The Velvet Underground & Nico

I will forever stand by the idea that clubs should play Heroin, appropriately named as it's delicious screeching drone sounds elicit visions of heaven. Sunday Morning's ethereal reverb, Nico's haunting vocals on Femme Fatale and All Tomorrow's Parties, John Cale's experimentation balancing out Lou Reed's penchant for pop rock on songs like I'm Waiting for The Man, There She Goes Again, and well really throughout the entire album. Ending the album with even more visceral screeching drone sounds and glass breaking with European Son. The album is perfect.

coolest ever

my fav was sunday morning

Loving the textures on this. Nice blend of dreamy, rocking, and oddities. Sunday Morning is my favorite track simply gorgeous

I'm a huge Velvet Underground fan, but I'm not sure I've fully appreciated this album until this very objective listen. An awesome album!

Nana

Very awesome sound of the time. Classic album that sticker with you for a long time. Haunting, playful, and beautiful. I love the dirty guitar, perfectly matched singing, and perfectly complementary bass line. Nico adds just enough to the Velvet Underground here to make a significant difference.

Whoa. Such a good album. I really love Nico’s voice. And it’s cool to know how influential it was. Listening to it now I see why.

נההההדדרדדד מממש ממש יפה

Not gonna lie... this was better than I thought. A lot of the older critical acclaimed stuff doesn't hit with me. This was good, though.

Banger

The best.

Álbum lindo, experiência encantadora, isso aqui foi ouro! Provavelmente vai virar uma das minhas bandas favoritas. Lindo, lindo, lindo.

Very formative album in my youth and probably the most expensive record in my collection.

Classic album.

I loved this album in my teens and I love it now!!

it’s wonderful in every way

Timeless classic. Arty farty in some way but still legendary.

Can their be another album that sounds so good and yet is so experimental. I really like this album. A classic, may it never be forgotten.

I listened to this album a couple of times a few years ago and definitely felt like it was ahead of its time, but didn't enjoy it a ton for what it was. Relistening to it now, it is obviously incredible and pretty much a perfect album.

Album mythique.

J'aime bien l'atmosphère enveloppante et entêtante de cet album, il y a quelque chose de musique répétitive à la Reich qui rentre dedans, comme l'industriel aussi d'ailleurs. Mais ça l'air qu'on peut pas qualifier ça de lo-fi, j'ai consulté notre expert en la matière. Je cherche toujours à savoir c'est quoi du lo-fi, c'est ma quête. Par contre la dernière toune comme sur white light white heat, j'aime moins le bruit distorsionné qui s'éternise inutilement.

Ah ben là le gros classique. Tellement influent. Étrangement mes 2 favorites sur l’album parlent de drogue (Waiting for the man et Heroin). Qu’est-ce que ça dit sur moi?

Having never listened, why was I expecting Metal? This is a sound I like

Kocham VU

AHHHH ÄLSKAR DETTA ALBUMET!!!!! alltså min absoluta favorit nånsinnånsinnånsin🙈🙈🙈🙈🙈🍌🍌🍌🍌 alla låtar är inte helttttt perfekta (european son host host) men om man ser albumets helhet märker man hur fantastiskt det är och woww jag älskar det verkligen. ill be your mirror är min personliga favorit för tillfället men det ändras dagligen ska sägas:ppp

A legendary album! Gets 5 stars because I've been getting a lot of butt rock early on here, and by comparison this is one of the first true "essential listening" albums I've had show up in the RNG.

One of the greatest and influential albums ever made. How about that for an opening sentence? What can I say about this which hasn't already been said? It must have pushed at so many boundaries at the time and sounded like nothing else on the planet. It was so far ahead of its time and I am glad this has been in my life for many decades. From the beautiful opener 'Sunday Morning' to the noisy 'Heroin', just perfect.

I love this album. Nico's voice is so unique. The distortion and sounds they utilize are like nothing else. I think this is my favorite of Lou Reed's vocal work.

Classic simple as

Loved this, I knew 1/3 or so of the songs from various compilations I think, always been a Lou Reed fan. Never really liked Nico's vocals though but overall a great 5 star album from me.

Work of art

Gooooodexcellent

This is an immediate 5 stars for me. Venus in Furs, Heroin, Sunday Morning, all of it. Perfect. Imagine getting the bait and switch of the come down of the first few tracks and then descending into the drug hell of side two in 1967.

The very first of its kind, and its kind is something angry, on a myriad of hard-to-pronounce substances, numbed-up in the chaos of urban life A fresh and unique experience in its time, yet still today

Ahead of time

absolute classic. Dark, dirty, grungy underbelly of New York laid bare. Not people I would want to hang out with but great tunes

One of my early Alt Rock faves !

Legendary

A great one. New York alt music scene came into existence through the genius of Lou Reed, Nico and his band. Starts out with a pretty little song Sunday Morning and moves quickly into celebration of alternative lifestyles of the NYC Village scene. Solid from start to finish.

Qué decir. Clásico indiscutible. De los mejores discos de la historia. De mis discos favoritos. Tiene de todo. Inventó 8 géneros. Sunday Morning es un besito en la frente. Heroin me triggereó porque hacía tiempo que no hacía caso a los lyrics. Te quiero Lou Reed y te quiero Nico.

Best Song: Heroin I really enjoy this album. What I don't enjoy are the music gatekeepers who think this is the greatest album of all time and anyone who doesn't consider this album to be the greatest thing to ever happen to music to be unappreciative pleebs. Put your finger to the frame of your glasses and push them up as you say, "well, actually..." and realize I stopped listening. Anyway, I like this better than White Light/White Heat and, even when it's weird, it's good. 5/5.

Wow. The algorithm has not been disappointing lately.

From a certain perspective, I am not the sort of person who should be enamored with this album. I'm drug-free and have never tried heroin. I'm not into S&M. I don't pay for...any of the things being bought or sold on this album. I'm not preoccupied with clowns like Reed apparently is (seriously - check the lyric sheet). So why do I love this album so much? Because it encapsulates *freedom* in the purest artistic sense, because every note of it - the reclaimed Sixties girl-group ones, the folky ones, even the off-tune ones from Nico and the dissonant ones from Cage - testifies to the fundamental truth that *you can do whatever you want*, as long as you do it with your whole chest. And that truth has saved my life, over and over again.

Must have been a very influential album and some great material. Some of it I found a bit ‘ dirgey’ and less melodic than later albums on first listen. On second listen though I’m sold!

Every other 60s rock band (except the Stooges) sound like total squares after you hear this album.

Stone cold classic.

Classic and beyond critical appraisal.

Not sure what more needs to be said about this album. It's not the best album ever, and there are several points that don't sound exactly....good? But that's kind of the whole point. It's dirty, gritty, and maybe the most influential album of all time.

Weird, but good weird. More Revolver or early Dr John than stupid Captain Beefheart or Frank Zappa at their most annoying. It's crazy that this albums holds up well 60 years later.

9/10 Iconic album. Becomes a bit of a chore as the cello screeching kicks in, but this album feels like it defined something that still shapes great music to this day.

No notes, I love this one and always have.

Obviously.

I think this one will grow on me more. It is kind of like if Bob Dylan played over Beatles songs. I don’t like the female singer (I think Nico) but besides that I love the first 2 songs and heroin a lot

Love this record.

A bleak, wonderful, new dawn

Lovee nico. Great album from growing up

Reminds me of college. Lovely album only brought down by Nico, but a solid 9/10.

The album that launched a thousand bands. Mostly classic tracks with a couple of skippable ones

An absolute classic. No words needed, just listen.

What can I add that hasn't already been said. This inspired so many great bands, obviously a classic.

Loved this album since I was a teenager. Venus in Furs in particular is very pleasing to my ear.

My 3rd listen this week. Each was different, depending how much attention I give it. There is space in this album to insert yourself - like a Demo tape. So listenably lugubrious, blasé rebellion. Oh the Languorous Indolence of mildly anaesthetised artists, questioning and striving against society so damn hard, which is why the late 60s is so interesting for new and influential music. Listening now it holds up well as alternative, arthouse, atmospheric, and at times propulsive (ironically on Heroin, which rises and falls like something quite different, it might instead be a story arc, or an erotic arc). Lou Reeds voice works for me. And yes, with the distortion and low fi , the whole album has the freshness of a first draft, a demo tape. Its not over-polished. I like sketches & drafts in visual art - the imperfect and yet fully formed lets you project yourself into the artworks and finish it ... Maybe that's why its still sounds approachable 50 years later. And its rating very highly on this list I see, It makes me think of a bunch of films. The 2013 film “Venus in furs” and “Velvet Buzzsaw” (the art world and its inhabitants), the Big Lebowski, and probably there are better examples. A great album of its era. I don't care if its influential or not (some very influential albums are hard to hear ) but it works for me. And if a recognisable cover matters, they hit gold with the banana (which i had no idea actually peeled off. And the quote about everyone who heard the album (in its early days) going out and starting a band - well this unpolished but good album sure makes it sound achievable for nay garage band to put something together and call it on album, so they did something but showing us authentic imperfect and raw is ‘good enough’ and you don't need to be on Elvis and Beach Boys polished act to do really good stuff people enjoy and that stands alone . Bravery in art and allowing imperfection. Maybe that's the lasting influence here. And definitely go see the film Venus in Furs.

When I was in first year uni, a girl I had a crush on (unrequited, sadly) introduced me to the banana album. What a revelation that was! As a result, I played this first VU album constantly -- the noise, the power, the abrasiveness, the lyrics that explored the edges of society. It was properly dangerous rock and roll. I am nearly at the end of this project; this is review 1061, and this is one of the albums I have most been looking forward to reviewing. A quick search shows that I have mentioned the Velvet Underground more than 50 times in my reviews so far. As noted in Lou Reed's obituary in the NY Times, the Velvet Underground "wrought gradual but profound impact on the high-I.Q., low-virtuosity stratum of punk, alternative and underground rock around the world." As Eno said "everyone who bought one [banana album]... started a band". This album is the blueprint for multiple branches of alternative rock. Almost every song here could be seen as the starting point for different sub-genres of rock. They really were patient zero for much of alternative rock. The Velvet Underground, especially this first record, were the ur-text for so much of the music that I loved. I hear something surprising and compelling every time I listen to this record. This record is on my All Time Top Five Albums Ever! list and has been there for 35 years. I still can't quite understand why this album isn't universally acclaimed (I know critics love it, but realistically, most real listeners don't. I'll bet that, even as part of this project, there are plenty of "what is this shit" reviews ) Fifty bazillion stars

The best album ever by a band who can barely play, fronted by a singer who can barely sing. European Son I can leave. Tracks 1-8 sets out the template for every subsequent band who has worn black and sunglasses. Like Bob, other people may actually play these songs better, but these are the originals.

Groundbreaking LP. Took a while but I have appreciation for this music and the influence it had on many artists.

Not first time listening. 5 One of my favorite albums that I can come back to pretty much any time to listen. This album merges the lo-fi and avant garde with pop elements in the songs. This is what separates from the other garage rock in the 60s. The songwriting is also very evocative - you can almost feel the griminess of the scenes depicted in tracks like "I'm Waiting For The Man," and the frenetic whiplash of "Heroin" is affecting. I can see how this album is said to have spawned and influenced countless other bands. It's limited technical musical demonstration and recording quality gives the impression anyone can do this. At the same time, it's clear that the songwriting and attitude are what helps to set the album apart.

interesting <3 Lou

Probably the best debut of all time. Proto-everything, it covers a lot of ground. It has songs that are very calm and comforting and other songs that are scary and horrendous in atmosphere. I don’t think it’s absolutely perfect, but especially for the time it’s still pretty dang groundbreaking. It would’ve been 4.5 Stars if I could, but 5 will be okay :)

Loved!!!

A classic

I have a feeling that the Velvets will join Bruce Springsteen and Fleetwood Mac under my "controversial artists" because this album is a 5 star classic and I've never really ever connected with the rest of their stuff. We'll see.

Great songwriting combined with uncompromising experimentalism make one of the greatest albums of all time

Feels like its recorded in like a junkie apartment, yet many iconic songs in there. I mean some of the drums are totally off beat but like hippie jam circle. I guess thats good everything is a bit human and real. Seems like he kind of speaks his mind a lot, which is great, more brain flow. The totally over the top distortion noise is great as well with the guitar on heroin. It sounds like they are doing nos in the background of one song.

Wow What a classic. This album is ridiculously good. And once you get it, you can't go back. It's just another world. From the stunning beauty of Sunday Morning, to the addictive blues of My Man. Nico's enchanted voice on femme fatal and the black magic of Venus in Furs. Love Lou's singing on it, with John's viola. Wow. Run run run features some of the nastiest guitars on tape. A massive garage sound. All Tomorrow's Parties with Nico singing again, is majestic and otherworldly with the piano vamp and eastern guitar. One of the best songs ever. Another one quit incredible comes next- Heroin. Man, just listen to it. I think this is the birth of the Lou Reed we know and love. The lyrics, the attitude, the band dinemics, and the viola that kills my soul. In the best way possible. There she goes lightens the mood in a breezy super cool tune the backing vocals and guitar tone sounds like a crappy version of the beach boys, you gotta love it. Like all Nico's songs here, I'll be your mirror is incredible and dreamy. This album is unbelievable. The Black Angel's Death Song is heartwarming. Kind of Dylanesque but unique. The closing European Son captures the jammy and free essence of The Velvet Underground. It's a 7 minute long trans and it's beautiful. I think you get it It's a 5 A 10/10 And I'm so happy I had the experience of listening to it as a teenager

Exceptional album.

The perfect balance of light and dark. Just a beautifully curated album in the strangest of times.

SEX

It took me a long time to come around to how I really feel about The Velvet Underground's debut. I've always enjoyed it, but I never really questioned to what degree. As it turns out, I really, really like The Velvet Underground, and while I prefer White Light/White Heat, & Nico still holds a very special place in my heart that only grows with time. Front to back bangers. The anti-Beatles. The quintessential American band and godparents of alternative music. Have you thanked Lou Reed or John Cale today?

Classic

Amazing

This album is so charming that even when it descends into noise or clumsiness it’s great. Beautiful, weird, profane. Influential? Sure but it’s not great because it started an art rock movement, it’s just great. I could spend a lot of time complaining about its flaws like the unnecessary distortion and pointless jams but I get more delight from listening to this album than just about any other I’ve ever heard.

This is an album with diverse flavors and textures. And although you can guess the decade when it was recorded just by how it sounds, it also sounds pretty timeless. I listened to it many times, back-to-back, and it feels like a shame to listen to only a song at a time.

no need to hear this masterpiece again

It doesn’t mind when it is that the thought occurred. It doesn’t care how many times you’ve sneered at it. It doesn’t preoccupy itself with worrying how much making up for lost time you can do. This album waits for you; it’s the tracks, not the train. Put briefly: nothing that’s worth waking up for today would have come into being without this record existing first.

Not totally my favorite, but very happy for an excuse to listen to it.

Easy 5 star!!

A lovely 4. Because of Lou Reed. Perhaps a 5. Because of There She Goes Again.

A groundbreaking blend of art rock, proto-punk, and experimental noise that paved the way for countless alternative and politically charged artists. The Velvet Underground & Nico reshaped what rock music could be raw, confrontational, and unapologetically weird. The iconic Andy Warhol banana cover is as legendary as the music itself. I can’t give it a perfect score because of tracks like “The Black Angel’s Death Song,” which just grates on me. Still, it’s an undeniable classic. 9/10.

In every sense of the word, this album is a complete masterpiece. It's what made people take underground avant garde music seriously, and its influence can still be felt in what's being released today.

One of the greatest albums ever made

While not my favorite VU album, it is still one of the best of a generation. So many songs on this recording that inspired so many artists that followed. A dark but lively album.

I love this album so much. Lou reed and Nico’s voices compliment each other so well. There is not a single song on this album that I don’t thoroughly enjoy or find interesting. I love the bass on a ton of these, especially I’m waiting for the man and European son. I also loveee the general atmosphere on Venus in furs and heroin. Fav songs: Sunday morning, femme fatale, heroin, I’ll be your mirror (couldn’t really choose lol).

This album is the reason for this list! Almost 60 years old, and one can see how it influenced many other bands. Best album I've heard so far!

Classic and brings up memories of high school Sunday Morning - one of my all time VU songs Waiting for my man - classic Femme fatale - Nico’s voice is just beautiful Venus in Furs - shiny boots of leather!!! Run run run - never one of my favorites All Tomorrows parties - another VU fave Heroin - such a ride, every time There she goes - mostly forgettable IMO Trails off after this…

Listening to The Velvet Underground & Nico for the first time in college made me feel cool. Sadly, that feeling has worn off. However, this is neck and neck with Loaded as my favorite album by The Velvet Underground.

I used to work with a guy whose mom was Mo Tucker's childhood friend. I once went to the coworker's mom's house and had a fan girl-by-association moment, so and she showed me her collection of all the things she saved from her years hanging out with Mo. Meanwhile, my coworker just kept complaining about how much he hated the Velvet Underground while the mom and I rocked out to this album.

10/10

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I don't even know why I like this. This album feels like it should be so not up my alley, but it somehow works incredibly well. The production is extremely overblown and sounds dated, but I think it also works somehow? It’s primarily a vocal-focused record, and although I don’t usually care about lyrics and vocals, it’s one of the biggest things that make this album great. I don’t know how they made the writing so satisfying—and consistently too. I can’t remember a single example of another album outside rap achieving something like this. I believe I’d only listened to this record once before, but I still remembered every song well. Every song is a banger, uniquely and memorable. This goes completely against everything that makes me enjoy an album, yet it is so incredibly engaging. 9/10

I mean, this is the album of all albums, right? Like, this is what kicked off most things that I truly enjoy about modern rock music. I can listen to this endlessly.

An influential classic. I haven't listened to this in many years and only really remembered Heroin, but as an album the whole thing is still pretty compelling.

Just great.

Highly influential to most alternative music. Way ahead of its time.

A unique and standout musical relic for so many incredible reasons. Every time I see this album art I’m cast back to the awe I experienced when I first listened to the album. It made me realise all that time ago that music didn’t have to be pristine and perfect in order to be worth all of your attention. And this albums means a hell of a lot to me now as a result.

Masterpiece

Easy 5 lol, but in all seriousness I don't even need to think hard about this, an album which kept growing on me over the years and acted as a catalyst to seek out more similar alternative and experimental music. A timeless classic and super influential one at that.

I love this album so much. Its really something special to me and I dont even know why. Its truly one of a kind.

yeah i guess this is a classic for a reason lol

I think I got this from Columbia House in the early 90s? Because I was cool, I had heard about this album and when I finally heard it, it did not disappoint.

What is there to say about this record that hasn't been said already. It's truly a masterpiece in both music and pop culture

Self titled and unloaded are a million times better

Ugly and pretty pop meets narcotic drone art. Well crafted hooks meet unhinged noise. So easy to forget just how weird this record is, given that it is canonized to high hell, and I have listened to it a million times. Astounding.

10/10 My favorite albums of all time. Every track is timeless. No notes

9/10 Favorites: Sunday Morning Femme Fatale I’ll Be Your Mirror

As good as heroin!

Oh, geez. What do I say that hasn’t been said? How many copies have I owned? How many bands did it launch? Probably a top 10 record.

Already listened to it, arguably one of the most important rock albums of its time, with a very prominent message within about drug addiction. Almost psychedelic in sound and nature, and very ahead of its time, a 10/10 in my eyes.

like i think i have to give this a 10/10?? because 1: i think all the songs sound good and some of these songs are genuinely like amazing and 2: how they fuck were they doing that in 1967!!!!! bro what the fuck!!!!!! some of these parts are insane, like if heroin or european son came out today it would still be experimental and the fact that they were doing this in 1967 is wild

One of the best albums of the 60s, perfectly encapsulates psychedelic rock.

So very seminal. Again, the Savage book is great context.

I find the back half more enjoyable to listen to, but the album overall still feels like a revelation almost 40 years after it's debut

First full listen. I was afraid of this album as a kid. Love it as a 60 year old adult. So smart, honest, daring. And good!

One of the finest examples of an album that changed music. This challenges the assumption that you need to be a musician to make music. Through their short existence they became musicians though, but this shows raw, unfiltered Songwriting experimentation at its best

Rating: 10/10 One of the greatest albums of all time. So experimental, creative, and groundbreaking, this sounds like nothing that came before or after it. A truly unique album that is perfect besides the last two songs. A timeless classic.

Okay, admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of Lou Reed prior to this, but I also don't know much about him and his music. I'm more than willing to dive deeper here on a band I don't know much about but seems to have had a massive influence on artists I love. First listen, I love the early melodies! The opening tune Sunny Morning very reminiscent and foreshadowy of the hit to come, Femme Fatale. Having previously heard the REM cover of this song, and the later song on the album, There She Goes Again, it feels important to circle the square and listen to the originals. Certainly makes me want to revisit Dead Letter Office and relisten after this. Later night listen, this truly is one of the top 10 albums of all time. Had a great talk with a friend about this. Listened again tonight. It's astounding. Indescribable. Listened to the album in entirety about 15 times this weekend. What a discovery for me, my first big one through this project. Very thankful.

It's that good

There are many people who claim they bought or listened to this album when it first came out, which of course is untrue. The Velvet Underground was nowhere to be found on the radio when these early records came out, but it was the release of Waiting for the Man and Heroin along with Walk on the Wild side on mainstream radio in the early 70’s that brought the band or Lou Reed to people’s attention. This is a landmark album of which so much has been said that I have nothing to offer. Classic.

5 stars.

amo

Nice

Veel killer, weinig filler! Echt veel topnummers, waardoor de soms iets te lange experimentele stukken wat luisterbaarder blijven. Wat goed is, is ook echt goed!

Classic

A really schizophrenic album - from the noise of European Son to the icy pop of Mirror, this veers everywhere, and I love it. I have heard Waiting so many times (& in so many versions) I'd be happy never to hear it again. But the equally sharp Run Run Run is a highlight here. So much to enjoy, and so many moods. The only slight hesitation is the wish that they had the technology to capture or reproduce more bass at that time. The sound is a little thin in places, especially compared to White Light, but most of these tracks warrant 5 stars on their own.

Just perfect. Fuzzy, beautiful, fucked up.

Great way to start thisnjourny

I have since discovered that I am not a huge Lou Reed fan, but his work on VU with John Cale is awesome, especially this album. I also learned that I am not a Nico fan, but on this album her vocal inclusion adds texture to this album. Her song, Femme Fatale, is a perfect Cure the Hangover, or just a quiet Sunday morning after listening to Heroin on repeat for hours. What I always liked about this album the contrasts of emotion, from the light start of Sunday Morning, to the curiously honest Waiting for My Man in which the character openly talks about his drug dealer, to Venus in Furs, and Run Run Run. Listening to “Heroin” is like taking heroine without the lingering effects, costs or addiction. Even the Black Angel’s Death Song feels like the tail end of a drug binge. This album is definitely not for everyone, but it is definitely for me!

Random thoughts: * This has been one of my favorites for at least 20 years now. Can't remember when exactly I "discovered" the Velvet Underground but it was based on a list like this. Probably one of those Rolling Stone magazines with the 500 greatest albums of all time. * There is no doubt this was an influential album as it's impacts are still reverberating today. You can hear this in many indie and alternative bands now. * I always found it weird that the very first album by the Velvet Underground was a collaborative effort that never happened again. That is just kinda strange. But Velvet Underground and Nico just work better together. * The Andy Warhol impact is cool and punctuates the impact of this band on the overall culture. * I'm Waiting for the Man is the best track hands down! I still bob my head every time I hear this song. Makes me want to go hangout at the corner of Lexington and 125. * The rest of the songs are pretty great too just not as great as Waiting for the Man. However, I can do without European Son. Always kind of a sour note to end the album. * This is a certified classic. Hands down for both listening and influence.

Brilliant album! We're back in my wheelhouse with the music of this era.

Den lægger hårdt ud med to klassikere. Hele albummet er en blanding af catchy melodier og eksperimenterende kompositioner.

I don't care how much of a hipster it makes me. This isn't an album it's a sacred text. 6 stars.

!!!!!

No. This is definitely not a t-shirt brand.

Oh this is such an amazing album. I've always thought that it was a bit dated, and I see it less relevant nowadays than other of the 60s/70s (e.g. Jimi Hendrix, Beatles, Led Zep, etc.). I know that it was revolutionary in its moment and that is a cornerstone for those born in the 50s like my dad. But somehow, it feels like for younger generations it is a bit less impactful than for theirs. That said, when listening to it again, I can clearly see that this is a masterpiece. With its subtle, yet frightening approach, one can nothing but feel the chills when thinking about these pack of weirdos shooting heroin on stage and complaining about the city. Talking about influences, that minimalism in some songs (e.g. using just guitar, no bass) also reminds me of a preceding version of Jesus and Mary Chain's Supercandy. These kinds of examples prove (me) that this is not another rock album of its era like Rolling Stones', but something more dangerous and disturbing, and I can now understand what my dad's generation felt about this. Or maybe not, as they had no idea or english, etc. Who knows.

I don't remember listening to this album all the way through but for sure we would have turned off the final track before it had finished. I guess I know a lot of these songs pretty well and the majority of the album is great. I imagine that I'd enjoy the descent from waking up to being completely wasted on heroin, which seems to be how the album tracks, more if was a junkie - but I'm not. Despite that it is still a dangerously beautiful homage to drug addiction. 5/5

Este álbum é um clássico e só tem um pequeno defeito em 2 músicas que eu acho que torna ali uma parte do álbum mais monótono, mas é todo ele genial e super consistente. Abrir com o Sunday Morning e fechar com o European Son é incrível!

A bunch of hipster who couldn’t play their instruments properly

gut

Fucking incredible

i <3 lou reed and the velvet underground

Famous quote says: the album only sold 10,000 copies when released, and every person who bought one started a band.

One of the greatest albums of all time. It still sounds fresh and innovative 56 years after it was recorded.

Delicate in parts then full frenetic expressions, the vocals are mesmerizing and the instrumentation captures a wild feeling.

Fucking love. Absolutely must listen before you die

Kommentarer överflödiga. Herregud vilken jävla platta! 5 av 5 rakt igenom (utom sista två spåren). Den är så rå så att det nästan gör ont. Fullständigt brutal platta!

Need to listen to fully again, but undoubtedly great album

A shimmering work of incadescent genius. Listened to it three times straight. I'm like 99% sure I'd find every single one of them absolutely insufferable (and would want to fight Lou reed within about two minutes), but this is the best of the best and the top of the tops.

absolute musical masterpiece 💞

i’ll be your mirrorrrrrrr

Somehow sounds both old and modern

This is one of the greatest. I honestly feel that 100% of my friends all have this album in one way or another.

One of the true sounds of the future. Whether they truly knew it or not, whether anybody wanted it to be or not. It just is. Gentle beauty and brazen cacophony dwell together on this album and within this group of musicians more effectively than almost anything.

First time listener it’s great

Few albums are more iconic than The Velvet Underground & Nico. The myth and lore that surround it certainly influence the listening experience but can also be a bit of a distraction from the music. I tried my hardest to listen to this as if it was the first time hearing it and what I found this time around still held up to the high expectations. There is a raw emotive intensity with the album that draws you in. I find it almost uncomfortable to listen to in bits (the drone of Heroin, Run Run Run) but then it balances itself out with the subtle and poetic songs (I'll be Your Mirror, Sunday Morning). In some ways this album is intimidating and you genuinely have to be ready for it and up for the journey to listen to it - but taking the time to do that I'm still blown away that something so simple can have such a strong effect. I don't know if I "like it" the same way I might enjoy a classic album from the Beatles or Zeppelin... But I do think this album is undeniably one of the best in terms of impact and pure artistic merit.

This is yet another incredibly influential and incredibly divisive albums that's full of droning, dissonant and atonal noise, and feedback. It won't be for everyone, but I absolutely love it! I'm Waiting for the Man, Venus in Furs, Heroine and the Black Angel's Death Song are huge highlights for me. Heroine is honestly a perfectly crafted song.

[PREVIOUSLY REVIEWED] - this album would be considered avante-garde today, let alone in the 60s. Unsettling juxtaposition of the musical elements with the lyrical albums that has a wide range of sonic influences from folk to soft rock. Unbelievably creative.

One of the Best

I expected to hate this because I found their second album unlistenable. But this is something else. Sunday Morning and Femme Fatale are pretty and understated, featuring Nico on vocals. Venus In Furs drones on with Eastern sounds and a martial drum beat, evoking post rock before anyone dreamed of calling it that. Except for the solo, Run Run Run could be the blues, distilled, taken apart and put back together a little askew. Nico's voice returns for All Tomorrow's Parties, giving it a sense of grandeur. Heroin then brings back the drone. It's a slow burn, Lou's sung-spoken vocals somehow working with the music. The dissonance increases in the second half, but its ugliness only emphasizes the beauty elsewhere. Nico again steals the show on I'll Be Your Mirror, a fleeting moment of lucidity before the last two tracks take the deconstruction to a new level. It's a gradual descent into distortion and noise. I struggle to describe it, but I finally GET this.

I played through this one twice. I had recently heard of the velvet underground, but hadn’t gotten around to listening to their stuff yet until now. At first, while I did like a few of the songs on this album and was intrigued by some of the very direct lyrics, but I didn’t quite get how this was such an influential album. On second listen through it clicked a little more. I was fascinated the distorted sounds and interesting droning yet simple repetitive hooks. Heroin made me feel like I was along for the ride with the chaotic escalating rhythms and poignant lyrics. But at the same time there are the beautiful smooth melodies of Sunday Morning and Femme Fatale. Further when considering the other music being made at the time I recognize how far ahead of their time they were and the lasting effect that they had on the future of alternative/indie/punk/grunge rock, which are definitely my go to genre(s).

Klassikernas klassiker. Med rätta. Inspelningsljudet kunde ha varit bättre, även med 1967 års mått, men det är verkligen en randanmärkning.

Ok so you need this to get to so many after. They wrote the playbook. Without them, no Clash, Television, Pavement, Sonic Youth, or any other descendants. I really liked this.

This is so ingrained in me, such a product of it's time but also a harbinger of things to come. So much variety between tracks. Didn't always care for the noise rock elements but they practically invented it so... Anyway it's a vibe and I wish I'd had some herbal refreshment beforehand

Favorites: I'm Waiting For The Man, Femme Fatale, Heroin It's a classic rock record for a reason. TVU (and Nico... and Andy Warhol to some extent) pushed the boundaries of music as a whole to create some of the most memorable songs you'll ever hear. It's one of my favorite records of all time for a good reason. Varied and innovative.

Classic

My favorite thing about this band is how they play their instruments like they are broken. Waiting for My Man is one of my all time favorite songs. I'm in love with that pounding piano. Run Run Run has a great tempo and live feeling similar to White Light White Heat (my other favorite VU album). Heroin does not glorify drugs. Lou is giving a very personal and matter of fact account about how heroin feels to him and that song has always scared the shit out of me and made me NOT want to do heroin. Black Angel Death song is pure poetry. Venus in Furs... yes! The only song on here that I don't especially like is European Son. They draw out the jam too long. My favorite Nico songs are I'll Be Your Mirror and Femme Fatale.

We all know it’s influential and that everyone who bought it in 1967 formed their own band, yada yada yada, so I'll just say that the thing that most surprised me about this album the first time I heard it is how pretty some of the tracks are. I'll Be Your Mirror is so genuinely lovely, even Nico softens her imperious honking.

I’m a teenager at the record store again whenever I hear this album.

Off the cuff remark: so many songs which seem simple and which manage to be captivating inspite of Nicos irritating pronounciations and are lodged firmly in brain. All the New York art stories aside (which I am aware of but don't really know) it is a great album Standout track: to pick just one? Sunday Morning, today, might be different tomorrow Revisit?: I do, and I will.

Great album

5 I will not mention the famous name attached to it. I will not because the album transcends that. It is a schizophrenic dark brooding album, especially with Nico's cold beauty. However, there is a warmth at the center that buzzes out in the melodies you feel in the moments In-between craving junk, attention, and a better coterie. In Velvet terms, it may not be love (just yet,) but the primitive strum and bang are earthly desires that bash out the four-letter word in some kinda Morse Code.

This album is incredible. The original alternative rock, zero fucks given.

Didn't need to listen to this again to know that it's a classic, but did anyway. Even if it weren't for the retrospective evaluation of its influence, the album is great; mixing the whimsical and melodic Nico-led songs with Reed's baritone vocals and lyrics that delve into subjects that even now feel unsettling and seedy at times. The guitar work from John Cale is great too, he really makes that instrument scream, sing and wail without being excessively flashy. Considering then the legacy it had in laying the foundations for lots of alt-rock and punk bands for decades to come, plus the iconic cover art, it's an easy 5*.

Listented to this maybe 4 times in the last two days and have a lot of thoughts. I'm spending too much time on this... Where I've landed is this is cool as hell. Many bands try to develop mystique and Velvet Undergound, no doubt with some intention, did it effortlessly. The world they bring you into with this album is unlike any other. Lou Reed and Nico carry the day here - coming off as cool and weird as ever. They deliver on being the seedy underbelly of all the flower power movement at the time and I'm sure was refreshing, and maybe distrurbing, to many. Reading up on this one I did not know the Warhol was the actual Band Manager. I also had not heard of the Plastic Exploding Inevitable (a multi-media experience with Warhol movies and the Velvet Underground etc.) which sounds awesome. I like all the tracks, or at least aspects of them, but this time I'll Be Your Mirror stood out. I've always loved Nico and I don't know why. I think its because she seems so out of place, but happy with that? Very nice sounding voice too. Listening through the first time I thought the premise was she was singing this to a dirtbag and showing them what a piece of shit they are. Second time through I realized thats not what it is, but i like that version better. Black Angel Death Song might be my only hang up. IMO its a Dylan rip off and doesn't make sense. Lou Reed is great. I want to know more about Warhol and this Plastic Exploding business. Gotta to back and compare to the first VU we got.

"I'm Waiting for the Man" might be the most audacious and brash American rock song ever written, given the context of the time. Were it simply about going to Harlem to buy heroin (as the lyrics imply), it would already be more transgressive than 90% of songs of the era. But Lou Reed has an almost genius level talent for being shocking, and so also makes sure the song's lyrics could also be interpreted as being about a white boy going to Harlem to get (presumably) buttfucked by a black male prostitute. You can argue the wisdom and taste of making a song like this, but you can't say its not interesting. This antagonistic, maverick spirit animates the whole album (a song about loving Heroin and another about BDSM, Venus in Furs, carry this theme forward for example) but other parts of the album temper the darkness with surprisingly lucid touches of tenderness, self-awareness (Sunday Morning, All Tomorrow's Parties) and even optimism (I'll be Your Mirror). These tones might sound like they contrast, but they don't really - they inform, enhance and even complete each other. The music itself also contains these same strange dualities, being at times melodic, almost childlike, and other times going off the rails into pure anarchic madness. Again, it's the unusual combo of these elements and makes the final result so compelling and clearly one of the most influential rock albums ever made. Clearly I've put too much thought into this, as I've probably listened to this album more than any other, especially between ages of 16-19, when I would have said this was my favorite album. The Velvet Underground's music creates a world of grit and grime and madness that is particularly compelling to a certain type of suburban white boy. Given how much I loved this album that is largely about heroin, It's a miracle I never got into heroin like so many other kids from Sean and I's town. I guess pretty early on I thought - if this drug is fucking up an unhinged, deranged maniac like Lou Reed, what would it do to me?

Another album where every unique opinion has been made and theres nothing else to do except make an effort to give it a complete play And somehow this one still sounds fresh😎 The rough production/recording on each song with the super mature themes are master works of art. I genuinely find them to get me dancing or suck me completely into a story European Son is the only track that pushed the avant guard a little too far and its an odd artifact of aged avant guard that didnt ever become the guard. The other 10 tracks are fantastic Loved Run Run Run and Ill Be Your Mirror this time through

I don't understand people who claim not to "get" this album but who give five star reviews to albums that would not exist without it.

Great album. Probably VU’s best, certainly their most consistent.

One of the bulwarks of modern music.

Every song on this is incredible. Heroin is the clear standout for me. Right now, it's one of my all time favorites

Influential

Excellent LP

I'll always remember driving alone in the middle of the night in my 20's hearing 'Heroin' on the radio for the first time. I was blown away by it then, and this album still delivers chills. I've grown to love Nico's strange, kind of flat vocals over time, alongside the grimy rock and roll genius of Lou Reed and the band. No bad tracks for me.

Masterpiece

This is #day323 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… not even sure what else there is to say about this album that hasn't already been said. It's an essential piece of art rock history. What I particularly like about it is how it sits at the crossroads of art forms at the end of the '60s: photo, film, poetry, performance. "Found music" begs the description. It also feels detached from the psychedelic rock scene of the era, because there's goth, there's punk, there's a lot of everything in between. This album was probably too avant-garde for its time. But maybe it wasn't made for its time at all. Just listen to what John Cale does to that electric viola on, say, "Heroin"... it's like he's exorcising the instrument. My favorites have to be "Venus in Furs," the aforementioned "Heroin," "All Tomorrow's Parties," and, I guess, "European Son." This is a 5 out of 5, of course. Looking forward to #day324.

Absolutely groundbreaking album, it's a testament to the ideas of Lou Reed and co. that this album still feels exciting and different listening to it almost 60 years later. Sunday Morning is one of my favourite openers of all time, maybe the earliest example of a dream pop song there is. Despite the harsh feedback and the out there lyrics, the album is has a fair amount of love songs and introspective moments.

One of my favourite albums ever. Grasps your attention. Never lets you rest but changes from song to song rather than within songs. Don't understand why Sunday Morning has three times as many pays as all the other songs. Waiting For The Man is awesome. All Tomorrows Parties and Venus In Furs sound like no other songs before or since.

I love this, just cooler than cool. Venus in furs is still striking and how ahead of its time this album was can’t be understated

great!

Lifechanging!

Listened to before: Yes I've still got 991 Albums in front of me. But I would be very surprised if this were not in my top 5 at the end. Every praise you hear about this album is true.

This is the definite VU album. Loved every minute. Venus in Furs is incredible and it’s insane that these songs were made in 67 amongst the beatles and beach boys. I’ll always cherish the memory of hearing heroine randomly playing at a Warhol popup museum when i was in Croatia. Easily a 5 star

What an absolutely fantastic album. I've been pretty familiar with about half of the album for a long time now, but it had been ages since I listened to the whole thing start-to-finish. So glad to come back to this one, because the songs I had overlooked previously really stood out this time. What a treat! Fun lil side story: Back in 2005-2009 a few buddies & I had a campus radio show (called Happy Time, named after the Daniel Johnston song which was also the show's theme song). I also worked a full-time job, and one night during night shift when my buddies were manning the booth they played Heroin. My co-workers and I were listening to the show and one particularly grumpy co-worker decided to phone in to complain about Heroin's raucus, dissonant violin ending. He expressed with great contempt over the phone to my buddy in the booth that "it just sounds like a broken violin!". The response he received? "You're a broken violin!" And you know what? In a metaphorical sense, he kind of was.

I have always and will always love this album. It’s a perfect distillation of the Velvet Underground sound and experience, to me.

Great debut that didn't sell and was generally ignored by the critics. It was well ahead of it's time and was incredibly influential. I read today that it only sold 30k copies in it's first 5 years but all 30 thousand people that bought it started their own band😄. Also Sue asked me if the guy's guitar was broke so even though Loaded is my favorite VU album I'm giving it 5 stars based on that 🤣

An absolut classic. Nico’s voice takes me to beautiful places.

Really have already heard a lot of these songs, but haven't listened deeply to The Velvet Underground since I was a teen, so this was fun to go back to.

Has always been in my top 20!!

It doesn’t get much better than this. Nicolette listened with me and did NOT like heroin. Which is fair for a baby.

5 Stars (14/15)

Everything has been said that can be said. I have nothing new. Just listen to it. Its a classic for a reason

Fantastic, have had this album for years now and it's so good.

A classic album that encapsulates the emerging counterculture scene of New York in the mid 60's. Lou Reed's singing style might not be for everybody, but the weird off-kilter flavor of punk on this album holds up for me. That said, it's definitely not an album I'd recommend to everybody. If you enjoy smoking "on occasion", have ever participated in an orgy, or have 3 or more cats, this album is probably for you. On the other hand, if you decided to live in an HOA, drink light beer, or golf regularly, you may want to pass on this album and go fire up some Zac Brown Band or something.

All of the cool bands you like were inspired by this record.

🍌

Absolute top tier LES pre punk or whatever. In my top 5 most played albums probably.

The rosetta stone of albums that have spawned and influnced hundereds of bands

Brian Eno wasn't wrong about this...

10

Hard to understand how influential to the development on alternative rock (and other genres) Velvet underground has been. Would there even have been Bowie as we know him without Lou Reed and Velvet's? I can hear so many of my favourite 70's, 80's and 90's favourite bands influenced by this. The song structures are quite basic, but the song topics and the band sound are quite rough for it's time, and maybe even for this time. Timeless stuff!

This is as essential to my musical diet as the banana is to my daily diet lol.

What I forgot about this album is just how experimental it is. European Son is near 7 minutes of noise.Heroin starts structured and then falls apart. Even Run Run Run - a stable rock single - is punctured by the lyrics of drug related death “Seasick Sarah, had a golden nose … when she turned blue, all the angels screamed” Tracks - I’ll be your mirror , I’m Waiting For My Man and There She Goes Again all follow a more conventional pop rock style. The vocals of Nico also provide great contrast to Lou Reed. I can both see why this is a seminal release, and why it wasn’t huge in its own era. This is drug counter culture 101. Both a great album, and madly ahead of its time. Noise rock, pop rock and ambient experimentalism all on one record.

It's hard to rate since I used to own this album and it reminds me of other times. Trying to listen objectively... Reed intones, the sounds are chunky and off kilter, the lyrics darkly realistic. Yep, still good. 4.5 rounded up.

great

Super classic. The band that proved that anyone could make an amazing band and not in demeaning way but just showing you didn't need to be a classically trained player or have the best equipment to make groundbreaking music.

sluchalem już kiedyś, topka

Delightful. For me, nothing beats the combination of raw sounding music that is also whimsical and airy and this album is maybe the epitome of that.

10/10

Tracks like ‘Venus in Furs’, ‘The Black Angel’s Death Song’ and ‘European Son’ enable The Velvet Underground’s debut album to still sound surprising and edgy 51 years later. John Cale’s strings, tremolo on the guitar and weird percussion/ sample effects are just some of the elements that elevate this from being a standard fare 1960s rock album. Oh, and the fact that Lou Reed is an amazing front man with an unmistakable voice. ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ introduces a lovely psychedelic flavour to this record. Nico’s addition to the line up really helps break up the feel of the tracklisting. She sings in a low, haunting but relaxed way which sounds at odds with the frantic piano behind her vocals. ‘Sunday Morning’ and ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ are relaxed perfect pop songs that are real levellers. You’d be hard pushed to find someone who’d hate them. It’s strange that neat, cute little flavours like these could be sat on the same LP that delivers something as expansive, beefy and lyrically outrageous as ‘Heroin’. Invigorating straight up rock songs ‘I’m Waiting for my Man’, ‘There She Goes Again’ and ‘Run Run Run’ are completely different again but they sound cohesive with the rest of the album. They manage to keep on varyin the way they write and perform without it all sounding like a disjointed mess. The final track ‘European Son’ sounds like it is constantly on the edge of falling over, but they juggle that sound and just about keeping everything in place - its electrifying. It would be easy to underestimate this record and mistake it for a good but standard rock LP, but its not. It is certainly a 5* album.

Sunday Morning is a strong contender for best first track off a debut album. These guys love drugs. They could put this album on repeat on Little Steven's Underground Garage and it wouldn't be out of place. They are like the original breakout garage band. I don't love Nico's voice. I love Venus in Furs great song, one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs. One of the best album tracks ever...but from a time before that was such a big deal. I love blues rock, everyone in the 60s apparently did too. The Nico tracks are the worst on the album. I guess when Andy Warhol produces your album without interfering too much, you give him a win once in a while. On All Tomorrow's Parties, the music is still cool, her voice just gets me out of it. Heroin, another great song. I understand why people in the 50s and 60s thought rock n' roll was the real gateway drug. I feel like a lot of industrial "bands" got their idea from this album as well. The surf music of the early 60s and then psychedelic music is definitely an influence. The back 3/4 of European Son is a long, distorted guitar solo and the only real miss on the album.

Favourite!

Knall, knallere, knallers

Bananplata. Fantastisk.

Bra

A rare case of an album actually living up to the hype. 5/5 Highlights: I’m Waiting For The Man Venus In Furs Heroin

One of the most important albums of all time

This one upsets me. I want to be different so bad. I want to be that guy who says “this is massively overrated”, but I just can’t. It’s really great. Even the songs featuring Nico on lead vocals don’t detract from my enjoyment. You win banana album, you win.

own

A stone cold classic by the Underground. There isn't too much else to say about this historic and ground breaking album but it just hits perfectly to this day.

10/10 I read Legs McNeill's 'Please kill me' and this album made perfect, chaotic sense. It's raw, weird, and endlessly influential - it's punk before safety pins. Lou Reeds poetic nihilism <3 the lyrics were controversial at the time (still are, considering our political climate) dealing with everything from addiction to identity. Musically, it's a minimalist masterpiece, the guitars are primal and unpolished in the best way - if you think it sounds like it was recorded in a shitty basement, it's because it basically was. I just think this album encapsulates the late 60s NYC underground scene with such precision you can smell the stale cigs. Even if it's not what you usually listen to you've gotta respect it's place in history. It's a perfect album because it's not trying to be. love u lou xxx Songs added to playlist: - I'm waiting for the man - Femme Fatal - Heroin - There she goes again - I'll be your mirror

Perfect, very important and amazing album in many ways.

Ja, ik denk dat dit wel duidelijk nen 5 sterren is. Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Heroin, ... allemaal kleppers. En dan heb je nog eens die iconische hoes. 5.0

Uneven, but I think Venus in Furs is so good it drags everything else up. Also points for being the first ones to ever do it - sounds ahead of its time.

Perfect length. Started listening at 22.45 on headphones. It worked really well. I knew maybe 2/3rd of it and the songs I didn't know, I enjoyed. Great start to this project. 5/5.

Howd we go from the evidently mainstream sound of big band Sam Cooke to this in just a few years? And then on the other side, its crazy that punk hadn't really gotten going at this point yet VU&Nico sounds like something that stuff would have refined into as opposed to taken inspiration from. This fucks. It fucks big time.

I absolutely adore this album. Is it overrated? Oh yes, most definitely. But you can’t deny its impact on the punk, indie, metal, and art-rock scenes that came after. Even putting to one side this record’s place in rock history, you’re still left with some phenomenal music. I truly love how the songs capture the imagery of the 60’s, from the naive adolescence of All Tomorrow’s Parties, to the mass proliferation of recreational drug use in tracks like Heroin and Waiting for my Man. At it’s best this record is straight up transporting to listen to. On the negative side, I never had much time for the album’s closing tracks, but I’ve actually found it hits differently years later. The VU were experimenters, and there’s something sweet about listening to a band just let loose and jam out for a bit like they do on European Son. Of course, it borders on being overindulgent (figures like Lou Reed are after all synonymous with pretension), but on this album you can’t deny the authenticity of the music. Perhaps that is what keeps records like this relevant today. 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Fav - all tomorrows parties

Very influential for good reason.

Revolutionary

10/10. This is a revolutionary and experimental album. It's one of the finest albums of the 1960's.

Would like to listen to more often!

I'll never forget the moment the 'sunday morning' came on. The first song made me focus on the album. 'I'll be your mirror' is the second favorite song in this album

Groundbreaking for the time. I love the entire album the way it flows. Standout tracks will always be Venus in Furs and Heroin.

Sounds partly a bit like the Doors.

It remains as audacious a statement today as it was in 1967—a heady blend of art, subversion, and raw emotion wrapped in a banana sticker of irreverence.

cada vez que lo escucho me parece mejor.

I've never listened to this album before, somehow! Though I feel I know it by osmosis from the songs appearing throughout culture. It gets five stars for "Venus in Furs" alone which I remember hearing on a TV commercial when I was a kid and it blew my mind. It sits alongside "Tomorrow Never Knows" for far-out-ness. But also, "Sunday Morning," "I'm Waiting For The Man," "All Tomorrow's Parties," "Heroin," even the album cover with the big banana: VERY CLASSIC. I do think there's a bit of filler, but still... five stars!

Perfection!

Nie umiem tego wytłumaczyć, ale jest w tej płycie coś takiego... urzekającego? Prawdziwego? Rozpaczliwego? Nie wiem, naprawdę. Ale wypuszcza ona macki, które włażą pod skórę i ruszają coś w środku. Za każdym razem, gdy jej słucham. Thursday Child, huh?

When I first heard this album, a long time ago, but when it was already something from the distant past, it was the most amazing thing ever. Like they said on another record, my life was saved by rock and roll. 40 or so years later, it's kind of hard to listen to, probably because it's so intertwined with memories of 19 year old me. I don't regret that version of me (mostly), but I wouldn't want to do it again.

Very interesting and enjoyable album. Cool sounds

Absolute classic. Remember being repulsed and kind of scared by Venus in Furs as a 14-15 year old, the dissonance was really offputting. But now it's my fave on here, but I love all of it. Lots is said about this record but the variety isn't commended enough.

Great record. Velvet Underground is ground-breaking, counter-cultural, underground ear candy to all that listen to them. They are odd as hell. However, John Cale was the real driver behind the madness. This album and White Heat/White Light are the best of the band and both are top 100 all-time albums in my book. Not sure which I like better. This one is unique as Nico adds more texture to the album flow - Femme Fatale is Fantastic- although, I understand why her vocals get such negative comments. Probably your favorite band’s favorite band. Easy 5 ⭐️.

Hell yeah already loved this from before

Ótrúleg plata. Listaverk held ég að lýsi henni best, bæði að innan og utan.

What a moment of sublime serendipity to receive this album, this monument of influence, taste, and iridescence, on a rainy Sunday morning.

Sameen would love this Nico lady

its really good and i dont mind saying it... just beautiful

A very influential album that hasn’t aged the worst, either. Ok you get it this is a very popular album

what a dope!! love it since i first heard it.

База

I really like this album. I love the weird variety of sounds, Nico's morose bellowing, and the strange punkish drama of it. It sounds like the music the theatre teens that I know would make if they stayed up all night. It glamorizes misery, but if you're miserable I guess being glamorous helps.

🍌

Epochal !

Love it.

Absolutely love this album. Such creativity, so interesting, so many great songs. A joy to listen to.

Brilliant album - stands the test of time.

It's taken a long time to crystalize, but the Velvet Underground has a strong case for my favorite band. It took me a long time to fully appreciate this album. I liked an increasing number of individual songs over the years, but never the full album. I liked Sunday Morning as a kid. Venus in Furs was a big song for me as a teenager (and is my favorite on the album). It took my until a couple years ago to come round to the Nico songs. It took over 15 years, but I finally got there. Its a strange album, and one that takes time. But it's as important as it is for a reason. Every era of Kit has liked pieces of this album, and now 30 year old Kit finally loves it in its entirety. No more do I offer my love in bits and pieces like a bitter parent. I accept you for who you are. Also going back to my Hail to the Thief review, Venus in Furs is one of the other songs to always feature in my 10/10 playlists. Album cover: (A+++) Come on. Its the banana. This is probably the only other album cover that sits in the same level of importance as Dark Side of the Moon.

My older brother's friend made a mixtape that started off with Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" and transitioned in "Heroin" of this album. I wish I had a copy of that tape, changed my musical world.

Lätt femma, den skivan som gjorde amerikansk musk utomordentligt, utan att ens nämna hur bra den är egenstående.

i really love this album. it's really rough around the edges and i'm sure not everyone likes it. nico's voice is not for everyone, the musicianship is kinda sloppy. it kinda sounds like shit. there's droning stuff. it's not for everyone. but it's for me. i don't think it's a perfect album, some of these songs aren't my absolute favorite in the world, but some of them are. either way, the album is a vibe, and it's my vibe. just a really cool album.

We are so used to albums being the same picture in 10-12 slightly different posses, true greatness is to produce an album where none of the posses are related. From Beach Boys sitting on a beach with a cool beer to the Doors stoned in a dead end drug den via Kurt sat in his bedroom writing about the pain of teenage life Polymath Polymath

Love it!

A classic quality recording. Not totally my taste though

One of the best albums ever of course.

An all time classic, enhanced with the presence of Nico... she's a little bit like sorbet or cheese between courses. I think the record might have been a little heavy without the melodic accent of her singing.

Fuck this is such a good album. I listen to it pretty often as I have for years, but it never gets old. There's a really perfect balance here to the chaos of VU's style and the restraint of the production that negatively impacted some of their later albums. Nico was someone that I had to learn to like, but I couldn't see this album without her now. 5/5 One of the most important albums of last century, and it fucking still kicks ass

sunday morning - beautiful im waiting for my man- YUPPPP this whole album is so good fav track venus in furs

Favourite tracks: I'm waiting for the man; Sunday morning; femme fatale; Venus in furs; heroin; run run run

Groundbreaking album with moments that still sound fresh and unsettling decades later. Hard to fathom how novel this album would have been in its' time.

Always fun to revisit the Velvets. And the more I listen to Nico the more I like her voice. Like a cello waking up in the morning.

It just feels good

Loved it when I first heard it 35+ years ago. Still love it now. Solid 5.

i'd give this five stars for "all tomorrow's parties" alone. that song is a black monolith and i'm just a buncha stupid apes

This experimental/proto-punk/psychedelic rock album from early 1967 is one of the most influential albums ever. Imagine how this underground album must have sounded at that time with Reed's lyrics - completely new and different compared to anything else. It's no surprise most people didn't understand it at that time, but those who did were so inspired by it that it had major influence on many genres that came after. I love the atmosphere of the record, the varied sounds - Sunday Morning is among my favourite album openings ever, I also love Venus in Furs, and the three songs sung by Nico - Femme Fatale, inspired by Edie Sedgwick, I'll Be Your Mirror and my personal favourite All Tomorrow's Parties. Heroin and the more experimental last songs are as superb as well, just like the rest of the songs. 5 stars, without a question.

One of my favorites

Wishing was 22 when this came out.

Good old school tunes

much like the album I got yesterday, Fives Leaves Left, this is a tremendous debut album that wasn't appreciated in its own time. although, to be fair to the Velvet Underground, they were much further ahead of the curve than Nick Drake! Lou Reed's songwriting is in a direct lineage with some truly archetypal rock and folk artists (Buddy Holly, Bob Dylan, Lennon/McCartney), but his focus on the seedy underbelly of New York City's arts culture steers the material into a much darker, often shocking direction. in between seemingly innocent songs like "Sunday Morning" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" and all the rest, there are odes to drug use, drug dealers, sadomasochism and sex workers. 1967! and, of course, the presence of multi-instrumentalist John Cale on these first two VU albums throws things even further into left field. a lot of these songs incorporate some chilling drone elements, others devolve into puddles of cacophony; I am consistently shocked by how low the recording fidelity is! The Velvet Underground & Nico* shaped so many future movements in rock and experimental music, it would probably be easier to count the ones they didn't have an impact on. at their best, they had such a wide variety of ways to create new paths forward for rock songs, compositionally and sonically, across a huge spectrum of dynamics, tempos, moods and subjects. I find myself returning to White Light / White Heat a little more often than this—they go all-in on their experimental side there— but there's no denying that this is one of rock music's finest debut albums, and certainly one of its most influential. *I do find it a bit weird that this is credited as a collaborative album given that Nico only shows up on lead vocals for three songs. but I guess it's as good a title as any other; it's pretty unassuming, and it lets you just sort of take in each song on its own merits. light 9/10.

How could this get anything but a 5! Such a hugely influential album to all that came after and you can hear it in the songs! Especially Heroin

Spotify has made this album's release year and duration yellow.