Product Description

The Velvet Underground's debut album, featuring vocals by German chanteuse Nico, is a synthesis of garage rock, R&B, and the avant-garde, combining pop songwriting nous with free jazz dissonance and risque lyrical content. Vilified on its release, it has gone on to influence countless indie and alternative bands. Includes the classics 'I'm Waiting For The Man', 'Venus In Furs', 'All Tomorrow's Parties' and 'Heroin'.

Track Listing

1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting For The Man
3. Femme Fatale
4. Venus In Furs
5. Run Run Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
7. Heroin
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. Black Angel's Death Song
11. European Son

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1646 in Music
• Released on: 1996-05-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Running time: 48 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When the Velvets recorded this debut, they were best known as the protégés of Andy Warhol (who designed the sleeve), and as a grating, combustible live band. Fuelled by drummer Moe Tucker's no-nonsense wham and John Cale's howling viola, some of the straight-up rock & roll and arty noise extravaganzas here bear that out. But before Lou Reed was singing about sadomasochism and drug deals and writing lyrics inspired by his favourite poets, he was a pop songwriter and this album has some of his prettiest tunes, mostly sung by Nico, the German dark angel who left the band after this disc. Even the sordid rockers are underscored by graceful pop tricks, like the two-chord flutter at the centre of the classic "Heroin". --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews

The Velvet Underground and Nico
One of the most influential releases ever to grace the world of popular music, its effects shaped the course of Glam Rock, Punk, Goth, New Romantics, Indie and no doubt music which is not very good. It's a truly special album, which deserves its hype amongst music critics and fans alike.

Released in 1967 on The Verve Record Label, The Velvet Underground and Nico really does stand out from the other albums recorded during 1966/67. When we talk about the production going into other 1967 releases like Sgt Pepper, or even the closest British equivalent to the Velvets; Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates, The Velvet Underground and Nico's production on their debut is pretty much none existent, but that surely is the point.

The album was apparently produced by Pop Art pioneer, Andy Warhol, but in reality his role in the making of this album was to house the band in his New York eccentric art house, "The Factory", to sign the cheques and to introduce the band to the mysterious German model come singer Christa Päffgen or Nico as she was known. It also has to be said that Warhol also created the front cover, one of the most iconic front covers ever to come out of America. But in musical terms, this album is really a Lou Reed/John Cale masterpiece.

Instead of producing a typical late sixties album, Reed, Cale and Co produced a beautiful yet stripped down album with songs as poignant as the city it was born. Songs like Heroin and Venus in Furs provide darkness while songs like the beautiful Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale and I'll be Your Mirror brighten up your day, even if the meaning behind the lyrics are probably just as dark as the previously mentioned songs. Run Run Run and I'm Waiting for the Man are as raw and garagy foot tappy as the best of them, while All Tomorrow's Parties is as avant-garde as they come, what more can you ask?

Like many folk, I tend to avoid things which are clouded in hype because normally they are quite the let down, however with this album; I have nothing but praise and admiration. Believe the hype; buy the Velvet Underground and Nico.

You can believe the hype
I first got into the Velvets via The Doors soundtrack which contains 'Heroin' and from there had to investigate further. Some time later I bought 'The Best Of' and Lou Reed 'Retro' compilations.

When I bought this album though I admit I didn't quite know what to make of it. I knew that I should like it, because it's a classic right?...one of the greatest, most influential...blah etc. There are songs on this album which are instantly, obviously, magnificent ('Heroin', 'Waiting For The Man', 'Sunday Morning' etc), but some of it, at first, I found hard going and you may have to work at it a little.

Having said that, it is worth the effort. It has a sound of it's own when compared with the other Velvets material, or compared with pretty much everything really. Yes, the recording is poor, vocals not great, it's very basic, stripped down, under produced and bare. But that's what makes it so attractive in this plastic, pre-packaged, pop world we live in today.

Outsider Music
Lou Reed kicked off his music career by cutting 2 singles at Pickwick-one of which Do the Ostrich was a spoof on the entire dance craze thing.When it began selling in the New York area a group was hastily assembled to tour and is where John Cale came in-a classically trained viola player.The song was no more than an endless repeat of the riff from the Crystals' Then he kissed me.
Next on the agenda was to form a band called the Velvet Underground-a nod to what was happenning on the West Coast and the plan was for psychedelic music possibly modelled on a band called Its A Beautiful Day and you can also say that the V U would never have existed but for Dylan.
All tomorrows parties on this first album is the Bells of Rhymney with different words.
However Reed had made sure his band would never be added to radio playlists and its why they were not as much of the 60s as of the 70s when Lou Reed suddenly had a hit single called Walk on the wild side.By this time there was enough to go at-other VU albums plus the solo ones by both Lou Reed and John Cale and when Roxy Music had paved the way.Though the VU no longer existed as such the music and its subject matter of mainly lowlife and women of ill repute appealed to both punks and New Wave fans
Not only that but there were tribute albums such as the 3 volume Heaven & Hell sets on Imaginary and the many covers best of which was David Sylvian's take on All tomorrows parties.
Time had changed enough and yet even today the VU is still Outsider Music-European Son is just one of many songs which could clear a pub!
Reed isn't even consistent-when he isn't singing about the glories of drug use he comes up with a song called Jesus-which is pretty close to the Kristofferson song Help me Lord. Yes Reed is on his knees like some Born Again Christian!.
In 1982 English singer Virginia Astley-whose music is heavily influenced by classical music and pastoral sounds and poetry-was compared to the VUs short lived girl singer Nico but it certainly wasn't for the voice as Virginia Astley-a cult figure in Japan and California-has a sweet fragile voice and was nowhere near the hedonism practised by the VU. However she admitted one of her favorite songs was Pale Blue Eyes-apparantly she and her friends had listened to the VU at one of her music colleges.
Millions of words have been written about the V U-about their brilliance about how influential the music was. But I'm not gonna write stuff like that-its like the stable door after the horse bolted. All you need to know about the VU is give them a try if you like psychedelic music and Dylan.
If not forget it