Arguably the most important and influential American rock band of the second half of the 1960s,
the Velvet Underground weren't much like any other group of their time, and neither was the story of how they came together. Their genesis had more to do with beat poetry, outlaw literature, experimental composition, avant-garde art, and the rise of multimedia installations than the usual formula of folks getting together to drink beer and play "Louie Louie" (not to say the latter isn't a noble pursuit). Filmmaker
Todd Haynes has done a superb job of charting the course of how they came together and what informed their work in his 2021 documentary The Velvet Underground. The film is not only a fine biography of the band, it's a great crash course in the intersections of various creative media that were a vital part of the New York art community in the early to mid-'60s.
The Velvet Underground: A Documentary Film by Todd Haynes is the soundtrack album to the movie, and it reflects the trajectory of the film rather than offering a compact history of their recorded catalog. As in
Haynes' documentary, not all the music is by the
VU. "17 XII 63 NYC the Fire Is a Mirror" is a piece by
LaMonte Young's experimental ensemble
the Theatre of Eternal Music, where
John Cale learned some of the drone techniques and chaotic viola patterns he would later bring to the
Velvets. "The Wind" by
Nolan Strong and the Diablos is a haunting bit of doo wop that beguiled
Lou Reed as a teenager, and
Bo Diddley's "Road Runner" (featured here in an especially gritty live take) is a tribute to the inspired artist who influenced everyone in the band. And "The Ostrich," by
the Primitives, was one of the great hack pop tunes
Lou Reed cranked out as a staff songwriter at
Pickwick Records that offered glimmers of what he would create in the future. Among the
Velvet Underground tracks on the album, "Heroin" is presented in its monophonic mix, "Sister Ray" and "After Hours" are rare live takes that document them in front of an audience, and "Chelsea Girls" was penned by
Lou Reed and
Sterling Morrison for
Nico's first solo album, their only co-writing credit. The album is an excellent companion to an excellent film, but it's probably best appreciated by folks who've seen
Haynes' movie; taken on its own, it's all great music, but the through-line of these songs and the occasional curiosity of the sequencing reflects
Haynes' choices as a filmmaker, not those of someone assembling an archival album. It's worth hearing and having, but if you want to introduce yourself to
the Velvet Underground, the 1989 collection
The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music by Lou Reed is a much better starting point -- or simply listen to their four original studio albums, all of which are in print and readily available. ~ Mark Deming
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