Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground with Nico - Verve 1967 Comments:That the Velvet Underground's first album is a classic and in many ways a groundbreaking release is widely acknowledged and I will in no way dispute this. I have recently re-listened to this album several times and along the way came to think about how later generations might perceive it. I tried to imagine how I might perceive the album myself if I was presented with it today for the first time – and asked to give brief review of the ten tracks.
"Sunday Morning". Uhm, nice melody - very catchy. Nicely effortlessly performed by the singer (Lou Reed). Actually really nice pop.
"Waiting for My Man". If I had a feeling that this could be a pop album that just wanted to please, I immediately have to revise that notion. This track is simple and unpolished rock with lots of piano and guitar - mostly dissonant and distorted. Despite the quirky sounds, there is something alluring and inciting in the droning of the music. Lyrically, it must have been controversial in 1967.
"Femme Fatale". Well, again a quiet melodic song, with female lead singer. Very special but charming pronunciation. A song you immediately feel like singing along to. A simple but effective arrangement. Lyrics that really gives cause for reflection - do I even know a "Femme Fatale" myself?
"Venus in Furs". Again, something completely different; skewed and yet catchy tones from cello and perhaps violin. Slow pace. Gloomy drumming and simple guitar picking, there is something folkish about it all. Fine melodic chorus. Again male vocalist and again a controversial topic -
sadomasochism. A strong moving track.
"Run Run Run". What now?? Lo-fi garage. A simple composition - a little ala Dylan's early talk rockers. A really strange guitar solo. Seems a bit cracked in places. Never gets really interesting. If there is a message in the lyrics, it might be not to give a damn about it all and enjoy life while you have it.
"All Tomorrows Parties". Again, a dramatic droning number, with dark female vocals. Folkish in melody and both quite catchy and melodic. Again, a strange guitar solo that reminds me a bit of the early Byrds when experimenting, again a number that oozes sex.
"Heroin" Nice dramatic guitar intro with pleasantly subdued playing, accompanied by a slightly skewed cello. The tempo is slow, but speeds up and culminates with the chorus, and then drops back into the starting tempo. This is repeated some times. The describe heroin as a way away from the evil and falsehood of life. Towards the end there is some really wild and dissonant guitar playing that nicely emphasizes the lyrics before the track returns to the muted intro.
"There She Goes Again". Slightly melodic garage rock thing. Fine guitar riff. Again, controversial lyrics; Eg. the line, "You Better Hit Her" - a rather short number.
"I'll Be Your Mirror". Sheer beauty. Again, moving sung by the woman (Nico). Beautiful love song. There are only two verses before it fades out with the repeated line "I'll be your mirror"
"The Black Angel's Death Song". Skewed cello intro and spoken vocals. Like a poem read aloud to a monotonous quirky accompaniment. Very strange and gloomy lyrics.
"European Son". Starts with a nice bassline. Low-fi sound develops with a lot of noise and dissonance. Hardly a number you feel like returning to; becomes more and more unlistenable along the way.
To sum it all up, one can say that it is an album that goes a long way, from the really beautiful to the really ugly - and that applies to both lyrics and music.
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