The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground continues to elude me. Acid, experimental folk made by a bunch of heroin-addicted art school kids. I've never understood the reverence. Favorite tracks: "I'm Waiting For the Man", "Venus In Furs", "Femme Fatale"

It’s fine. Way too drugged out for me. Heroin is for fucking losers.

Well it was a great album back in the day but not one of my faves

Ik weet niet wat het is, maar er is iets wat mij hierin tegenstaat. Ik weet dat dit een iconisch album zou moeten zijn, maar ik hoor enkel een zeurderige en valse stem. En dat door elkaar. Niet te doen.

Okay, to start off, I had then missed up in my head with velvet revolver. That didn't help the fact that this just isn't music that I typically enjoy. At least it's not "napalm death"

I just don't like it. I really want to but it's not musical.

Not a fan. Too trippy.

this album is so overrated what the

Listened to this and it was so-so. I did notice that some of the lyrics were outstanding. Musically it was a bit underwhelming and mixed like it was recorded in the 60’s… which it was. Can definitely see the influence thy had on more contemporary artists. But probably won’t listen to this again.

Interesting. Some good sounds here. Lou Reed from this band does “take a walk in the wild side”.

Would need a few listens I think.

traag en saai

Klinkt echt heel onafgewerkt, en experimenteel. Blijkbaar is het art-rock, maar deze kunst is niets voor mij

Meh

AJ: fart

Never a fan to be honest. In saying that there are a couple of tracks here everyone knows but I struggle with the others.

Not my cup of tea

Not my thing, last song actively hard to listen to

It seems like an album you got to listen in context to get it's significance. Some classic songs obviously but not something I'd listen again.Experiment

Entirely forgettable

no me gustó :( im sorry

I can hear that music I love was influenced by this album but it's not doing anything for me.

Much like Andy Warhol himself, I don't understand the hype. It's certainly decent and had some good tracks, but I feel like you really need to be on drugs to get the full impact. Being stone cold sober, this really didn't do much for me. Standout tracks: Sunday Morning, I'll Be Your Mirror

Meh, all kind of sounds the same. Didn't recognize any songs. 2/10

Well I’ll be. I did not know REM took inspiration from Lou Reed/Velvet. On the whole this sounded dated.

Some classics that I enjoy however there is too much screaming distortion. Hurts the years.

I didnt hate it but i didnt enjoy any of it. wouldnt listen again. sadge. not on this album but 'walk on the wild side' is an annoying song to me. love sweet jane though

I don't know. I think The Velvet Underground is overrated. I find Lou Reed to be overrated. Frankly, Andy Warhol is overrated too. He certainly doesn’t deserve a bridge named after him in Pittsburgh. I’m not sure who Nico is or what songs he sings. All of the vocalists are mediocre. The album is pretty dark and covers some seedy topics. I am coming to the conclusion that “art rock” is not my thing.

Not really my style.

Influential, but I find it overrated. Often dull and drab, sometimes grating but not in a good way.

It's ok. Better than 1969's The Velvet Underground. Not bad for some interesting ambient music.

I will be honest I didn’t get this and don’t really get the hype for it. Its not awful but I don’t think I will ever be cool enough to like this

Bizarre. Not really my vibe, feels like I should be in a hookah cantina. Has some neat songs though.

Quite like the Nico ones, they are usually nice and melodic and well sung. The Lou Reed ones less so, trying too hard to be edgy at the expense of musicality. Again I get how influential they are and how this sets the template for punk etc but not my kind of thing

Starts off ok and then just keeps getting worse.

2/5. I have to be objective and not rate an album based on the name of the band, and as a result I’m giving this album a 2/5. Heroin is such an awesome song, but the rest of the album is rather lackluster and too psychedelic for my taste.

I've not listened to them before. From the band summary I was expecting something a bit more original and dynamic than this. Seems to be more 'exploratory and innovative' than any good

Not as good as I remembered.

Met vlagen is het goeie muziek, maar regelmatig is het ook vervelend dissonant. Neem nou dat luchtalarmachtige geluid bij Heroin wat maar blijft doorgaan. Ik trek dat heel slecht. En zo zit er meer valse herrie in dit album. Jammer.

Don't listen sober. Hasn't aged well.

I thought this was just an alright record. I think in this record I'm hearing the difference between 'heroin music' and 'coke music' haha (this being heroin music obvs) One in my listening group noted it is 'unsatisfying' and that maybe it was important to the hipsters in the 60s but not to me. It's hard to believe this ranks 13th on the Rolling Stone list... actually that was the biggest let down of this experience - so much hype for what felt like such a droning and repetitive and self-indulgent record.

Was going to rate higher but that last song... ugh

Liked I’m waiting for the man, Femme Fatale, Run Run Run, and I’ll be your mirror. I didn’t like this overall it was boring but I think I might give it a 3 if I gave it another listen but I’m so far behind so f that

Does not make me want to hear more. What stood out to me were the dissonance of instruments and Lou Reed’s not very melodious talk-singing.

2/5 Best: Heroin Worst: The Black Angel's Death Song

Idk, heard a lot about this album but did not love it

When ibsaw this album come up... I thought... Velvet Underground, this will be hit or miss!! Listened to the album, and yes I can get why, back in the day, these guys were rated as out there and experimental with sounds, and I'm sure there's many a "music" critic who will criticise me for saying this... but listening to it as an album of work, without all the nostalgia and meaning from way back in the day... its really not that great, and I'd say more of a miss than a hit, for me anyway. Just sounded like they were having a jam session where each of them came up with a track and they had a go at playing it, because it was quite rough and unhinged in many places... European Son being the worst by far.

I really don't get the hype. Don't like the vocals from Nico. Lou Reeds vocals also are all over the place. Weird ending to the album.

Didn't enjoy it that much

First listen through, I very much did not enjoy this. I recognized the album cover but knew nothing going in. The first song or two was decent, but the longer it went on the more I struggled to enjoy it. Like I was genuinely annoyed multiple times.

-didn’t write a BL- AL: I came into this album expecting a lot. One of the most famous albums of all time and frequently lauded by the critics as one of the best albums of all time, and the album cover in my opinion, is probably the most famous album cover of all time. Andy Warhol of course being the eponymous painter of the cover. If only the album was as good as the cover… I thought this was just very ok. I got excited with the first track because it’s very well orchestrated, however the rest of the album just sort of devolves into noise, in my opinion. I understand that this album is kind of an amalgamation of all that was relevant at the moment which is why it’s seen as so culturally significant but these days the early experiments in distortion leave a lot to be desired. It also doesn’t help that I think Nico isn’t a very good singer. Lou Reed and the other members of The Velvet Underground are very clearly talented and for a record made in the 60s to sound so modern is quite interesting. But it just doesn’t cut it today and it generally felt pretty underwhelming. It was good to experience one of the most iconic albums of all time. But I’m not a big fan. FT: “Sunday Morning” 2/5

some very good solos with the droning guitars going on too, however ultimately disappointing.

This is the 3rd Velvet Underground album. I am still trying to figure out why. I did not really care for it. It was not a super long album which is helpful. There is nothing to revisit.

Started out slow and boring for me, until I read up on the album and decided to actually read the lyrics. Kind of crazy how that can change your whole outlook! The screechy mic feedback effects I can do without. That’s an automatic change the song in my books. Nobody wants to hear that! Listen again: maybe Purchase for my collection: only for collectibility Favourite Song: Run, run, run Worst Song: Heroin (with the mic feedback constantly)

It is what it is.

Not bothered

Listened through twice, can't really get into it. It's a bit droney.

Some bearable songs but they aren't very good, with two average singers.

A couple of good songs. A lot of dross. Never understood the hype. Lou Reed was much better as a solo artist.

Boring.

Some people get Lou Reed. I'm not one of those people.

overrated piece of crap

I think Sunday morning is probably my favourite song from this album, simply because it's something I'd really like to wake up to on a Sunday morning.

It’s alright

Okay, I guess. Definitely enjoyed Reed's solo effort Transformer a lot more than this. I'm also not a big fan of Nico's voice. Kind of a mood record and it's a mood I'm rarely in. 1 - bad 2 - average 3 - good 4 - great 5 - outstanding

overrated

At first I was wondering how they went from what seemed to be a more enjoyable and coherent album to the cum bucket that is White Light/White Heat, but then I hit the halfway point. Andy Warhol just found a bunch of stoned beat poets and threw some guitars and trash can lids at them and said play, didn't he?

One of the most overrated albums in history in my opinion. Not much stands out to me at all.

Meh

2.6

Pass.

I don’t like bananas. I don’t know if it’s the taste, the smell, the texture, or the fact that it’s a little past it’s expiration date. This one is no exception. 2 stars

Just a drone....I do enjoy Lou Reed's voice and guitar work.

Dont have much to say about this one. I love the albums phsycadelicly distorted soundscape, but the lack of any memorable moments (like a catchy chorus or guitar solo) makes the album fall flat for me. I think this album just isnt for me.

Overrated sludge

That wasn’t particularly fun, tbh.

I feel like this album would be much more enjoyable on drugs. As far as being sober and listening to it, I just didn't really care for it.

Not really a fan of this, but would listen again

I actually couldn't wait for this to be over. Just nonsensical speaking into the mic. 3/10.

I'll acknowledge the foundation that this album likely created, but the content and sound is something for its time. Apparently only 30,000 copies sold in its first 5 years but every one of those people who bought the album started their own band. Sounds okay to me for the most part, but I can't replay it.

.... idk, very of its time? tops: Sunday morning Femme fatale Venus in furs Run run run

some of this was a bit too droning for me but some songs were fun, most of them just didn't stand out to me except venus in furs and i'm waiting for the man (a classic!!). i liked their creative use of instruments with the 60s sound but didn't like the tone of some of their songs esp european son, there she goes again, & run run run. idk maybe needs a vibecheck?

It was fine, not really my genre again

this album was not for me. i appreciate its influence? i'm glad musicians i like heard it and got excited and inspired?

sure.

I knew of this album and was excited to listen to it because I knew that when it came out it was very influential in experimental/psychadelic rock but I have to admit that on my first listen, I really didn't enjoy the album. Then I listened a second time with the mindset that it was the first of its kind when it was released. I liked it a little better the second time but I decided it's not really for me. I appreciate what it did in opening up new lanes for rock and as someone who is a fan of other psychedelic/weirder rock albums I can see it's importance. That being said, a lot of the songs didn't resonate with me, the vocalists weren't my favorite, and I had trouble finding songs that I enjoyed all the way throughout. I appreciate it but it probably won't be something I come back to. Favorite Songs: "Sunday Morning", "Femme Fatale", "I'll Be Your Mirror"

Have to admit I just don't get this. Cool heroin chic is all well and good but a fun album I want to listen to it does not make.

SUNDAY MORNING - Fin harmonik, melodi och sång. Trevlig ballad. I'M WAITING FOR THE MAN - Partylåt, samma grove genom hela låten. Helt ok men aningen tråkig. FEMME FATALE - Min favorit hittils. Nicos röst är väldigt trevlig att lyssna på. Enkel rak låt med en bra melodi och text. VENUS IN FURS - Helt ok, nice fiolspel. Medeltidskänsla. RUN RUN RUN - Experimentell blues. Solot behöver vi inte prata om igen. ALL TOMORROW'S PARTIES - Tack för att du räddar mig igen Nico. Den tyska brytningen gör det vädligt bra faktiskt. HEROIN - Upplevelsen när du tar ditt koks. Intressant. THERE SHE GOES AGAIN - Helt okej. Vet inte vad jag ska säga. Inte min favorit direkt. I'LL BE YOUR MIRROR - Nico igen som gör det bra. Märkt att detta band gillar tonika-subdominant ackordgångar. THE BLACK ANGEL'S DEATH SONG - Skum. Lou Reed mina damer och herrar. EUROPEAN SON - Inte mycket text. Men ljudet är ju WTF.

Some parts were nice, some parts just noisy. I wouldn't seek it out again.

There are a few albums that are really highly regarded and highly rated but I just don’t get. This is one of them. I think I’ve listened to this 10 times over the years but I still don’t like it. I particularly dislike Nico’s voice and think her rendition of All tomorrow's parties is horrible. I think I’ll just have to agree to disagree with all the fans of this record.

2 stars. Itsfar too lo-fi and noisy for my taste

Non mi ha fatto impazzire.

Nico is terrible.

Honestly... getting tired of "noise" albums. Screeching violin strings, or crazy guitar/amp feedback in a recording is ridiculous. The song Heroin dropped this down to a 2 star for me. And it's one of the more played songs on the album. I just don't get it.

Maybe I didn't do the research on this one. I don't know who Nico is, I feel like there's a concept here but I don't know what it is. Is the Warhol tie just aesthetic? This is probably what I expected from Lou Reed? All I know is satellite of love, and there was nothing like that here.

Meh. Not bad I guess

Ok.

Passé

Don't do drugs, kids... Heb met gemengde interesse naar dit album geluisterd. Er staan een paar aangename nummers op om naar te luisteren. Andere zijn een hele doorworsteling.. Moeilijk te beoordelen

The shrieking and/or monotone background melodies in half of the songs spoiled it a lot

Christ, this fucking sucks. Why does this book constantly, without end, punish me with late 60s SHIT? 2/5.

cansativo

2/5 ekki mitt

as far nothing really HIT me hard. ,,sunday morning" kinda calm, u can hear kind of bells in the background what gives the vibe (but are not my favourite), and the guitar, that peacefull vocal is nice ,,waiting for my man" is also nice to listen ,,femme fatale" another one with peaceful vocal. nice. liked it ,,venus in furs" not as peacefull as previous one becouse of the background noises ,,run run run" definitly better begining has kinda nice vibe. ,,all tomorrow`s party" sounds nice. ,,heroin'' the beggining is cool but the end literrally hurt my ears (after 5th minute) i had to turn off the volume ,,there she goes away" nice to listen. lite. liked it ,,i`ll be your mirror" lite/sunny vibe. nice. good to listen when you don`t want to worry for the single thing in life ,,the black angel`s death song" from the begginig it`s that hard to listen and unpleasant kind of screetching. not liked it (mostly bc of that) ,,european son" started with a nice nutes (sound of breaking glass) later it started to be hard to listen for me. i coudn`t properlly finish it album is ok, firsts songs has a nice vibe and, but some of them are just imposible to listen and literally hurt my ears. definitly not liked ,,heroin" , ,,the black angel`s death song" and ,,european son". the rest of them i could at to my playlists. my favourite one is ,,I`ll be your mirror'' and ,,femme fatale" (i think). but still nothing hit me really hard. some of these songs were really 8/10, but all of the album 5/10

The one chord 70s sound is not my things.

Didnt mind this one - nothing outstanding but could give it another listen!!

I don't see what the big deal of this band is, but maybe its more of an influence thing than an actual product thing. Of course, when Andy motherfucking Warhol makes your album art I guess that's a good sign. Venus In Furs is not great as a song but cool as an artistic expression. Heroin is a legitimate masterpiece work of art. European Son is minutes of aimless noodling and feedback. I am docking a star for that bullshit.

Just kinda boring. I get the slacker 60s aesthetic, but it drags on after a song or two. No standout tracks.

Honestly, I didn't get the big deal with this!!!

Wavey sounds, droning vocals, not my thing

Weird and psychedelic, has extremely repetitive drums, bass, and chorus. Fav song was Venus In Furs

The Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) If one is careful to keep in mind that this was produced in 1967, one can appreciate its positives while observing its many negatives. On the plus side, the music of The Velvet Underground, led by singer/guitarist/songwriter Lou Reed (of the great hit “Walk on the Wild Side”, 1972), successfully breaks from the sometimes stifling confines of 1-3-5 chord structures and Scotch-Irish melodies (tracks 4, 10, 11). The group deploys a groundbreaking ‘droning’ compositional structure (tracks 5, 6, 7, 10) that would be (more successfully) followed by others (e.g., the last six minutes of “Three Days” by Jane’s Addiction) And the lyrics make a more explicit dive into the hitherto under-explored themes of opioid use and sadomasochistic ‘sexuality’ (Some will argue that this is not a ‘plus’, until one admits that since these themes are part of our culture, it would be a poverty if artists were forbidden to treat of them). On the negative side, these works are poorly performed. Nico (tracks 3, 6, and 9) cannot sing. And her voice is not helped on “Femme Fatale” by the serious distortion on her channel (too much gain required?). Sterling Morrison’s rhythm guitar is frequently out of tune; likewise John Cale’s viola is suffering in the intonation. Maureen Taylor’s drumming is good and innovative, but it fails monstrously in the attempt to keep the group together, especially in passages where there are frequent and complex tempo changes (e.g., on “Heroin”—although it could be argued that this was intentional, to produce a ‘heroin effect’, in which case it was a bad musical choice, and it confirms my dictum that heroin always screws up the music). I suspect that Reed and Taylor paid little attention to one another in the studio. I also suspect that this rhythmic disjunction was so bad that on several occasions Taylor was dropped from the mix altogether. The recordings are under-rehearsed and sloppily improvisational. The musical ad lib is fine for concerts, but an album is an album. And finally, it’s terribly obvious that the group needs a good (and brave) bass player. Brian Eno famously said of the influence of this album that while only 30,000 people bought it, they all went out and formed rock bands. To the extent that that’s true, it could have been because those 30,000 thought anybody can do this. Listen to the closing track “European Son” (as much as you can stand) for an illustration. Brian Eno should stick to producing. 2/5

This experimental and debut album has been cited for its influence on other artists. As I listen to it, I just hear attempts to mimic and build upon others from Dylan to the Byrds or the Beatles. The original parts with odd layerings are what minimize the result to me. Each track feels like it starts with a really good beat, sound or theme and then it goes either off the rails or on and on so repetitively.

Ugh. Well, their first album is markedly better than the second album. I do know “Waiting For The Man.” So there’s the one song, like in the other album. This one… it’s just so sixties. And not in a good way. It’s very dated. And you could feel the Andy Warhol influence all over it. So as opposed to the second album which was like a 1.8 rounded up, this is probably a 2.2 rounded down. I did not hate it as much, but it sounded so incredibly dated and pretentious I can’t imagine coming back to it.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think I've listened to this entire album before. There are tracks that I like and would listen to again ("Femme Fatale", "Sunday Morning"), and most of the album is good enough. Two tracks have so much added noise ("European Son", "Heroin") that I wouldn't want to put this album on again. Most of the tracks were good, but if I'm rating the album as a whole - "no thanks, it's not for me."

2.75

Ok these guys have some solid stuff but kinda fuck that album. At least the end — I ended up literally about to smash something during European Son. That shit ain’t music. Sorry I’m in a bad mood but that song honestly might’ve been the reason haha

Rock and influential figure of punk. The band has an interesting story on Wikipedia. Buthowdoesitsounddd?? Good: Sunday Morning - Beautiful. Feels like a good dream ya dig Femme Fatale - I wish the whole album sounded like these two songs I’ll Be Your Mirror - light and breezy like a linen pantsuit Bruh: Heroin - this song is the epitome of this album. something about the pulsating drum heartbeat and the unnerving electric strings work with the vocals and it’s beautiful. Still weird but nice. Then ~5min in, and the guitar is literally screeching like it wants to die. And I want to die too. Wtf happened. Bad: Venus in Furs - really not pleasant to listen to European Son - it’s like they’re playing rock in the garbage disposal Overall:4/10. When it’s good it’s goooood. But when it’s bad it hurts. Will def be adding Sunday and Femme to a playlist

Some songs I liked, some I didn't so much. I got rather bored after a while. 2/5 stars.

last 5 mins being boring guitar jerking off so cool wow, opener track does bang tho

Ok enough I guess but just basic and monotonous and the irritating screeching and scratching was annoying. And never Nico.

A godlike album cover for a less than decent record

Ja, ein Klassiker. Aber nicht so ganz meins. Und Nico, die Sängerin, kann den Ton nicht treffen. Wenn man sich die Geschichte auf Wikipedia dazu ansieht, weiß man warum

I can hear why it's respected and relevant, but just doesn't really appeal to me.

2.5

Meh, sonido innovador para la época, pero no me gusto mucho. Se nota que fueron influencia de bandas de los 90 .

Muy repetitivo

Could never get into these guys

Chill, nice. Definitely something I could live without.

Bastante coñazo psicodélico. Algunos temas, como European song son una auténtica tomadura de pelo.

Didn't really enjoy the album.

Great history, not my favorite album

Had high expectations. Was disappointed.

At first I didn't like it...then I put a heroin spike in my vein and it started to sound really good.

Nice rock album. Personally I don't think it stands out.

Não gostei muito :)

Fine, probably the most forgettable of them so far. Actual classic rock.

Had to skip multiple songs that violated my ears

Puuduttava levy

I respect The Velvet Underground and like a lot of their stuff, but there are parts of this one where they lose me. Mostly it's the parts with the electric viola (wtf), and unfortunately, that overshadows what would otherwise be some really solid stuff. The album that has Sweet Jane on it should have been on this list instead. Best track: All Tomorrow's Parties

Iconic... album art but what’s with the music tho? Not very special or interesting or good really

so obnoxious

2/10

ts is GARBAGE bro

What the fuck? like this is honestly just terrible. I was going to give it 2 stars until the nearly 8 minute "jam session" at the end. That was so sloppy and not enjoyable at all. these sound like songs a literal child would write their first time picking up a guitar. There was a landscaper leaf-blowing outside my office during Heroin and I swear it improved the song. Ben Gibbard said not too long ago that he prefers the Velvet Underground to The Beatles. Ben Gibbard is an idiot and has bad taste in music. I like the Postal Service a little bit less after listening to this album.

1. zunday - 2 2. man - 1 3. femme - 1 4. venuz - 2 5. run - 1 6. partiez - 1 7. heroin - 2 8. again - 1 9. mirror - 1 10. death - 1 11. zon - 2

1.5/5 slow and boring

worst one yet this was so bad TwT

Not my style

sucks

??? Just noise and a guitar

Oh god not another Nico album… At least it’s not Yoko Ono, but it’s probably up there with worst collabs of all time. There are some really bad sections in here that just make no sense to me. It sounds chaotic and just messy. I think some songs were fine, but others made me want to rip my head off.

Sometimes boring, often painful to listen to. The music was poor, and neither of those two can sing

too boring and sad for me

This makes me very grateful that music has evolved greatly since this came out. An absolute slog to get through, idk how this is considered one of the greats cause it sure isn't, 1/5

Bad... especially European Son

Old but gold but not my favorite

mierdita

Disjointed and awkward. Feels like I wondered into a jam session attended entirely be people who were insanely high and thought that they had just played the best sound ever made, then instantly forgot what it was and spent the next five minutes trying to find it again. Awful.

This is absolutely not my cup of tea, skipped nearly every song 😮‍💨

It has its moments but man this is suuuuper overrated. Definitely cool for it’s time and was a rare success as an avant garde album but it struggles holding up today. As the album progressed it got more grating and miserable lowering it from 2 to a 1. Hardly even singing.

Tampoco es para mi

Holy shit this is utter garbage. *This* is a cult classic?? There are some nice moments - Venus In Furs - but it overstays its welcome wayyy too much. No wonder it only sold 30,000 copies in the first 5 years. There's nothing but boring blues-y riffs and vocals drier than Bob Dylan. Plus a little bit of droning. I guess there's some sort of "you had to be there to understand it" energy but the young people who glaze this either haven't listened to it or are performative as all hell. I took a shower and instantly forgot everything I heard off this album. Only memorable aspect is the album cover and the gimmick of peeling the banana. 1/5

Nicht mein Fall

3/10 - nah, overrated hippy rock

Okay. I’m beginning to think this random album generator is playing tricks on me. Every album so far as been “meh”. But this one? Yeah, no. I could just hear the pretentious blaring in my ears. No thanks.

I've heard this album, at least piecemeal, before and I never liked it. Listening to it all the way through now I get it more... But it's still a 1 to me. The rough production, the monotone beat, none of that gets to me. What kills it for me is the lack of groove. It's so stiff.

:,(

I’m learning I really don’t like experimental rock

This album sucks

It's just noise. Constant incoherent noise.

Ei lähteny kyllä yhtään, rasittavia eksperimentaaleja möykkäbiisejä, vähän Bob Dylan vibejä ja 60-luvun perusrokkia. Kovinkin pitkältä tuntuva levy, ei hyvällä tavalla

Det er noe hint av musikk innimellom.

Did not enjoy.

I am certain that at the time this was released, it would have appealed to most people in the era it was thrust upon us, for me now, it feels dated and it unfortunately hasn’t aged well. I struggled with this and could only pick out 1 or 2 stand out pieces. More miss than hit.

Some tracks gave me Pixies vibes (specifically I'm Waiting For The Man) which kind of makes sense since I read that the Pixies were inspired by The Velvet Underground much like many other bands at the time. This speaks of how influential this album was back then, but I wasn't honestly that impressed. No track really stood out to me enough that I would like to listen to it again and the length of some is certainly one of the reasons why. Another reason is that some of the tracks honestly have unlistenable sections because of extreme strings or guitars, especially the last 2 tracks. At that point it just becomes noise rock which I'm not a big fan of.

1/1001 Psychedelic rock? Yeah it was like I was on LSD. Apparently an influential album. Forgive my uncultured self, but it was a less-than-decent listen, wouldn't recommend. Song recommendation: I'll Be Your Mirror

It's way too rough of a sound combined with very repetitive songs.

I don’t know what I expected Velvet Underground to sound like, but this wasn’t it. This album just sounds weird, I can’t vibe with this at all because all the songs just have something weird in its instrumentation or sound and I can’t find myself to like it. I’m listening to the gosh darn 45th anniversary version of this album and it still sounds awful. I can’t enjoy a single song on this album so it deserves a 1.

While I get the influence this album has had on countless artists that followed, this isn't for me.

359/1089 - Redundant music, abysmal production quality, horrible voices: one nasal talk singer (without the charisma or dynamics of Bob Dylan), and one German with no timbral variation making it dull and monotonous. I guess it has variation going for it in all of it's songs but when your songs are this crappy and repetitive, what's the point? Especially that last song is bullshit to listen to. It isn't enough to be "interesting" you also have to be competent, which escapes the sound engineers and performers. This rivals Joy Division and Ministry for being the worst album I've heard on the list. Non-list rec: Smiley Smile - The Beach Boys (1967) A somewhat eerie sounding Beach Boys album mostly made of re-recorded Smile tracks at Brian Wilson's house with unconventional (but competent) recording methods. Good Vibrations and Woody Woodpecker Symphony stand out to me.

It's obvious these people barely know how to play their instruments or compose anything close to being called music. Just dull and boring. Being stoned can't even help me listen to this.

não é pra mim

This album sounded like a bunch of grown men playing with instruments. This resulted in horrible screeching sounds of guitar and flute, and the only times we were spared of that was during either the boring, repetitive solos or horrible singing, with its lyrics also fitting this experimental vibe. I honestly don’t know if I can make worse sounds come out of an electric guitar than some of the sounds in this album.

The dudes voice in “Sunday Morning” is annoying, it’s literally grinding my gears. “I’m Waiting For The Man” sounds like it would be in an early 2000’s coming of age movie, like Whip It. “Femme Fatale” sounds like most of the inspo came from Nico. The dudes voice in “Venus In Furs” is a little bit more bearable. “Run Run Run” is a song I never need to hear again and I would live happy. This is such a bad album.

If Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones had a vocal love child. Proof that people on drugs and not just boring to talk to but also to listen to… “Let’s hold the one note for 5 mins straight” I know I am supposed to think this is one of the greatest most important pieces of work ever. I just don’t get it. 🤷‍♂️

Skipped through it. I'm reclaiming my time from bad vocals. There seems to be a lot of that on this list.

I’m so sorry, they’re clearly very influential for future artist but something about this album just pisses me off so much. I’ve got no clue why but I can’t stand them. Not then, not now Ok I tried listening from he top and I literally wanted to pull the plug on myself the song heroine sounds like trains, I had to take off my headphones on European son

If I could give it a 0 I would. Shit album, shit concept, shit music.

Not for me at all…

shit album

This album, and really anything involving Lou Reed, actively annoys me. There is only one version of Heroin worth listening to, and it isn't this one. It's an arrangement for Bang On A Can by composer David Lang. 1 star.

#24 Boring, even-paced songs to fall asleep to 😴

Maybe the first post-rock album? Almost sounds like it intentionally resists interpretation, with a lot of freeform and minimal structure. While I appreciate the trailblazing nature, this was not an appealing listen at all. Maybe repeat listens help it click more, but it's almost too musically challenging to really understand on first pass. Comes across as a lot of musical gibberish

Not huge on this one. Kind of annoying

Overrated. Undercooked. God it’s overrated. John cale is the star player. Lou reed is like Neil young. Not untalented but not a generational talent. It is a must hear album because a coterie of critics and fans was told it was important. That arch fraud andy warhols involvement gave it prominence but I’m not convinced it’ll last another edition of this. Pretentious and underdone. 1 star.

I mean Nico, Jesus wept. Dead Dimery inflicted one of her records on this process earlier, I was so disoriented I forgot my own name and was found rummaging in the bins behind Aldi. And now this. The record that launched a thousand drug addled wankers. I'll bet The Libertines loved this. I put it on and just stared out the window, the dog whimpered at my feet, feeling my pain. And then a memory slowly moved towards the frontal lobe and I put on Rock and Roll Animal, where Dick Wagner, Steve Hunter and Prakash John gave Reed what he needed: really good hard edged bass and guitar and some of those Velvets songs actually came alive, probably Reed's best moment. But this...

Interesting structure but would not listen to it again.

Did not like this one. Maybe I don't have enough trauma to enjoy this.. or drugs in my system, maybe?

This is my second offering of Lou Reed (the first being Berlin). I think it’s safe to say I’m just not a Lou Reed fan. This album is the kind of jangly, discordant garage rock that I simply cannot stand. Both Reed’s and Nico’s vocals are just there for me, neither offensive nor outstanding. Some of the melodies are decent, but either jump the shark quickly to disharmony or sound too much like they’re coming from the inside of a tin can. I found the album felt longer than it was, which is never a good thing. I’m glad I listened to it as I’d heard of The Velvet Underground, but never had a sound to put behind them as a frame of reference. Now, I do and know I’m definitely not a fan.

Pourri, so désagréable sauf quelques bouts

Noise

Yuckie, this album was a difficult listen. I couldn't get through it without stopping. Hate.

Not my type of music.

I don’t see how influential this album could be, boring as bat shit!

Still not a fan.

I genuinely fucking hate this, really dissapointing

I'm sure this album is hugely influential, and my tastes are too boring to understand this album. Whatever. Nico sucks. This album isn't great.

Not for me. Felt like being sober in a room full of stoned people jamming on instruments. A lot of moments where it was really harsh and noisy in the earphones which had me wanting to quit. A couple of enjoyable moments maybe. Lou Reed was also partly responsible for Metallica's worst album which is difficult to forget.

A garbled mess. Sounds like inexperience to me. Lack of consistent rhythm, several songs dragged on far too long with super repetitive verses. Very boring and repetitive. Not enjoyable. 3/10.

langweilig

Started off ok, but the second half was tedious and self indulgent.

Sounds like the mamas and papas on a massive downer! Happy to never have to sit through that again!

Ergh. Absolute dogshit

This might be some of my least favourite music ever. It is scratchy and pingy. If the damage isn’t done physically by these high frequency clanks, it is done emotionally.

Uskomattoman hirveää. Biisit muuttuivat yhä psykedeellisimmiksi albumin loppua kohti niin että lopulta vingutus sattui korviin. Laulajan ääni, eikä hänen tapansa puhua laulamisen sijaan saanut minua pitämään tästä yhtään enempää. Mietin myös onko säveltäjä unohtanut, että feidaamisen lisäksi on muitakin tapoja päättää kappale.

That damn banana haunts my dreams, and it really doesn't get much better on my second listen. I can't think of many albums I've listened to that I feel got worse the second time around. It's really close between this and Rubber Soul by The Beatles for the most overrated album ever in my opinion. There are two or three good songs, but the album as a whole is an absolute slog and significantly more influential than it is good. Lou Reed's solo work is better in genuinely every way.

Clearly I'm missing something obvious here. Because what the actual fuck. Whaaaaat a suck fest. Were they all taking their first music lessons on the same day? And someone hit record? Looks like someone accidentally plugged their guitar into a toaster. Oh, and by the way, Lou Reed can't sing for shit. Oh, and by the way, Nico can't sing for shit. I return to -- what the fuck am I missing here? Fave songs: - Sunday Morning - Femme Fatale - Heroin - I'll Be Your Mirror

boring af 1/5

Boooooring

I think that people who saw the VU in NYC originally, weren't inspired to start a band as much as they saw the VU and said, "I can do better than that." I really don't care about the VU, "waiting for the man" is great, but the rest doesn't grab my attention. I'll pass - start your own band, with a little practice you'll be better than the VU in no time.

I am biased but always found this band really overrated.

Having never knowingly heard Velvet Underground before, if this is what they normally sound like, I don't want to hear another album. The only reason I can think this album would be influential is if every garage band wannabe hears it and thinks "I can do better than this" and they DO. I get pushing boundaries and letting your art be your art and doing your own thing, but that doesn't mean it has to influence everyone. "The Black Angel's Death Song" has that haunting viola in it, but the hissing detracts from the song. "European Son"? Garbage. I feel like I could have gone my entire life without listening to this album and been happy. My Rating: 1/5

Complete sh*t. 0/5

If being apart of this project has taught me one thing its that i dont care much for Psych Rock

Genius? Or noise? I vote for the latter…

Eww

1.5

What the heck was that? I've seen this record around the stores. That giant banana is hard to miss. I've been wanting to buy it just for the cover art alone. I no longer have that desire after listening to it. I do not know who the guitarist is on this album, but it's absolute trash. I could chicken scratch something that sounds way better than that. Maybe it's all by design to be "weird", but it was quite off-puting. It's a struggle to find a single song that doesn't annoy me to add to the 1001 playlist. "There she goes again" takes that honor. ~ No Stars

For the life of me I can't understand what the appeal of discordant noise is under the context of music. It's terrible to listen to.

I can't get down with this. I get that they're trying to do something here. It's just not something I want.

So that sucked! Just peel off the banana, keep the cool sticker, and never put this into your record player.

heroin almost had to skip. fucking grating noise. nothing remarkable.

Pretty generic hippie rock. I think there may have been some novelty in the mixing of the album, but I wasn't paying quite enough attention to truly say.

Did not love it. Experimental sounds and stripped down 60s hippie stuff and weird vocalists.

The whole album sounds like the intro to something I have no desire to continue listening to. I try to pick at least one song from each album to add to a playlist, but I can't find any redeeming tracks on this.

Maybe in an alternate universe there is a version of me that likes The Velvet Underground & Nico. In this current timeline, I find this album quite annoying. So freaking annoying. The music is uneven and tiresome. It sounds like a bunch of middle school kids in their first jam session as a band. Lou Reed’s voice is quite grating. He sounds like a bad Dylan impersonator. And the other vocals aren’t really any better. I mean, sorry, but The Velvet Underground & Nico is absolute shite. Okay, so it’s “groundbreaking” due to some of the lyrical content. But I can’t enjoy the content because it’s unlistenable, experimental garbage. I guess you have to do lots of drugs to enjoy this nonsense. I’ll stop because I have nothing good to say here. It’s a 1 rating officially but really a big fat zero. 1/5.

First half is okay VU, back half is unlistenable. 1/5

mid and boring

an interesting listen. no real sense of cohesion imo… not necessarily bad! i will say that i REALLY like the track “Venus In Furs” bc it’s super groovy!! the tracks that were most popular according to apple music were lowkey highkey mid. heroin was an AWFUL RIDE (i was uncomfortable asf because WHAT WERE THOSE INSTRUMENTALS). props to the velvet underground though because they did a really great job of conveying their message with that one. overall, a bit too old sounding for my tastes and a lowkey unpleasant listen.

This one didn't grab me—I wasn't a fan

Really boring songs. Every one of them feels like it goes on too long. I hate the Bob Dylan singing style choices. Awful. I have never understood why this band is popular and after hearing their lauded debut in full, it remains a mystery. I think it's made even worse by comparing to the other music of the day. Break on Through, Light My Fire, and People Are Strange by The Doors. Purple Haze, Fire, and Foxey Lady by Jimi Hendrix. Reach Out (I'll Be There) by The Four Tops. The Fool on the Hill, Strawberry Fields Forever, and Penny Lane by the Beatles. How did people hear this with all that other stuff going on and think it was great?

Not a fan.

Not for me

I've always heard of The Velvet Underground as being pioneers/influencers and so on.. what a load of drivel.. This particular album is in my opinion borderline assault and I've heard plenty of ropey music in my time. I really fail to understand how after recording and then listening back to the finished work they had the cahoonies to actually subject the listening world to it.

This is the 22nd album I’m rating. I’ve heard a lot of great things about this album but I don’t know anything about it. I’m predicting it’s punk though. I hope this is like To Pimp a Butterfly and not The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. Sunday Morning - Not Adding to my Playlist. Well shit. This is kinda shit. He sings like me and I don’t sing well. I’m Waiting for the Man - Not Adding to my Playlist. I’m sorry to every music critic but that singing is truly bad. Femme Fatale - Adding to my Playlist. I planned on listening to this song for a long time but I never got around to doing it. However, I had heard a little bit of it. The singing kinda sounds like Amanda Palmer but this was way before she started making music so it’s probably the other way around. Venus In Furs - Not Adding to my Playlist. Cool instrumentals but I hate that singing. Bring back Nico. Run Run Run - Not Adding to my Playlist. Lou Reed kinda sucks. All Tommorow’s Parties - Adding to my Playlist. I can see how these songs influenced many musicians but they also kinda suck. Heroin - Not Adding to my Playlist. Get someone else to sing. There She Goes Again - Not Adding to my Playlist. I’m sorry Lou Reed. I’ll Be Your Mirror - Adding to my Playlist. Nico is better than Lou Reed but she still kinda sucks. The Black Angel’s Death Song - Not Adding to my Playlist. I had hope but this isn’t good. European Son - Not Adding to my Playlist. Interestingly bad. All in all I liked 3/11 songs. It is no coincidence the 3 songs I liked were sung by Nico. Lou Reed is not that good of a singer. This was more like The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill than To Pimp a Butterfly.

Early psychedelic

It was going to be a 2 till European Son because what the actual fuck. It's literally just a collection of harsh sounding noise and pretentious self-described avant-garde officiandos will still somehow convince you that it's a really deep metaphor for society if everybody was a banana or something bullshit. The lyrics scream edgy teenager, the sound is harsh and grating, and the fans don't make it much better. The album cover and the first track are the only things saving it from claiming the title for worst album I've ever heard. At least its better than The Life of a Showgirl.

Ok alternative band. Album artwork is the best.

Not for me

Le doy una estrella porque está Nico, si no ni eso.

1 star. At some point I kept wondering if I was listening to a Bob Dylan cover band and not being a Dylan fan makes that hard for me.

Didn’t love the screeching interrupted by a decent song every so often. However I do want whatever the group was on when they made this.

It was experimental, but not fun to listen to. IT sounded exactly like what it was - someone trying to be as weird with music as possible. It just wasn;t good.

In fact, a half star maximum

Physically painful to listen to. 2/10

Started out ok, a solid 3. Then a few songs in I'm like eh, its more of a 2, don't really care for it. Then Heroin played and it grates your ears. The rest of the album doesn't get better. It's literal screeching, like the microphone is too close to the speaker so ever so often you get feedback. And the words are meh. He sounds like such an edgelord. Dump it. I want to go back and bump every other album up one point because at least they're not this. Best song: Sunday Morning

Dreary vocals, boring musically. This one wasn’t for me.

Boring and pretentious

No way i would ever want to give it a second spin

Some very weird songs

Another hour or so of waste (being polite here) entering my ears...

Also vielleicht ist das zu hoch für mich, aber mir gefällt's nicht!

Words fail to describe how much I despise this band. Love Lou Reed but Velvet Underground sucks.

Didn’t really feel it

I find the music grating. Definitely some bright spots but it's just from a time and culture that I can't connect with. I know Velvet Underground changed music in the long run, but I just don't get it

Ummmm I'm not sure about this one. What is with all the screeching. I don't think I'll listen to this again.

unpleasant and discordant to my ear. perhaps it serves some artistic purpose but i was mostly just put off

Grating, did not like this.

overrated

Песни американских селюков

oh god, the minute "sunday morning" started, I wanted to go back to bed. it feels like a lullaby

Lou Reed toch. Je hebt zoveel talent, waarom lever je dan telkens weer van die vage flutmuziek af? Je laat er zelfs een zangeres voor uit Duitsland komen, zo eentje met een stem als een diepe put waar de Duitse dames patent op lijken te hebben. Maar ook deze keer glijd je ongenadig uit over de bananenschil van de interessantdoenerij. Lou Reed, doe nou eens een keer je best. Het laatste kraaknummer op je plaat en je pretentieuze gepronk met Andy Hoe-heet-hij-ook-alweer-ik-kom-er-even-niet-op duwen je album onder Frans Bauer-niveau.

Ik snap wel dat het er in staat hoor. Er staan best interessante creaties tussen. Je moet wel van de speelsheid van jaren '60 houden. Om bij de jaren '60 te blijven. Femme Fatale zoekt de Beatles op, Heroin vindt Dylan. Dat slik ik allemaal al moeilijk. Maar het ergste zijn de piepende/krassende geluiden. Het is een studio-album. Het lijkt allemaal opzet. Maar dan ben je toch als een een voorloper van de punk jouw eigen muziek aan het vernachelen.

Maybe this album has major influence for being a slap in the face to to the scene but like Andy Warhol art for me...you can keep it buried. Original hipster music that is just sprawled out like a lazy stoner but cool cause it's not trying to be music. It's just thing now man. Does this band get better with Lou Reed...I hope? With a finisher like "European Son"...1.3.

This started off okay, but went downhill toward the end and fell off a cliff.

Meh. Typical 1960s soft fuzzy kid music. Next.

Didn’t get on well with this. Boring at best, incomprehensible noise at worst. Is a 1 too harsh?

I'm glad this album apparently went on to inspire plenty of other artists. That's great, the album itself is shit

I think I went into this album with a pretty negative attitude about getting two Velvet Underground albums in a row. I was not pumped on yesterdays album and I think I like this one even less.

Velvet Underground 2 days in a row. Either this was a worse album or I didn’t want to hear them again. Either way got through it

don't like the long guitar solos :(

So incredibly NOT looking forward to listening to this. Lou Reed has all the bad voice characteristics of Bob Dylan, and none of the redeeming qualities. Sunday Morning: Yep. Suspicion confirmed I'm Waiting for the Man: this sounds like a third grader wrote it. Why do people think this album is so great? Femme Fatale: Weird (intentional?) distortion is jarring and unsettling. Zero merit in the background vocals. These are not good singers Venus in Furs: stylistically, the music reminds me of the The Doors, which is a plus. Absent the atrocious singing, this could be a cool song. The lyrics might even be ok, but how they're vocally presented just takes all merit from them for me Run Run Run: Sounds like a bad Creedence Clearwater Revival cover band. Horrible guitar screeching. WTF is this garbage? All Tomorrow's Parties: Starting with a bit of promise. Singing is super flat. If this is such a great album, I could make a "top 1,001 album" with all the ZERO musical talent I possess. In the TV show This Is Us, Mandy Moore's character, who is a MARVELOUS singer gets told she is "Pittsburgh good" at an audition for a record label. If she's only Pittsburgh good, then this band is "elementary school chorus bad" from a vocals perspective. Heroin: this song has some potential. Sounds cool. Slow pace, light drums, in tune, sort of twangy guitar....and now Lou Reed is ruining it with his Bob Dylan impression. Picking up speed, speeding toward disaster now. And back to the slow pace and Lou's completely unpolished...uh, everything. This fucking sucks, man. I hate Lou Reed. This is torture. How many songs are left? Oh god, four more. And this one isn't even half over... Caterwauling, horrible screeching feedback on the guitar. Terrible. This is THE song a teenager was listening to when their dad burst into the room and said "You call this music? This is just NOISE." Then the dad sits down in the kitchen and says "I just don't know about that kid, Martha" and pours himself a whiskey, wondering where he went wrong There She Goes Again: Alright, poppy potential...nope, here comes Lou Reed to ruin everything. Ultra simplistic lyrics, lame kindergarten rhyme scheme, and couldn't carry a tune if he had as many arms as on octopus I'll Be Your Mirror: Cool doo-wop sort of opening riff. Into it. Nico singing here. Eh, not bad. Not good either. Very simple lyrics, but not an entirely unpleasant song, I guess. Kind of off key The Black Angel's Death Song: frantic, screeching strings. Bad. Unenjoyable. Oh, here's Lou Reed again doing his best to be the worst. Is he... hissing into the microphone??? Or filling up a tire. WTF is this?!? Coming back to edit my notes, and re-reading the song's title, I will give the benefit of the doubt here and say that this is EXACTLY what a "death song" of a black angel would sound like. It does make a person want to die... European Sun: ooh, kinda Beatlesesque. This is fun. Poppy 60s guitar, nice pacing. Oh, here's Lou! Oh, wtf is that noise? Dragging a metal garbage can on the street? And here we go with out of tune, played too fast guitars, and...this is like when you give a kid an electric guitar for his birthday and he confidently (and wholly incorrectly and without any musical knowledge whatsoever) just starts playing as fast as he can. The pace gives me anxiety. Somehow this has devolved into something even worse. I'm wondering if this is like avant garde or something? Like such high art that an untrained person like me shouldn't even bother trying to understand. I mean, it does have a Warhol painting on the cover, and like wtf was that guy even doing? That's "art?" Nah, this band fucking SUCKS. Album: 0/10 would not recommend. Will continue to shit talk in the future Later in the day, thinking about the time this was released: This was not "ahead of its time." There has been no time in the last 50ish years that this would have been musically relevant. There was no boundary pushing here. This is just bad music made by bad musicians. There is no distillation of elements to make the complex art form simple. There is no taking of existing conventions and modifying them to produce something new and different. I would honestly be surprised if any of this album was more than just a loose idea and the old trope of the band leader saying something like "just follow along." Even then, I have heard competent musicians do this, and still sound cohesive and coherent. This is just a fucking mess. I fail to see any artistic merit. Anyone who claims to "get" this album, I would immediately assume was insufferably pretentious.

Good lord, what's with these white dudes and drawing out their syllables at the ends of lines in the lyrics. It's so stupidly annoying.

Honestly, some of the sounds on this record are downright obnoxious. Was listening to it at work and then heard a bunch of screeching sounds and was like WTF turn that off.

Femme Fatale The rhymes feel lazy. I’m sure everyone who listened to Femme Fatale had one person in mind when they heard it. And what are those awful squeaks and squeals. Annoying. Not enjoyable. Don’t like it.

Overrated crap

Trash

This actually made me angry listening to it. I don't care that it was influential. I hate the way it sounds.

This was awful to listen to. I couldn't get through it.

Unbekannt

Need more drugs to listen to this Neil Young/Bob Dylan wanna be stuff.

Not my cup of tea.

I understand there are not 1,001 great albums.

No sire. I didn't like it. Sounds like a pop band with a lead sing impersonating Bob Dylan. Badly.

Nico and the banana cover is the only things saving this from a 1. So annoying.

I’ve never understood the Lou Reed hype. Adding Nico to this only made something I already don’t like worse. Not a fan

This album influenced so many other artists, but I found it hard to listen to.

Experimental in sound, it's trying to explore a lot of different genres. Maybe they pioneered some of these sounds that went on to be better refined, but feels like a demo tape. Guitar sounds like me playing after 6 beers.

nico kinda ruined what they had going on