out. The reasons for this are that it's probably their most focused and self-assured record (yeah, no 17 minute "Sister Ray"-like monstrosity on here) and that the tunes, which sometimes contain very pretty melodies, have a resonantly laid-back and rustic charm.
I must also say that I think parts of the album even have a slight Get Back vibe (The Beatles album, you fools) to it. No, the album is not raw and rockin', nor does it contain a live-in-the-studio feel like that Beatles album, but the quieter numbers with their sparse-sounding production, lack of over-dubs, rootsy overtones, and down-to-earth and subdued manner in which they are played, make for a few interesting resemblences - really, I think the similar tone of the bass guitar has a lot to do with this. I could easily see tracks like "For You Blue" and "Two Of Us" from Get Back (or even "Don't Let Me Down" with its' overall production) resting along-side tunes such as "Beginning to See the Light" or "Some Kinda Love" from here. Hell, both records were only recorded a few months apart from one another too. But, yeah, that's enough rambling on what appears to be neat, but not super important album comparisons in the long run (I must be crazy basing a whole paragraph on this!).
What's important is that the album is very, very good, with lots of purely genuine and relaxed love songs, many of which stir up substantial amounts of unmitigated emotion. Unsurprisingly, much more than any other Underground release. One of the most successful of these tunes is the breathtaking opener "Candy", an extremely beautiful, but just as equally sad ballad about a prostitute who says she has "come to hate my body". Once again the Velvet's are singing about topics untouched upon, though this time it's set to a richly melancholic and a lovingly and exquisitely subdued melody. And it fades out wonderfully too with those elegantly calm 'doo doo wa' harmonies. Wow.. superb. Definitely among the top five Velvet Underground songs of all time.
Along similar subdued lines are the amazing rustic-natured ballads "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Jesus", both of which have two of the most absolutely calmly affecting melodies on here (and of the groups entire career). The spare instrumentation creates a still and undisturbed out-in-the-prairie (or country if you wish) atmosphere that couldn't have been portrayed more perfectly than it is on these songs. As far as quality goes, they are both equally stunning, with softly toned-down electric guitar playing, and a peacefully slumberly vibe. Another highlight comes in the form of "What Goes On", a mid-tempo organ-backed/guitar rocker that is also a rather controlled and quiet affair. The best part comes during the mid-section solo where a line of sustained guitars create this great otherwordly buzzing sound. That's four great/classic songs right there for ya. Phew... all of them are on side one as well.
This brings me to the conclusion that I must state again and again: every studio album from the Velvets has a much weaker second side. As follows, the acoustic upbeat nature of "Beginning to See the Light" is solid, the folky ditty "That's The Story Of My Life" is nice, and "I'm Set Free" is a fine ballad that grows on you, but they certainly don't come anywhere close to the classic status of the three/four highlights that I named on Side one. Also, the albums' major low point is to be found here. This is the "Murder Mystery", a stupid and non-effective nine minute experimental hack-job that has Reed and Morrison stating lyrics in different speakers to bad effect. The idea may have been a good one, but it simply fails here. You can't concentrate on both sets of lyrics because the vocals clash way too much (perhaps it was just poorly mixed, who knows..), and on top of that, the tune just repeats this drivel for over six minutes until the dumb two-note piano melody comes in for the grand finale. This renders it as pointless listening. Two more straightforward songs in the same vein as "Pale Blue Eyes" may have been a better idea than this experimental crap.
Lastly, "Some Kinda Love" is not so hot (second worst song) and the Moe Tucker-sung "After Hours" is nothing more than a slightly charming, naive throwaway. The record rating can't help but be lowered with the addition of a wasted nine-minute epic and a few casual throwaways. Even so, The Velvet Underground is still the best studio release from the band because of a heap of really great songs (Jesusss!! woohoooo)on side one and the overall invitingly beautiful and subdued vibe of the album. Only one more release was to come!
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: Rock And Roll, Sweet Jane, Oh! Sweet Nuthin'. LOW POINTS: Lonesome Cowboy Bill.
Although the last album was certainly very homely and pleasant, especially compared to past work, it still had stuff like "Some Kinda Love" and "The Murder Mystery" that made for a little reminder of the revolutionary impact the band once had. But it was only on this effort, their proper swan song, where the Velvets became an almost completely normal pop/rock band, effectively stripping away a huge portion of what made them distinctive in the first place. Apparently, Lou Reed either wanted to gain huge commercial acceptance or try his hand at making an ironic stab at the pop music world during the period, depending on your perspective. Me, I can see merit in both arguments, but however 'conventional' or 'ironic' the material may be, the fact remains that the melodies on here are mostly excellent throughout. Sure, due to the song's more conventional nature, very few of them turn out to be awesome, or even really jump out at first, but this is a fairly likeable album all the same.
And what everyone talks about here, of course, is the famous stretch of the first three songs, as the band churns out their most blatant pop-oriented song ever in the almost embarassingly straightforward, but very charming singalong, tune "Who Loves The Sun" (love those 'ba ba ba ba...' harmonies, bitter lyrics, and little off-kilter acoustic bridge). Then Lou Reed does his most blatant Dylan imitating ever over one of the most imitated chord sequences in rock history during "Sweet Jane" - I admit that first factor makes the song just a little obnoxious (he really gets silly with those intonations at times), but the sheer uplifting strength of the melody and that riff more than make up for it. But I still end up preferring "Rock And Roll" out of this stretch (and everything else on the album), mainly because of how great a combination of infectious pop melody and fabulous lyrical storytelling about how one's life was 'saved by rock and roll' it is, and somehow the repetitive acoustic guitar part only helps the flow here.
After those three songs, however, things take a little getting used to, mostly because the conventional nature of the material can sound really boring and uninvolving at first. But still, regardless of the lack of creativity displayed here, every other song has something neat going for it. Well, in the case of "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", it's a really irritating and obvious singalong melody with idiotic lyrics and generic 'cowboy' refrain, but what about "I Found A Reason"? That's a very pretty slowdance sort of ballad right there, with an equally pretty poppy melody (particularly the striking chorus) and guitar line. Plus the uptempo and engaging "Cool It Down" succeeds due to the personality of the vocals, and the incessant train-imitating, slightly hard rockin' groove of "Train Round The Bend" is a fun listen. Even the slightly obnoxious generic Stonesy rocker "Head Held High" gets away with being so, since that hook it has will not leave my head at the moment.
And the side closers, no matter how hard they try to bore me with their lethargic tempos and not particularly exciting musical backing, are very nice. The Doug Yule-sung "New Age" has a very well-written acoustic guitar and piano buildup that works really well with its' slightly haunting melody and passionate 'I'll come running to you... baby when you want me...' hook. And the other excursion into country-ish territory besides "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" works much better than that particular song. Yes, I'm aware that "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" is just one more attempt at a "Hey Jude" sort of coda, but I'll be damned if it isn't done really well. It just has such a peaceful, yet decidedly final-sounding atmosphere to the main melody, and the chant of 'oh! sweet nuthin'... ain't got nuthin' at all...' is a musical moment that does stick. Plus, the guitar licks that show up here and there and the other subtle musical additions they add to the this ending ensure that it never really gets boring. In all, Loaded might not exactly be a songwriting masterpiece because of its' conventional nature and lack of classics, but it's a very enjoyable and pleasant swan song straight through, enough that I can grant a low 8 for it.
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COMMENTS
This is definitely the Velvets' best album. It just barely beats out White Light/White Heat as their most consistent from start to finish, in my opinion.
No, I'm not kidding. They're both awesome. They may be as different as chili peppers and oatmeal, but they both kick ass.
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
HIGH POINTS: I Can't Stand It, Stephanie Says, Ocean. LOW POINTS: None.
The famous collection of Velvets' unreleased songs, often regarded as a God-like five star album by critics just like basically everything else they ever put out. Like their other albums, of course, it's overrated in this respect, but it was mainly recorded during my favorite period of the band (right around the third album's recording sessions and before the release of Loaded). Yes, I realize these guys were revolutionary in other areas early on in their career, but how can I help it if I'm so attracted to their pop songs? And this compilation covers 10 of these previously unavailable songs, though a few of them had ended up in other versions on Lou Reed solo albums (his debut, Transformer and Coney Island Baby). Many of them wouldn't have sounded out of place on the third album - they have that same enjoyably homey feeling running through them, and that's always a plus.
The best song on here, though, is actually the opening rocker "I Can't Stand It", with a simple, but incredibly memorable tight riff, some interesting typical Reed-style lyrics ('I live with thirteen dead cats...'), and a hooky vocal delivery ('I can't stand it any more-more...') I personally find it much more exciting and less clumsy than Reed's own solo version with backup singers, but that might just be me. On the other hand, the Velvets' faster take on "Andy's Chest" isn't as outright hilariously trashy (or as classic) as the Transformer version, but there's still an innocent playfulness apparent in the music (especially the bassline right during the chorus buildup). I haven't heard his version of the side closing "Ocean" (as of this writing, anyway), but the atmosphere of this take is extremely effective - the mostly whispering vocals and John Cale's subtle organ make this an intriguing mini-epic. Maybe slightly overlong, but still mighty good.
The other stuff on here doesn't differ much in pleasant quality from the highlights. "Stephanie Says" and "Lisa Says" are two more in the line of '<insert girl name here> Says' songs, and they're both good. The former song is very close in melody and tone to the debut's "Sunday Morning", in fact, with its' xylophones, violin and background vocals, and while not quite as immortal, is still a beautiful ballad in its' own right (and it's got a neat swinging tempo going into the second verse), with the latter song being another fine quality character sketch ballad that has a cool one-note piano/croaking vocal going for it. I'm also quite fond of the closing "I'm Sticking With You", which starts out almost endearingly corny and awkward with Maureen Tucker singing in the first half (she really can't sing, but somehow that's her charm, even with lyrics like 'cause I'm made out of glue...') before turning into a gorgeous Reed ballad in the second.
The more rocking material is just about as good, especially with the aformentioned "I Can't Stand It" in that category. "Foggy Notion" somehow ends up being well over 6 minutes despite its' naggingly repetitive hook, and I do mean naggingly - this one really grabs hold of you, and the numerous excellent guitar breaks throughout make it even more exciting. The Doug Yule-sung "She's My Best Friend" is also a very well performed pop rocker (with the 'if you want to seeeeeee me' hook taking hold), the slower, country-ish "One Of These Days" has good guitar licks and sorta 'yodeling' vocals, and "Temptation Inside Your Heart" is a lively R&B piece with bongo drum action and funny background vocal chatter ('it's not that bad a solo..., etc.'). Fun listens, all this stuff! Not really earthshattering material by any means, and again, totally out of character with the VU's original style, but I'm really attracted to basically all these songs, so I see no reason why it shouldn't get another 8.
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COMMENTS
First: excellent reviews of all the albums
Secondly: are you sure John Cale's playing organ on "Ocean"? I think it's Doug Yule, because John Cale wasn't in the band anymore at the time ("Ocean" was recorded in 1969)
the album VU is my personal favorite!
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