The Velvet Underground & Nico

Almost every critically-praised rock subgenre can trace its roots back to this album. The gritty, experimental music paired well with the lyrics about topics other artists were merely hinting at at the time. I understand the appeal, but it’s not really my cup of tea. Lou Reed isn’t really a singer and some of the songs are just formless jams.

some crackers

Starting a record with Sunday Morning is so brave. I don't think I have ever enjoyed the last 2 songs.

Classic simple grooves with personality and style

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

A good album, but I could really hear the production quality leaking through to be less enjoyable. There were some pretty solid songs on there, but I didn't find it hitting song after song

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.

It was okay. Too many wierd sound effects used imo

I'm not the biggest Velvet Underground fan. These songs are more like spoken word poetry to a backing track than an artist truly singing. I appreciate how iconic this album is, and the song Heroin is brilliant. But for my taste it's not my favorite.

Excruciating

It was good

European Son is my favorite I guess, teeth vibes at the end which was fun. Just not my kind of vocals at all. Kinda sad I’m giving this the same rating as Shleep ☹️

Enjoyable album, got a little weird at the end.

Sadly I'm not really into drugs and/or squalor, but there are definitely highlights on this flawed classic.

Cool, edgy, unique. Loved it. Feels like a five-star album, but the topics are difficult for everyday listening, so I'll go with a high 4.

I guess I had never really listened to The Velvet Underground. It wasn’t what I expected. Maybe that was just this album. I need to listen to other albums. I didn’t really care for it.

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.

Hit and miss overall, but some stone cold classics on here

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.

So far the best velvet underground or lou reed project I’ve gotten yet on the list. Still dripping in pretension and art house self importance, but not nearly as much as the second album or his later solo work. I can hear where it would have been huge for the time and where the influence springs, almost entirely in the music itself though. It reminds me of the episode of Spaced with Vulva on it, only it’s exactly what they were making fun of.

-another incredible classic. i think i love Nico’s influence on this one more than anything else, she has an absolutely phenomenal voice and touch -so glad i gave this album another chance because it incites a feeling in me unlike pretty much any other i’ve heard -Favorites are Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale, Venus In Furs, and Heroin

Listening to this album on headphones is rough. There are a lot of sounds that are harsh and fatiguing. Also, it sounds like this album was meant to be listened to in Mono, which I switched to half way through... it helped a lot. It's creative, obviously influential... but the roughness makes it a hard re listen.

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!

While it's not really my thing I do appreciate what they did for music in the mid 60's.

The state fair arrives at a lower Manhattan drug den. All very of its time. Not my thing.

I like it but don't get the overwhelming hype. I'd be 3.5 if I could

Lifechanging!

Historically significant. A good album but not quite a 5.

It’s 5 in the morning and I don’t feel like writing up a review. 7.9/10

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

Dad- 4 Mom- 7.5 Mike- 8 Lori- 7 Michael- 7 Miles- 5 Cole- 6 Avg- 6.35

An admittedly very mellow experience on first listen - which is reflective of the criticism this album got upon its release. At the same time, there isn’t a bad song on the track list, which puts this album in such a strange light for me. Is it good? Absolutely. Is it ahead of its time? Lou Reed always was. Does it hold up today? Depends on who you talk to. “Femme Fatale” is my pick from this debut. I think the music is just a jumping off platform to the crazy context and historical significance TVU&N carries with it. I don’t feel qualified to elaborate any more, therefore I won’t!

I've just never understood the hype behind this album. Maybe I'm not stoned enough to appreciate it.

I went from "oh nice, an album that I haven't listened to but have heard good things about" to "what the heck is even this" pretty quickly.

I did not use a private Spotify session for this one as I have listened to it before. It is hard for me just to sit and listen to The Velvet Underground as there music is a little too odd and detuned, but I can appreciate the impact they had. I used to hate the song "Heroin" because it made me feel on edge, but then I realized since the song was about heroin, it was supposed to, I recognized the talent it going for that emotion and grabbing it. Still, I can't put on this record and just chill.

Few good ones

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.

All time classic truly revolutionary

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

I hate this album (but love this band). Impossible to listen to. 2 stars.

can’t really believe i’ve never listened to this whole thing

Starting to get their whole vibe. Really enjoyed this overall, dirty but often spare at the same time

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 🤣

2,25

Actually much better than I initially remembered! Nicos voice is still infuriating but you can hear why they influenced so many other artists!

I can kinda hear its influence but I just don't get it. Her vocals sound really out of place for one thing.

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

point5.

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.

classic. blew my mind in 1984 when i first heard it

Meh

Has always been in my top 20!!

An important album that I just don’t really vibe with

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

I think if I didn't know this was supposed to be a perfect album, I'd give it 4 stars, so I'm trusting my gut

4.5 stars So many great, classic tracks on this album. Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting for The Man, Femme Fatale, All Tomorrow’s Parties, I’ll Be Your Mirror… There’s a lived-in quality about this album that sounds so right to my ears (and the other self-titled Velvet Underground album too). This came out 2 years before yesterday’s album, From Elvis in Memphis. Sounds like a different universe. The last couple songs kinda took me out of it but it didn’t bother me that much since they were at the end.

I mean... it's good. I like this album, but I don't love it. I own a copy of it. I've listened to it many times. It's a right of passage for anyone getting into rock music... and i think its deserving of its place in rock music. I can feel its influence in countless albums. I like some of those albums more. I wish i liked this album more. General notes: I like the mix of soft nico tracks and harsh lou tracks. Heroine is amazing... the momentum is incredible. Its a rush. Sunday morning is pretty, love the twinkle I'm waiting for the man is classic driving velvets Love femme fatale. Great nico track. Love the back up vocals too. Run, run, run ... i love the run run run refrain There she goes again is great. Love the vocal interplay. I'll be your mirror is very catchy. Weird it was in an airbnb commercial. I like a lot of tracks... but it doesn't stick with me ... it doesn't hit me the way it hits so many other people. Maybe someday.

Was expecting to not like this but it was actually pretty good. It feels experimental but still accessible. Shoutout to Venus in Fur being sampled by Coldplay

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

Amazing album, brought me so much joy when I saw it was my album for the day! Whilst loaded is definitely their best album, this is timeless

Again, another not bad not great album. I enjoyed "I'm Waiting for the Man," but most of the album was just noise. Overall, another middle of the road tier, for an all-timer.

The daddy of all art rock projects. The Velvets changed everything with this window into the world of the seedy and after-dark. Has twinkling ice cream van music, scraping viola, droll poetry, driving R&B drums and the husky, dusky voice of Nico (admittedly an acquired taste you all have to develop to enjoy the other stuff). Nothing short of perfect.

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

Not really something I like, but it gets an extra star for the banana.

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

A classic! Love Andy Warhol and Lou Reed. Nico will pay for her crimes though. This album is so quintessential New York -- real beatnic Washington Square Park, West Village, hitchhiking from your small town in Ohio to get to the big city. Today's transplants will never know. You really do see its influences all over modern music -- from its contents to its cover. Venus in Furs is one of the best songs I can ever forget about; which makes for a real treat whenever I do remember it. Another standout on this listen is "All Tomorrow's Parties". It makes me want to throw a party at the Chelsea Hotel with all my it girl friends of the 70s that ends in someone jumping off the ledge (metaphorically of course). After this listen, I'll be revisiting the Patti Smith novel. This album reminds me how much I love New York. The New York that's always ephemeral and fleeting. The one that only exists in memories and stories in your mind.

It’s not bad but it doesn’t touch me. I would say 2.5 cause the jam was more interesting to me even if this one isn’t long it’s just a bit monotone

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.

Genius? Or noise? I vote for the latter…

Понравилось, но слушать сложно. Долгие треки полностью не смогла прослушать, звук давит на мозг.

🍌

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

Eww

Didn’t enjoy this one.

Decent album. Sometimes a little rough like European Son, but overall quite enjoyable.

Not a fan, but sometimes the vibe was good.

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

Very just boring as all other 60s generic bands

Brian Eno wasn't wrong about this...

It was alright. Certainly a vibe, but not one I particularly cared for. Decent instrumentals with ok vocal work.

Liked the variety. Some was sweet. Probably wouldn’t listen but liked it was different and a bit experimental.

Oh

I can see how this influenced many albums later to come. Lots of distortion, just kinda blurs together.

10

I really want to like this. I think "Run" is a good song and I like the songs with violin le sitar. The rest of the album is ok. This is a 3 but I will listen again. 3/5

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!

Plenty of albums (and artists) have hype around them and I tend to be allergic for hype. This weirdness proves me absolutely wrong with this allergy and my prejudices. This album is packed with cool weirdness!

I get that it was influential, but it’s still a little too artsy for me.

I know this album by it's visuals. I know this album by it's name and of "Nico's" tragic life. Many of the songs are familiar as covers, such as Venus in Furs by Electric Wizard. And finally I know it by the impact it has had in alternative music in general. Yet, I've not heard this album in full before. Feels weird man.

One of my favorite albums. Such a unique sound.

M'eh, not really my cup of tea, not bad but just background

Som en svamptripp med hög diskant

a smooth and easy listen.

I prefer the Lou Reed Songs over the Nico fronted ones, but I really enjoyed this. Can understand why it blew people away in 1967, and with a few more listens it could go up in my estimations. 4 stars.

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

1.5

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.

I was actually pretty disappointed by this record. I was expecting something incredible and I got something just ... good-ish. I like the lyrics I just think the music didn't really age well. 6,5/10 Fav songs : Venus in furs & Heroin

I was a bit disappointed: I like some other VU stuff, but this wasn't very enjoyable for me. Some good bits but several off the target misses for me.

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.

Perhaps scandalous at the time, but tame by today's standards. Pretty good album overall, and contains the song that lent the title to a book from one of my favorite authors (William Gibson): All Tomorrow's Parties

Was expecting to like this more than I did.

great

The only reason this album is on any list is because Andy Warhol produced it and created cool cover art, there I said it. It sounds like noise. So much screeching. There's a reason it wasn't well received commercially at the time, and why pretentious nerds keep putting it on lists today.

Favoriten Sunday Morning Femme fatal Heroin There she goes again Ill be your mirror Im Waiting for the man

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.

4.4 iconic. faves: there she goes again, i'm waiting for the man, femme fatale

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.

I think I always kind of romanticize this album in my head, but it's not nearly as good as I remember. The music and the band are great, even the sort of saccharine pop songs are pretty good, but Nico is just atrocious and drags the whole thing down with her. I'd generally rather listen to solo Lou Reed.

Re experimental pero creo que no es para mí. Me resulta medio aburrido y no muy impresionante pero me gustan algunas letras y cosas mas out there tipo venus something something. Femme fatale es muy buena también y la primera me gustó y algún temita más por ahí

no es mucho mi estilo, pero algunas canciones me gustaron pero hasta ahí jajaj. le daría tipo 4/10 capaz

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.

10/10

It's a masterpiece

3/5. Didn’t really connect with me. Lots of drug songs, long psychedelic instrumentals. “Heroin” was good and I really liked “I’ll Be Your Mirror”.

Good album.

J - 3/5 Best Track - "Sunday Morning" F - DNL

“waiting for the man” and “heroin” are two of my favorites from this album. Broaching everything from drug addiction, sex, gender identity…all in 1967.

I really want to like this band. Femme Fatale is a gem, for sure, but the rest of this really doesn't do anything for me. Iconic album cover, one that I'm sure everyone has seen...but that doesn't make me want to listen to this more than once.

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.

Pretty good but I wasn't a fan of the final track.

I'm disappointed here; this is one of the greatest albums of all time? In what way? While it did have its folk-rock charm, and a unique variety, it became a bit boring, and it wasn't easy hearing Lou Reed. Favorite Track: "Heroin".

Favourite!

3 maybe 4

Drop de siste 2 låtene og det blir 5

It was fine! Not really for me, but sure!

Great album - can hear all kinds of influences in hear.

The context is important here- the roots of indie and emo are here.

Ah the famous banana album, never bothered listening to this, and I'm kinda glad I waited until 1001 assigned this one. This definitely didn't meet or exceed my expectations. When a monumental album is referenced just on its cover you expect something grandiose and with fanfare, but this was really underwhelming. Influence aside and also listening to this in the modern age, I'd give this a 2 at best, its not unlistenable, and I didn't hate it...that much. Enjoyed the first half, disliked the second half of just noise and experimental sounds.

Knall, knallere, knallers

Bananplata. Fantastisk.

Bra

Interesting, creative, weird, and touching on a number of genres. Being slightly lazy as I listened a week ago and can’t be bothered to listen again, so just dipped back into a few songs for a refresh.

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

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

This has a lot of good songs on it. I like the mixture of the female and male singers on the songs. Something very unique about the album but some songs just not for me and it's a bit too long

Two Nico Albums in a row, lucky me!

overrated lul

One of the most important albums of all time

Whenever Nico does her thing this album hits. Also sunday morning is pretty good.

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

Lou Reed is one of a kind. Excellent album.

Solid album, somewhat boring but overall not bad

wish I appreciated them more, I know how influential etc but just don't (ever) listen to them.

The screeching guitar perfectly dials into the drug use and era. Heroin makes me feel so uncomfortable, yet comfortable at the same time.

I'm more of a self titled VU guy. But this one has plenty to like - or at least consider. This album introduced so ideas into the culture. Most (many) good. We don't get here without it.

This was a trip. I realized as I started this album that even though I knew of the Velvet Underground and I knew of this album from the artwork, I'd never actually LISTENED to it. I enjoyed basically the whole thing! There were a few sections that went into noise rock more than I like, but there are definitely songs on this album I can see myself coming back to. My favorite was probably Venus in Furs.

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

Ikke min type musikk. Langt mellom gode melodilinjer. Monotont og dystert. Kan forstå at albumet har vært banebrytende og inspirerende, men ikke noe jeg kommer til å sette på igjen.

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.

Some legendary songs are supported by some, honestly, droning filler. The last two songs are painful. VU are rightly legends for their music, but Jesus - some of their output was pure scag.

heard this in the past already Sunday Morning - 5/5 I'm Waiting For The Man - 3/5 Femme Fatale - 5/5 Venus In Furs - 4/5 Run Run Run - 3/5 All Tomorrow's Parties - 4/5 Heroin - 4/5 There She Goes Again - 4/5 I'll Be Your Mirror - 5/5 The Black Angel's Death Song - 2/5 European Son - 2/5 Average score: 3.7/5 (rounding up) nico's singing improves the velvet underground's sound immensely, and i don't even really care for nico very much as i've mentioned in other reviews of TVU/Leonard Cohen albums, i cannot stand Leonard's vocals most of the time. however, i feel the group's performance overall was better on this album, or at least good enough for me to look past the weaker moments

Fantastic album!

Can’t listen to this anymore.

Better stuff has been made by its legion of inspired followers, but still a classic.

Varies between dark and dirty, and heartfelt and seductive. And I like Nico's singing voice.

Æ har aldri hørt på det med vilje før, men det høres akkurat ut som forventa. Uten at det e til forkleinelse for noen, bare sjølbekreftanes.

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.

First album, and I like where this is going. The variety of styles and their performance amazed me. Several songs are prime examples of peculiar and wonderful psychedelic rock subgenre. Mostly saved calm ones to my playlist. Love the album cover, very pretty and distinguishable. Songs saved: 5/11

Not for me. I liked the song Heroin though.

anschinend mega wichtig fürd musiggschicht als pionierwerch, und es tönt au immer wieder vil neuer als es isch. mer ghört halt aber trotzdem no recht d 60er dure, was weniger mis ding isch.

teilwiis no kuul, teilwiis sehr lärmig

Yeah Cool listen. Liked this one

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

Flummig men ok

I could have sworn that I’d heard the banana album by The Velvet Underground and Nico, but apparently not. There weren’t any tracks I found familiar here, although my partner seemed to know all of the words to Venus In Furs. I did like this album - it got a little trippy at times, but always stayed pleasant. The highlight for me is Nico’s voice. It’s unusual but still lovely, and so very identifiable.

It was ok

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

I can see why people don't like this album. Nico has a terrible voice and can't hold a note. But somehow it works for me.

A big gap in my musical knowledge, pleased to have filled it. Unsure what to make of it though, avant-garde, some of it comes across as a bit pretentious even, especially the second half, but clearly a ground-breaking work.

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.

Groundbreaking? Yes. Opened on an all-timer and closed on the worst sound I have ever heard? Also yes.

not listened to it properly

An album that is more important than enjoyable, but it does retain its ability to jar even after 50 years and you can hear a lot of the future of music in it.

I have explored this 💿 multiple times. I think VU is a band I’ll make a playlist of. Greatest Hits… I can probably do that. There are some that are trippy and interesting here. Some just don’t land for me yet.

Influential <> Music I love Songs: Sunday Morning

Some great songs, some songs are very Lou Reed oddness -Sunday Morning -I'll Be Your Mirror

I think this album has been a tad overrated over the years. There are some undisputable great songs but the "edgy" stuff leaves me cold and, if I had to hear Nico sing the word "clown" one more time, I would have lowered it a star.

Already listened to it, interesting and modern album for its time. New folk , but not rock.

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.

I get it, and I think it’s great, but I don’t quite love it - a v high 4.

An album I'd heard of (the cover art is pretty famous) but not listened to. Really enjoyed it for the most part - especially "Femme Fatale" and "Heroin", two great tracks. This is a great and for good reason.

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. 🌟 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Highlights: Sunday Morning, Run Run Run. In a nutshell: deliberately freaking out the squares. Overall: 6/10

I've listened to this before, didn't love it. We'll see if I change my mind. I'm still overall indifferent. "Sunday Morning" is good.

Its interesting enough, don't know if there's enough there to exit the meh but it's not a dislike

I know this is a cornerstone album of modern music, but it overall failed to impress me much. A lot has been made of Andy Warhol's involvement in the production of the album as well, but even that element doesn't seem very strong to me. It's mostly fine, but some high-pitched noise on a few tracks made for an unpleasant listening experience, I feel I have to deduct a star for that. Maybe I was overhyped on this one.

To me the velvet underground ground are cheap knockoff of Bob Dylan. 3/5

Yeah I like this one a lot

Not really for me

You know what! Hell Yeah!

This was cool. Nico's whole deal always makes me feel like I'm in an episode of SNL, but regardless, it was an interesting album and I'm glad it exists. Will I turn it on again? Probably not.

Loved. Perfect Sunday morning listening

Okay this 60s stuff I'm on board with. It's got a slightly haunting energy and it's just generally a bit darker and more interesting than most 60s stuff imo.

Surprisingly, I've only really 'got' this album recently. It's something I admire and appreciate more than actively love, but it is still an album who's world I very much like being inside. It's incredible how icy and imposing songs like 'Venus in Furs' still sound.

The band that permanently broke rock n roll, smashing windows with sonic bricks. The fact that whispery, serene “Sunday Morning” flows right into Lou Reed’s anthem to his dope dealer is one of the greatest 1-2 punches in music history. The tail end of the album kind of wanders off in a haze but they’re doing every genre and doing it with absolute disdain for all of it. Long live VU.

the songs with nico do absolutely nothing for me but heroin & the last two tracks are so peak. 5/5 importance 3/5 music

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.

Нормик

Yeah. Ok.

Fav - all tomorrows parties

Despite having seen the artwork (what seems like) a million+ times in my life, I had never listened to this album in full. I had heard a couple songs in various contexts before, so I wasn't completely blind to it. Even so, I was caught a bit off guard from my expectations- in a good way. This one felt like a well thought out, complete album. All the pieces came together to make something impressive and impactful. What weak spots there were blended away into another solid, good song. The music composition wasn't particularly complex or intricate, but seemed perfectly fitting for what each song was. A great example of not overdoing it (which seems to plague a lot of music production). When there was something extra on top, it was complimentary (chaotic strings, for example) and added to the experience rather than distracting from it. Reed's vocals fit the content very well, even though I normally don't love his tone. I actually preferred his effort's to Nico's, for whatever reason. Importantly to me, the album held my attention all the way through. Songs that had long runtimes didn't get old. Songs that were short left me wanting them to go on a bit longer. There were a few negatives; it did seem repetitive at times, and certain songs definitely were weaker than others. It also trended almost too much toward simplicity, and some parts felt like they could use a bit more emphasis or complexity to bring it out. Even so, this is one that I would say is a great album as a whole. I will be coming back to it for another listen. Overall: 4.2/5

Ok

3.54

Notes: - Sounds like Bob Dylan lyrically and The Rolling Stones musically - Sloppy solos that could be more melodic and less “technical” Favorite Songs: - Heroin - There She Goes Again Least Favorite Songs: - The Black Angels Death Song Rating: 2/5

The album is pretty decent, but it's not varied enough for me. I can listen to it for a while, but a whole album in that style is too much for me.

Very influential for good reason.

Really varied, not one specific theme, didn't like anything in particular

Not for me

People say this album is super influential, and I don't doubt it - and maybe it's because I wasn't around when this came out - but it just doesn't hit too hard for me. I think Heroin is very cool, and I'm not too fond of the experimental bits, but I think it's supremely overrated if anything.

I was excited to listen to this, it was a new one for me. Right off the bat I recognized “Sunday Morning,” great song. I expected this to be more hard rock, but they were actually kinda pleasant easy listening pop rock songs. They still got weird there at the end with the more experimental instrumentation cacophony sounds. And hey, cool album cover.

Got 2 of the list's 3 Velvet Underground albums in the same week... I quite enjoyed The Velvet Underground (their 1969 album) so I was optimistic going into this one. I enjoyed parts of it, but I wasn't as enamored as I was with the 1969 album. Top track is probably "Heroin," which has the interesting approach of sort of musically emulating heroin usage.

i liked it a lot, i enjoyed the variety of kinds of songs on the album and i feel like they were way ahead of their time. would definitely listen again

Ethereal. Reminds me of the beatles

Revolutionary

ganz gut aber es ende nervt

Me gusta mucho, pero es de esos discos que a pesar de su universal adoración, yo me quedo un poquito atrás en ese amor. Sí, es un discazo, ¿pero el mejor disco de toda la historia? Cada vez que lo escucho lo disfruto, pero no entiendo por qué es amado a ese nivel. Pero bueno, discazo sí es.

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

kenn i

Would like to listen to more often!

Low 3

I got a bit behind on albums so only had time to give this one listen. It was okay, I didn't like it a lot but didn't dislike it either.

Lots of great tunes, rich production and shades of The Doors and Dylan's drawl.

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.

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

Not a bad album. just not to my tastes

There's a lot of variety on this album, you can tell that as a band the Velvet Underground hasn't fully captured their sound yet. Some of the songs on hear would sound right at home on a Stones album. Good stuff; would play again. 3.5/5

Decent album that is nice, but I don't have a lot of reason to revisit. Maybe though. 3/5

Good in parts

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.

I really didn't much care for this album to be honest. It's not bad, just not for me.

great songs, not just my cup of tea

funny banana anyways this album is fuckin great

Fine, not my thing, wouldn't listen to it again. The more songs that were more bluegrassy with the fiddle were better than the others.

Sounds partly a bit like the Doors.

I'm a fan of Nico. I appreciate the avant-garde style of some of these songs, but some are so jarring that it isn't the kind of thing I want to listen to more than once.

This one is going to take more than one listen to absorb. I tended to prefer the ones where Nico took the lead on the vocals. Which are so sweet compared to the Lou Reed songs. It’s a fairly schizophrenic album. Sometimes the lyrics are so out there that it almost feels pretentious (The Black Angel’s Death Song, I’m looking at you). But then there’s I’m Waiting for the Man which is very immediate. And Heroin which doesn’t try to hide a thing. Lots to think about. Not boring. But not really anything that is something that would make me happy to listen to. I can only imagine going back to this if I’m in a pretty low mood and just want to sit in a little funk.

Very experimental, sometimes like an early Joy Division album.

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.

Easy classic, but doesn't grab me

Not what I'd pick, but not bad.

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.

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!

This would be better without Nico. Songs are great, can hear the influences everywhere. Don't love the delivery, Lou Reed strays too much into the Dylanesque vocals. Was surprised how many songs I did recognise (even if that was via covers).

Very good

Psych en abrasive. Sound of the drug infused late 60s

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.

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

i have tried so many times with this album and I just can't

Awful, easily the worst thing on here since Throbbing Gristle. What a mess, every song sounds like a demo and they should have stayed that way.

I could not care less about this album. I think giving it a two is about all I can muster

mid and boring

Very interesting and enjoyable album. Cool sounds

Some highlights but not really my thing overall

I think they could have left out the three songs featuring Nico; but the remaining songs have a sense of urgency about them that I liked.

Keith - 4/10 Ross - 7.5/10 Caylum - 7.5/10

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.

Groundbreaking in its day, of course, but still surprisingly listenable today in a way that most of the "experimental" efforts of the late 60s are not. Lou Reed anchors it with a keen awareness of how to prioritize the music and assure the shock of the experimental parts are not overshadowing.

Very repetitive, same looping instrumentals. Some very tinny sounding instruments as well that hurt my ears at points. Last song was horrible

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

Overrated but not like "bad". Just keep doing the freak outs, not trying to force those parts and actual songs together?

Good stuff.

Honestly maybe it just hit at the right time, but this album was a real gateway for me into noisier, more experimental music. The first time I heard 'Venus in Furs' it was electrifying.

Some absolute classic, genre-bending folk tracks on this. It really feels like what the cool kids were listening to in the ‘60s without being too pretentious. The songwriting is great, the production is solid, and the performances are good for the most part. There’s not much to dislike about any of this. 9/10

👻

Pretty alright album, not really what I was expecting from "Undead Underwood" but it was alright as background music. There were a few songs that were pretty different from each other, so the album was a bit all over the place but overall not too bad.

Átta mig á því að þetta er gífurlega áhrifarík plata. Sunday morning er bjútí. Nico hefur alltaf pirrað mig. Svona plata sem hipster vinur þinn segir að sé best. Mitt huglæga mat er hins vegar að þetta hreyfir ekki mikið við mér. Hljóðblandan er pirrandi á köflum og þessi óhljóð í lokin fengu skip. Tek normie 60's soundið frekar. Normies unite.

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

I’ve always heard this record described as revolutionary and groundbreaking, but I don’t really see where people are coming from there. I enjoyed it, but I guess I just don’t “get” it

already liked it, but this is definitely a great album. experimental without being unlistenable.

A seminal debut from one of the most important bands ever. And boy is this band really unlike any other. I always have conflicting feelings over this album though. On one hand, the experimental nature really does it a lot of favors when it works. But it doesn’t always work. And it mostly doesn’t work when Nico is front and center.

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

great song solection and vbabana

Okay but songs blend together almost immediately

Alright interesting rock, similar tones to the Beatles, 3/5

I wasn't looking forward to this one, even though I knew it would be on the list. I have already had to listen to a Nico album that was insufferable. I'm going to quote myself from my review of a Lou Reed album though, because it rings true here as well. "Proof that you don't need a great voice or a heap of talent to make it. You just need to be one of the first on the bandwagon so everyone thinks that you're a visionary"

didn't like the Nico songs

Very good. Really enjoyed this

Classic album. Knew I liked it. Second side weaker.

Good, experimental music at the time it came out. Not a fan of all the vocals. Some great moments on this album.

Didn’t mind it.

No denying its influence and there are good moments on here. But this is also overrated and not one of the greatest albums ever made. It does belong in the book and on this list but I can't call it best ever like so many critics do.

The album and band that didn’t ever sell well originally but allegedly everyone who bought them back then went and off and formed a band. The music is a strange mix of gauche, almost whimsical, psychedelic pop (Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale, I’ll Be Your Mirror) and rough rock and roll (I’m Waiting For The Man, Run, Run, Run) and dark claustrophobic experimental (All Tomorrows Parties, Heroin, Venus In Furs, Black Angel’s Death Song, European Son). Where it works it works really well - on some of the darker songs; but some of it hasn’t aged well like Run, Run, Run. Favourite songs Venus In Furs, All Tomorrows Parties, Waiting For The Man, Sunday Morning.

It's banana how good this is