The The Velvet Underground & Nico [LP]

by The Velvet Underground, Nico

Overview

One would be hard-pressed to name a rock album whose influence has been as broad and pervasive as The Velvet Underground & Nico. While it reportedly took over a decade for the album's sales to crack six figures, glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise, and nearly every other left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt to this set. While The Velvet Underground had as distinctive a sound as any band, what's most surprising about this album is its diversity. Here, the Velvets dipped their toes into dreamy pop ("Sunday Morning"), tough garage rock ("Waiting for the Man"), stripped-down R&B ("There She Goes Again"), and understated love songs ("I'll Be Your Mirror") when they weren't busy creating sounds without pop precedent. Lou Reed's lyrical exploration of drugs and kinky sex (then risky stuff in film and literature, let alone "teen music") always received the most press attention, but the music Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker played was as radical as the words they accompanied. The bracing discord of "European Son," the troubling beauty of "All Tomorrow's Parties," and the expressive dynamics of "Heroin" all remain as compelling as the day they were recorded. While the significance of Nico's contributions have been debated over the years, she meshes with the band's outlook in that she hardly sounds like a typical rock vocalist, and if Andy Warhol's presence as producer was primarily a matter of signing the checks, his notoriety allowed The Velvet Underground to record their material without compromise, which would have been impossible under most other circumstances. Few rock albums are as important as The Velvet Underground & Nico, and fewer still have lost so little of their power to surprise and intrigue more 50 years after first hitting the racks. ~ Mark Deming

Product Details

Release Date:	11/13/2015
Label:	Vinyl Lovers
UPC:	8013252900051
Rank:	4792

Tracks

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. I'll Be Your Mirror
8. Heroin
9. There She Goes Again
10. Black Angel's Death Song
11. European Son
12. Chelsea Girls

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Velvet Underground   Primary Artist
Nico   Primary Artist,Vocals,Chanteuse,Lead Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Larry Fallon   Conductor
Jackson Browne   Guitar
John Cale   Organ,Piano,Viola,Celeste,Guitar (Bass),Sound Effects,Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background)
Lou Reed   Guitar,Vocals,Lead Guitar,Lead Vocals,Sound Effects,Vocals (Background)
Moe Tucker   Drums,Percussion
Sterling Morrison   Guitar,Lead Guitar,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Bo Diddley   Composer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Kevin Reeves   Preparation
Christa Paeffgen   Composer,Composer
Larry Fallon   Arranger
Jackson Browne   Composer
John Cale   Composer
Lou Reed   Composer
Val Valentin   Director of Engineering
Tim Hardin   Composer
Moe Tucker   Composer
Gary Kellgren   Mixing,Engineer
Sterling Morrison   Composer
Andy Warhol   Producer,Audio Production
Aaron Copland   Composer
Greg Copeland   Composer
The Velvet Underground   Arranger
Nico   Composer
Tom Wilson   Producer
Terry Phillips   Composer
Norman Dolph   Engineer
John Licata   Engineer
Omi Haden   Engineer
James N. Smith   Composer
Jerry Pellegrino, Jr.   Composer