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Rating:
THE REVIEW
THE record. It hasn't been long since I discovered what year Sunday Morning is from (you know, the Enel commercial?), and it was shocking. That song is from 1995, not 1967. So much so that now, 40 years later, the Velvet are being covered, used in commercials, referenced by everyone.
Excluding the first track Sunday Morning and the last European Son, which deserve separate discussions, the record is divided into two parts: the songs sung by Reed and those sung by Nico. Reed has a nasal voice, he could sing Rainy Day Women, but he's not interested: in fact, that's precisely what he wants to avoid, at least in 1967. The first records of the Velvet, this one with Nico and WHITE LIGHT WHITE HEAT, are outside any mainstream trend, so also outside Dylan's admirable one. Reed's tracks are therefore almost all fast, full of distortions, difficult, probably dominated as writing by the avant-gardist Cale.
Nico is not part of the Velvet; she is a stable addition during that kind of tour that many artists of many types do with Warhol. Her pieces are slow, the other side of experimentalism, perhaps a bit of a breather in the midst of Reed and Cale's delirium. Experimental yet as much as the others, if it's true that There She Goes Again appeared on the charts as recently as 1999, in a cover by Sixpence None The Richer identical to the original.
âSunday Morningâ, as you might guess, was intended for Nico and was sung at the last moment by Reed, and it is indeed more similar to All Tomorrowâs Parties than to Run Run Run. European Son is the final delirium made up of noise and distortions that will see its masterpiece in Sister Ray the following year. A must-buy.
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Summary by Bot
This review highlights The Velvet Underground & Nico as a groundbreaking 1967 album that still influences music today. It delves into the contrasting vocal styles of Lou Reed and Nico, the avant-garde elements contributed by John Cale, and the enduring legacy of songs like "Sunday Morning" and "European Son." The album is praised for its innovative sound that stands apart from mainstream trends.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964, known for their influential, experimental sound and association with Andy Warhol; core members included Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker.49 Reviews
Other reviews
By 2+2=5
Heroin, may you be my death. Heroin is my wife, itâs my life.
I am content with man and his misery; with his soul and his pain; with his anger and his Art.
By miriamlovesrock1
"An album that swallows you, an album that is an entire journey... a journey made of colors and feelings more or less pleasant."
"This is my personal image of them... simply a 'charming band of lunatics'... ladies and gentlemen: Reed, Cale, Tucker, Sterling Morrison + the unruly genius and the icy beauty: Andy Warhol and Nico..."
By Dune Buggy
"For the first time, the underworld is sung, for the first time the undergrounds are colored with violet music."
"Heroin is death, a life companion, rather it is life â and only the silence of the soul remains, the chaos of the brain in almost epileptic convulsion."
By joe strummer
The music of Velvet Underground is like a big sadistic smile that mocks you for all this, delights in seeing you terrified and even tries to deliver the coup de grâce.
I believe it is the best album ever made, certainly dependent on tastes, but it still remains among the most expressive, raw, and lucid musical works of the last century.
By andrea biacca
"Lou Reedâs voice enters my room without knocking, the drum and guitar lend a certain suggestive aura to the piece."
"An album that amplifies the bond between music and art. Songs like pieces of a mosaic, a mosaic of life, a mosaic of an entire generation."
