The Velvet Underground & Nico (Vinyl) ~ The Velvet Undergrou... Cover Art

The Velvet Underground & Nico (Vinyl)

By: The Velvet Underground (Artist)

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The Velvet Underground Artist Snapshot:

From their early days as the house band for Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable, the Velvet Underground were the antithesis of late-1960s Flower Power optimism. Lou Reed's decadent lyrics and dour vocals proved to be the perfect match for the group's droning pop, and the early addition of goth-chanteuse Nico only served to increase VU's black-clad mystique. The influence of their blend of street poetry, avant-garde experimentalism, and raw rock & roll on punk and its aftermath is inestimable. It's been said that not many people heard their early records, but everyone who did went out and started a band.

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Review

Q (6/02, p.128) - 5 stars out of 5 - "...a flickering, unforgettable band preformance..."
NME (Magazine) (10/2/93, p.29) - Ranked #6 in NME's list of the `Greatest Albums Of All Time.'

Title Note

Velvet Underground & Nico: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); Nico (vocals); Sterling Morrison (guitar, bass, background vocals); John Cale (electric viola, piano, bass, background vocals); Maureen Tucker (percussion, background vocals).

Recorded at T.T.G. Studios, Hollywood California; Sceptor Studios and Mayfair Sound Studios, New York, New York in April & November 1966 & April-May 1967. Originally released on Verve (5008).

Brian Eno once said that only a hundred people bought Velvet Underground records when they first came out, but those hundred people all went out and formed their own bands. The rest, of course, is history; the Velvet Underground was the catalyst that helped spark punk rock, and began the growth of an alternative branch within rock and roll's grand family tree. VU's was an unparalleled glimpse into the Summer Of Love's alter ego, complete with graphic, unapologetic descriptions of intravenous drug-use and risque sexual situations. Their 1967 debut, VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO, was a tour de force that may never be equaled for its sheer radicalism in the face of rock convention.

The Velvet Underground also mapped out unconquered sonic territories. Bassist John Cale was weaned on deconstructing classical theory--the perfect avant-garde foil to help bring Reed's terse songs to life. Even more noticeable when he would switch to electric viola, Cale's sound evoked the terror of Reed's compositions, with the bowed strings screeching like a runaway subway car. Drummer Maureen Tucker played like no one before her. Her frantic swipes could mimic a galloping rush in "Heroin," or work with the delicate, hesitant charm of "All Tomorrow's Parties." Guitarist Sterling Morrison was a master of his craft, ably switching from oddly Middle-Eastern plucking (the eerie "All Tomorrow's Parties") to head-on rock (the ultra-edgy "Waiting For The Man"), always adding just the right element to fatten the cacophony. VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO is one of rock's most significant debuts.

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