Reviews (page 3 of 8)
The songs are too long, the production is too compressed, but there’s no doubt that the distortion is where punk found its anchor.
I can see how this inspired various noise and indie rock acts who would run with these ideas. It is clear that to a particular group of artists and fans that WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT and was proof of concept that these concepts could work, but unfortunately this record also proved that The Velvet Underground would not be the band to make these concepts work. The engineering and production sounds sloppy and lazy rather than intentional. 1 star for the actual quality and 1 additional star for being the inspiration for far better realized and albums and acts that would result from this existing.
Famously different
Total masterpiece.
A bunch of noise and words. i couldn't wait for it to end
Tough one for voting. It sounds terrible, However you can hear the influence on others. Covers of these tracks sound better than the originals. A reluctant 2*.
Nothing incredible.
Oof. As much as I like other music of theirs, I don't want to listen to this again.
Macabre and unfocused. Probably a statement of its time, but I'm not sure I'd listen again.
Not their best work.
Its definitely worthy of a nod. Deep seedy NY City psychedelic vibes on the opposide side of the hippie free love psychedelic sounds coming from California. Lou Reed, John Cale and Velvet underground always deserve the respect they garner. However, I don't think it takes a scholar to spot a weaker release. This is an okay album. Dilly dallies around and melody or structure and although it was tthe style of the time. Something greater could have been made with these bones.
Nope from me
There was certainly everything you come to expect from a Velvet Underground album. The guitars were quirky, the noises (and strangely levelled voices). Overall, an experience. But not a challenging one. 4 stars.
This album is like lying in bed in your hall of residence with a punishing hangover, while you can hear your neighbour living his life in the room next door. You’ve got a thumping headache and a cotton mouth. Meanwhile on the other side of your paper thin wall, you can hear you neighbour (who you don’t like) making plans with his friends about going out for lunch. They debate where to go for an absurd length of time. You just want it to end.
I had assumed I'd enjoy this, so it was quite the disappointment. And opening bland track, followed by a long story over some low repeating sounds. A 17 min noise track with a story that, sure great write a book. I guess if this is your thong then sure... cool. But I've got bettwr things to do with my time.
Meandering pointless psychedelia. Still hadn't figured out what they were doing.
Feel 7/10:Very Beatles inspired but still good 1960’s feel Length 8/10: 6 songs and 40 minutes isn’t awful Musicality 6/10:Very good drums and guitar. The bass is ok? Flow 6/10: Songs have a good sum of space between them Understandability 6/10:Not really a clear story, at least not to be, and the whole seconds song is confusing to me Overall 7/10:Not awful but also not me feel of an album
2
Not sure what that 17 minute noisy messy was or how they snuck it on the album, but the rest of it was cool.
Adored it. The gift is a favorite I love that song it is so silly. Been loving the velvets a lot lately
This album freakin rocked wow. So much good stuff, and just reminded me how fun and inventive the velvet underground is.
i like the velvet underground. i love the debut with nico. i’ve heard this album before but i don’t revisit it often. the gift is a really cool song. i love the jam. the panning on it is really cool, even if that meant it took me a minute to finish it. the title track is good, not much else to say about it. this is just an insane album, it’s crazy that this got made. and its an insane follow up to & nico. the ending for i heard her call my name is genuinely so cool. i love when musicians just play bullshit. it’s not my favorite velvet underground album, but it is damn influential. and in a completely different way than & nico was, which is nuts for a single band. mmm sound… sister ray is cool. the amount of different ways he sings the same lines to mean different shit. super super cool.
Difficult album to rate. White light / white heat was a staple tour de force live track for Bowie and the band were clearly influential, experimental and ahead of their time. Hard to love but impossible to ignore.
(не считая репа и хир ши камз) намного более в ноты чем я ожидаю от Лу Рида, но всё равно не схватило
This is the kind of nonsense that music critics fawned over so that they could come off as sophisticated and, therefore, justify getting paid to listen to music. This is the equivalent of when you give a group of kids a tape recorder and a microphone and, just like this album, they can demonstrate that they don't understand audio levels and sound mixing.
This is a great album. It doesn’t really have singles and Sister Ray is 17 1/12 minutes long. It sounds almost like proto prog rock but with more grit and structure. It a wholly unique thing. You can hear the influence of this record on a lot of the music that has come since.
el peor álbum q escuche en mi vida
The inspiration for thousands of bands that came after. Nothing else had ever sounded like this. I played VU endlessly when I was an edgy teenager, and it's great to hear this again now. It's still as exciting, challenging, raw, and frankly batshit crazy. Wonderful.
It's loud and distorted, raw and gritty, very avant-garde. I am a VU fan and I love this album but it is not one I would recommend to someone interested in learning about them. I normally am not a fan of spoken word, there are a few exceptions and The Gift is one of them. The whole album is really building, its so fast and loud almost anxiety inducing. So experimental, sometimes I like to dream what could have been if Reed and Cale could have stayed together.
This is an ADHD Nightmare. It is chaotic, loud, just a bunch of random noise with talking over it. You know the creepy tunnel scene in Willy Wonka ... This is like that but on drugs. I hate it with a passion and couldn't get through a single song
Ugh. I enjoy some Lou Reed/Velvet Underground hits and other albums in small doses. This one is grating and insufferable, and I'm just not in the mood today.
A Classic. Cant go wrong with Velvet Underground.
Not my jam. Mostly noise, and weirdly experimental. There's a 17 minute song about a blowjob with the lyrics "You're busy sucking on my ding-dong. You busy sucking on my ding-dong." For fucks sakes.
No me ha interesado como esperaba que pudiera interesarme
I have been aware since the mid 80s, when my older brother brought home the VU and Nico record, that as good worshipers at the church of Rock, we are supposed to revere or at least honor the Velvet Underground. But I have never really enjoyed their music. Some of the tracks I like pretty well, and I really like Lou Reed's live album, Rock and Roll Animal, which is made up of VU songs. But ... thin and unpleasant tends to be my feeling about the VU I've listened to. I've never listened to this album before. It's interesting, in terms of seeing how this is a source of inspiration for future dissonant / noisy rock practitioners. The connection between Sister Ray, for example, and early Modern Lovers as well as Stereolab's Random Transient etc. .... seems unmistakable. I've always thought of their albums as poorly recorded. Reading a little bit about this album and their catalog generally, it seems like the poor sound quality is kind of intentional, like a proto-DIY aesthetic. Not sure that makes it a good idea. I'm going on to listen to The Velvet Underground, which I have also never listened to before. It's pretty good. Overall, though, my appreciation for this band is getting a modest boost, while my appetite for listening to them just really isn't.
I grew up Unitarian Universalist--a commonplace idea in the Boston area, but a little exotic in the landscape of other American regional Christianity. And as a youth a First Parish, one joined the Youth Group--YRUU, as it was known then. And as a member of YRUU, one got to go on field trips. And if you grew up when I did, you'll probably recall field trips as just a few rungs down from an actual vacation. I went to a few Cons, where the rumor was that youth got together and did some serious smooching, or unserious other stuff; although I got no action, I got some serious yearning in. It was 1985, and I was 15. By then I was convinced that the nerdy weirdness that had drawn the contempt and bullying in previous years was going to be my ticket to... life, basically. I was reading William Burroughs, Maya Deren, and all the weird comix Aaron could buy. I had tried weed, in Greg's graduated cylinder bong, at 1am at the Ski Club. I could feel the tantalizing tendrils of coolness tickling my heart. The youth group went to New York that year. I have no memories of any of it... other than seeing the Velvet Underground's white+Warholian banana album cover, and seizing it with bloodshot Rat Fink eyes. That album, and later White Light/White Heat, became a carte de visite for many expeditions into the Cool in years to come. It was part of what secured my friendship with Daniel, who was FROM New York, at Tufts U. It was part of doing loads of drugs with the folks who became a temporary clan, the next year. Personally, White Light/White Heat is not VU's best. Or better put--it has some rich noise, but also some wildly pretentious shite poetry. But I'm giving a 5 because VU meant so much to my young adult life.
Blah. Find it annoying at best. My husband is a huge fan and did admit this wasn't their finest hour.
Well, now I know why so many people say they can't stand the Velvet Underground. I've always thought of myself as a big fan but after listening to this album all the way through I realized, no, I'm a big fan of two of their albums, but this isn't one of them. Reading a bit about the production of the record, it was interesting that members of the band disliked its sound intensely. Me too. The fact that it gets put on all-time great album lists is just preposterous.
The Gift was fun in a novelty kind of way. I Heard Her Call My Name was atrocious and a 17 minute final track was a special kind of torture. Abysmal.
< the Beatles
quirky stuff
Sucks ding-dong alright.
Very good
Lou Reed at his most monotonous.
Maso
This was ok. The better of the Velvet Underground releases I've heard so far. I appreciated its experimental nature. Sister Ray was pretty interesting.
Jeg respekterer den mere end jeg kan lide den
Mindst lige så forud for sin tid som bananpladen, de opfandt jo reelt 80er-støj-rock her. Ikke en særlig nem plade, men jeg tænker heller ikke det var meningen.
Super different and fun to listen to.
Favorite Song: Lady Godiva's Operation
Another familiar one. I don't always like the muddy, muffled sound. Lady Godiva still feels somewhere between annoyingly tossed off and deliberately ruined. I remember barely being able to get through Sister Ray when I first heard it, but it feels almost soothing to me now. One of the things that struck me listening to this today is this: how huge the influence of VU -- especially this album -- is on Yo La Tengo. I always recognized it (it not only obvious, it's a known thing, almost a cliche to recognize it), but this listening it felt like Ira Kaplan was playing guitar. It's not my favorite VU album to listen to, but it's probably the most provocative, challenging, and interesting. Yeah, it belongs on a list of 1001.
Oh this again. Really, we need all three of these? Pretty sure we get the gist of what this band is all about after the one album, I have to listen to all of them before I die to really understand music? What if I already went through my Beat phase in college? Anyway, there's not what I would classify a "song" here. Especially whatever is happening at the end of this thing. "She's busy sucking on my ding-dong?" Bro. Embarrassing. That was cringe THEN. Anyway, I'm out of patience with this band. Pretty sure Sonic Youth would have figured it out without them, and the Nirvana cover of "Here She Comes Now" is infinitely better because Kurt had a sense of like, melody and rhythm. Also, real quick, this is not the only experimental band from the 60s. But apparently enough people have decided that this is the only one that matters somehow. This band is annoying. I'm annoyed. Suck a ding-dong, Velvet Underground.
The Velvet Underground right? Aren’t we supposed to hold them in high reverence? Well that album with a banana on was good and probably groundbreaking for its time but truth is apart from that and on the evidence of this I think we’ve been had. 2/5 7/4/26
Definitely didn’t get this.
Big Lou Reed fan, never listened to this album before. Parts of it were pretty interesting but it’s pretty hardcore.
Still a rockin’ album, but my least favorite of the main VU records. Too few songs, a bit too much jamminess. The garage rock sound is intriguing, but they’ve written better melodies. 4.3 stars
The Velvet Underground > The Velvet Underground & Nico > Loaded > White Light/White Heat, imo. It's great and pioneering and everything, but not what I reach for (judging from my last.fm stats).
This was fucking dreadful cunt, looking aside the horrid audio quality the lyrics and musicianship on this fucking suck. PUN INTENDED because the rambling in Sister Ray was just stupid, as well as the incoherent dribble that come out of whoever-the-fuck drug addict sings for Velvet Underground. I HAD TO LISTEN TO SOME CUNT SAY "TOO BUSY SUCKIN' ON MY DING DONG" ARE WE BEING SERIOUS NOW This was fucked man I don't understand why these guys are so acclaimed. That being said, I've had everything served up to me on here except for the banana album - whatever that's called.
White Hot / Dog Shit The only thing this album elicited in me was feeling like I was being told a story by my good personal friend Jack Mackenzie in a loud shitty venue.
I can never tell if The Velvet Underground are brilliant, artistic visionaries or just silly noisemakers. Now that I've explored White Light/White Heat I still don't know.
Music for pretentious and manipulative men. And it doesn’t even sound good.
Like Godot before her and Josie after her, Sister Ray never shows up. The narrator’s loss, but our gain.
At first I had this as a 9/10, but after listening to it several more times throughout the day, yeah, it's a 10. This is a band I've been meaning to get around to for YEARS, and now that I've finally heard this album I can hear why. This is practically the rock on which every experimental band since built their church - noisy, sloppy, raucous, and unafraid to push the envelope. I saw a comment on RateYourMusic saying that the lo-fi production adds to the experience because it sounds like the technology & engineering of the time simply couldn't contain what the band was putting out, and I fully agree. A timeless record that quite frankly is wild to hear from the 60s.
I actively hated listening to most of this. It’s difficult to make me completely dislike an album that has even decent guitar playing. But this even got me to cringe at the guitar parts. Somewhere hidden in there are some good guitar riffs but you can barely tell because of the ear-shattering nonsense noise going on elsewhere. I should get an award for getting through most of Sister Ray without driving my car off a bridge.
This is basically a 4 for me as a certified 60s and noise rock hater. Sometimes you really do have to respect some innovation, a quality of this band that does become very apparent after listening to enough 60slop. While I have no hate towards the album, and even think it has some really cool ideas, sonically it's not something I vibe with enough to listen to on my own. Standouts: White Light/White Heat • The Gift • Sister Ray
Love the Velvet Underground but their execution is a little lacking on this. There are some fantastic moments but there's also quite a few times I'm thinking ok, I get it.
Not the most straightforward of the Velvet Underground’s albums, but still plenty to like here and further evidence that this short-lived group had outsized influence over rock and roll music. Good listen.
Maybe this is an album for someone else, really not my vibe. The last track I really tried to finish, but it’s like 10 minutes too long, maybe it’s too important? Just not mine thanks. Two star.
Im not cool. I like a lot of uncool music and this album is definitely seen as cool I do not like it at all. Maybe im jaded from being 1011 into this list. I liked some of their other albums This does nothing for me at all
“…the album’s engineer was so put off by the 18-minute ‘Sister Ray’ that he left to get coffee, complaining that no amount of money was worth listening to that crap.” I’m with him. 1.4 stars
All attitude, barely any melody — just noise, chaos, and a whole lot of heat.
Don’t love rock but this was interesting
Some was ok, but mostly didn't care for it at all.
Great Songs: Good Songs: White Light/White Heat, Lady Godiva's Operation Mid Songs: The Gift, Here She Comes Now, I heard Her Call My Name Bad Songs:
Some very good, and some not so good. Not up to the standards set by the 1st album
I like experimental music I like the Velvet Underground But I wasn’t feeling this today. Judging on enjoyment, I think it just average. 3.1/5
I don’t love Lady Godiva’s Operation but this album is still a five. VU at their most experimental and its influence is written all over tons of music that came after it. It sounds like nothing else from the time and still sounds innovative today.
oh dear god, not another velvet underground. No. Not gonna happen.
Sounds like an early jam album. Not blowing me away like Sister Ray may have said, but still good. Sounds like they had more fun making the album than I did listening to it.
garbage noise.
called the velvet underground because their music puts you underground
I wouldn't exactly choose to listen to this ever again, but I do see the way that it influenced newer music. It honestly feels more like horror music, with a super disconcerting vibe. It's atypical for horror music to have lyrics, and I find that interesting.
I suspect this is going to be a polarizing one, and I'll admit that while I was listening, I couldn't decide if I loved it or hated it. I think I've settled somewhere in the middle. I like a lot of it, but it does feel a bit over-indulgent at times. 4/5 Highlights: Here She Comes Now Sister Ray
Absolutely wild album. Pretty difficult to listen to in places, but you can't deny how influential this was on experimental and alternative music to come. Not something I would listen to often, but I think everyone should give it a go at least once! After the VU/Nico album of course.
Yeah I was too mean to the first Velvet Underground one we got At the very least, Nico wasn’t that painful, if a little boring. This one is so unpolished and rough that it barely sounds like music at times. It really does sound like you gave a bunch of five year olds instruments and told them to rock out. Horrible rhythm, the vocals just straight up suck, and the instruments are passed through way too many layers of distortion. The lyrics are awful too, it’s not like there’s some kind of deep meaning behind them. That 17 minute song to cap off the album is definitely some of the truly worst music we’ve had on this list I really don’t have a whole lot to say that’s nice about this one, I understand why it’s on the list and how it’s super influential but man this one straight up sounds like shit. Every once in a while there’ll be a section that sounds ok but they’re far and few between. I really don’t get the appeal of this one at all
It's still the same thing; too rough and unpolished for my enjoyment. The Gift is some kind of dry comedy bit and I don't know why it felt the need to be 8 minutes long. Lady Godiva's Operation is the same thing; a half-baked melody wrapped in random sounds with no care for whether or not it's listenable. They're more obsessed with being an art project than making music. Also Sister Ray is 17 minutes and I have more important things to do with my life.
Tougher, grittier music on their second offering. The only difference is that they fired Andy Warhol? Ok then... Definitely a product of its times, and its place. This screams NYC in 1968, somehow. Nothing that feels really memorable or something I'd go back to necessarily, but better than their first album. I rated that a 3 but said it was 2 1/2 with historical significance. This is probably a 3 1/2 but can't go to a 4. And am I the only one thinking the end of Sister Ray sounds like the crescendo in The End by The Doors?
I hated the first Velvet Underground album that we got and I was so disappointed to find out that there was another one on this list. There is not much to say other than I can't stand listening to this music, it's not even music. Why is this album on the list? It does literally nothing.
Listen, I don't mind a jam session. I'm not huge into the Grateful Dead, but I can appreciate them. There's elements of noise rock and psychedelic here, but man, they find one chord progression and beat it to death, don't they? Yes, the lyrics were extremely progressive for their time, but there's got to be more than that, especially when the vocals are buried beneath everything else. Throughout listening I was steady on a two, maybe a three, but then "Sister Ray" started to drag on and I realized, with growing horror, that it was going to go on forever. This is just my purgatory, I guess.
Couldn’t wait for this to finish
This a kinda weird lo-fi album. Kind of a low budget version of Rolling Stones. Sorta rambling and repetitive. Maybe I’m not ready. 2.0/5.0
This was a tough one to get through. The raw, abrasive sound wears on you pretty quickly, and honestly, better production probably wouldn’t have helped; if anything, it might have made it worse.
What a Bi-polar album, some nice spoken word passages broken up with some Tinnitus inducing guitar screeching which shows up on later songs, and one actually good song on the whole thing, being Lady Godiva’s Operation (and the short song after that too). I think i just may not like TVU all that much.
Verrückt, aber es gibt besseres.
Prätentiös ohne Ende, der zweite Song hat mich richtig aufgeregt.
I'd like to nominate "The Gift" as a bottom-ten song in the 580 albums from this list. We were so far into negative-star territory that even Lou Reed couldn't pull us back to mediocrity.
Very unpleasant experience, not sure I liked a single thing about this album, the 17+ minute final track cemented 1-star status
Fine
Wonderful. Weird. All things I expect and have come to love about the velvet underground.
Absolutely shredding for 15 minutes about getting some top
short, sweet, knows what it's doing
Finally one for the ding dong havers.
Did I just hear five plus minutes of sucking on my ding-dong?
I normally love The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed... But not this album.
Good album
I just didn't like it, the vocals were drowned by the guitar, which might be fine, but makes it really hard to follow a spoken story for 6 min. And the vocals that did come through weren't very enjoyable and didn't really build on the distortion or use it for effect. It all seems very random and disconnected Standouts The Gift 1/5
A much better offering from The Velvet Underground. It being so short also helped
A messy, distorted racket that mistakes noise for innovation. Any supposed genius feels like Emperor’s New Clothes hand‑waving.
It's cool to admit that you like this one, but it's a hot mess and hard for me to listen to. This ain't no Rock and Roll Animal.
I find Velvet Underground very hit or miss and this was more on the miss side for me.
YAYA finally an album that’s actually been on my list. It’s fantastic that’s all i can add right now 👍
Gruff. Velvet Underground are pretty overrated for me. I like the story of "The Gift", the rest of the album is kinda just messy. 2.8/5
I kinda laughed when he talked about the ding-dong. Not my cup of tea for the rest of it though.
Good
First time listen Pretty great, eclectic album. Velvet Underground are obviously super influential and were always trying new stuff with their music. I think for the most part this album is a great example of that, Lou Reed jumpscaring you in "Lady Godiva's Operation" and incorporating the breathing and heartbeat into the beat of the song is especially memorable. I found "The Gift" to be a little overly meandering though, but when you're swinging for the fences all the time it's not surprise you don't always knock it out of the park Favorite tracks: Lady Godiva's Operation, Here She Comes Now Least favorite: The Gift 4/5
The Velvet Underground will forever be that band that people like because it's "different" or "groundbreaking." It's straight ass. It's so fucking garbage. I wanna blow my fucking ears in after hearing the first few songs on the album. It actually hurts my ears. Straight brainless noise, and pretentious people can't convince me it's good or purposeful like genuinely shut the fuck up. Silver Ray's alright but it's still unnecessarily long like we get it. The opening track isn't too bad, but the rest of the album is completely unbearable. This is probably the worst album I've ever heard.
There is absolutely a distinction between experimental music and music made for the sake of experimenting.
Wow, what a brave artistic choice to make your album sound as shitty as possible
You would have to be on some ridiculously strong hallucinogen, like pure liquid acid, dripped onto centimetre cubes of plaster of paris, which you had to keep in the freezer to prevent the drug evaporating, to think this album was 5 stars. Otherwise sober you’d realize that this is a festering pile of dog shit.
Noise rokkia, ei nyt huonointa sellaista. Pystyn käsittämään viehätyksen ja levyssä on oma tunnelmansa mutta ei oikein lähe. Mutta tän levyn juttu ei onneks oo pelkästään se että se koittaa olla vaan mahdollisimman äänekäs ja häiritsevä. Parhaat: Sister Ray
2.5/5
Liked: The Gift, Lady Godiva's Operation Added: Lady Godiva's Operation
never been a fan of either VU or LR
Wow....I had only really heard the song "White Light/White Heat" and I'm not sure what to make of this album. Dark, brutal, tense are the adjectives that come to mind. Yet it has a really good sense of (dark) humor like in the story song "The Gift." Love Lou Reed's guitar on many of these songs. The last song, "Sister Ray," is a drug fueled nightmare and was like listening to a full-on panic attack. I like much of this but you definitely have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to and appreciate it.
I admire the freedom of the Velvet Underground's music so much. Old school rock guys like George Harrison, who couldn't even stomach a Neil Young guitar solo, probably absolutely hated this. And as much as I'm a George fan, I love how much this kind of experimental freak rock pisses off the perfectionist crowd. John Cale shines on this project more than on other VU records, I love the surrealist nightmare bedtime story The Gift. Sister Ray is such a wholesome, family-friendly conclusion to tie it all together. Cliche, but this is genuinely so ahead of its time.
This album deserves the acclaim of the funny banana album. Absolutely boundary-pushing (as you can see from the other reviews), noisy, chaotic. Even by modern standards it's still an insane album.
The only other Velvet Underground I had heard before this was the album with the banana on it. While this one was much more hardcore and raw it was still pretty good and I would have been satisfied with this as a follow up.
White Light and White Heat are both nicknames Len Houmous has given to his genitalia. 2.9 6/6 Sister Ray
Listened to The Gift with right ear only, that way it was pretty enjoyable The rest stinks
Bogus lyrics and equally as bad instrumentals
Not in my top tier of VU records, but I love it regardless. Sister Ray is a thing of wonder and beauty. #johnsvinyl
Blind album, know the artist. This album makes me wish I didn't cause this was probably the worst album I could have heard by them. I hope there are others that are better.
While I love their name, I don’t love most of their music.
2 out of 5 Noise rock is one way to put it. Too artsy fartsy.
I’ve always held Velvet Underground in pretty high esteem but unfortunately it seems my opinion was mostly based on the cool name. More musicianship that most punk bands but it’s not for me. Not unpleasant at all but I don’t see myself coming back
The Gift is cool as hell. Lady Godiva is not. I liked Sister Ray to end it, but of course I feel it goes on way longer than necessary. Too experimental for me, maybe I’d like some of their other shit I don’t know. (Listened to more later and I liked everything from other albums more than this one)
This feels like a piece of situationist art - an avant garde part of the process of broadening the scope of what rock music could be. It’s not the easiest listen but that’s not really the point. Sister Ray is great - a tour de force.
Interesting music which I could identify numerous influences from other bands or which influenced other bands. A little repetitive at times, but I just couldn't get on with the vocals. Some was too drab and I just didn't get the spoken dialogue in The Gift at all.
I understand that this band was a massive influence on rock and metal to come, but I dunno. I just was not feeling this album. The music was fine, it was competent and mostly sounded good. But I just did not connect with the songs. The second song is an 8 minute long affair of the singer speaking barely audibly while the band plays the same few notes over and over. A friend of mine called this album fantastic, and I'm sorry but I don't see it. 3 stars is probably being a bit generous but I'm keeping it that way for now.
Ta Bueno pero molsta un poco si estás laburando
Interesting album. I can’t say I really liked it, but “The Gift” had me on the edge of my seat.
Like their other album, certainly interesting from an expiramental view but not enjoyable to listen to.
"Oh, it's so ahead of its time!" "Oh, it's so wildly experimental!" "They were such an enormous influence." "There's nothing else like them." Come off it. If there's never been a band like The Velvet Underground, maybe there's a good reason ... Some half decent songs, which make me think they would be better in someone else's hands. And a lot of useless, pointless noise. I'm sorry, the Velvet is not for me. I own the 'banana' album but I think I've listened to it once. Call me tone deaf now, snobs.
It is chaotic, noisy, and aggressive, yet strangely addictive. Even though I usually prefer short, punky songs, I’m drawn to the long, hypnotic tracks like The Gift and Sister Ray, where relentless basslines, distorted guitars, and Lou Reed’s spoken vocals create a trance-like energy. It’s wild and intense, but the album’s raw experimentation makes it endlessly compelling.
Definitely a unique album, especially for its time. I like noise rock, and this album still sounds pretty fresh, which is surprising considering it’s, like, the first noise rock album ever. It’s bit too sparse and repetitive, especially the second track, which is 8 minutes of just spoken word with quiet music. It has its moments, but it wasn’t all that exciting. Still enjoyable. The riffs are good, although the peaks are not that high, and I like Lou Reed’s vocals. 7/10
Noisy
The Gift has some of the most interesting spoken-word storytelling I've heard on a song in a long time. The other songs are a decent set of fuzzy tunes. Faves: The Gift, Lady Godiva's Operation
Nul, pas aimé
Je comprends le bail mais j'ai pas apprécié le bail, Lou Reed a bien fait de lancer sa carrière solo... Comment ça un son de 17 minutes ils se sont pris pour Pink Floyd
Not bad, Far from their finest work, though.
This is what happens when Andy Warhol does zero work on a Velvet Underground album
How can we make VU&Nico seem quaint? This album gets better and Better and BETTER as it builds from beginning to end. It also gets better and Better and BETTER the more you listen to it. I’m obsessed.
When I heard Lou Reed died, I put on Sister Ray at full noise on the shittiest Bluetooth speaker on the planet. Over the course of 17 minutes, the speaker rattled apart on the kitchen bench and became a dancing pile of screws and wires and plastic pieces. It somehow made noise until the end of the song, then it stopped forever.
I give it a 5 to counterbalance the stupid note my two friends will give it
One of the most overrated band of all time, but hey, I've seen worse here.
Decent album with one amazing track (Sister Ray). I just can't understand why this band is supposed to be THAT good.
I found this album to be a really tough and sometimes hard to listen to. I know it’s said to be a "groundbreaking" or "influential" step before punk and noise rock, but that didn’t make it any easier to enjoy. It felt like my ears were being attacked, with rough distortion, unclear sounds, and a clear disregard for regular melodies. From the startling, panned words in “The Gift” to the intense 17-minute instrumental cacophony of “Sister Ray”, it felt like the whole album was just trying to push boundaries. In the end, all the noise and confusion were too much, I found the harshness to be physically tiring and the lack of connection confusing. It’s an interesting piece of history, but as music, it’s something I don’t want to listen to again.
The gift is under rated in pop culture
Some great stuff on here, it seems for me a lot of the Velvet Underground albums are 50/50. Half I really like and half I'm not quite sure about.
The Velvet Underground's dark humor is on full display. Simple, but effective, noisy jams and a an underlying tension dominate White Light/White Heat in an extremely satisfying way. VU lure the listener in with the seemingly banal rock 'n' roll title track, and yet, when a layer of noise and fuzz becomes a full 10 seconds of noise at the end it becomes clear this is not the record you thought. The cool fuzzed out guitars and driving bass that soundtrack "The Gift" likewose repeat to the point of transcendence or madness to propel "Sister Ray" into the stratosphere. At it's heart Velvet Underground's noise album, it's their punk album, it's their experimental album. Unexpectedly, it also their narrative album, as each song tells a story. It's the last album to feature John Cale. It's everything to love about the Velvet Underground. They would never be this unhinged again.
This could have been a great album with some decent production. Lady Godiva's Operation would be a lot better with Nico on vocals. Check out the version of White Light White Heat on Rock and Roll Animal. A lot of potential here
Por qué cuando alguien que no es la Velvet hace esto, no me gusta, y cuando lo hace la Velvet si? Hay algo místico ahí
Some of the songs are listenable. And some....are just downright fucking dreadful. Jesus.
Love it. The Velvets were punks but you couldn't really tell by the first record. Here She Comes Now could also be a progenitor of 80s and 90s indie pop like Beat Happening or Belle & Sebastian.
If there’s something to get, I didn’t. Too busy sucking on that ding dong.
Busy suggin on his ding-dong
Ear rape Fave track: Here she comes now
Is it ground-breaking and brilliant - or is it abysmal dogshit? Somewhere in the middle of Sister Ray, I figured out which one it’s closer to. 2/5
Production quality is poor and makes it a hard listen. The gift is predictably grim farce.
The recording quality on VU is at time a difficult listen. I love the debut album so not quite sure why this isn’t landing. First and last track are great
I don't really get Velvet Underground.
Released in between two largely accessible, high fidelity recordings, White Light/White Heat is the anomaly in The Velvet Underground’s studio album catalogue. To see what they were going for with this release I think you need to look ahead a couple of years to their 1969 Velvet Underground Live album which shows the electric clarity that could be achieved through capturing the band on tour, balancing the guttural feel of their semi-improvised performance with a crisp, clear sound. When attempted in these rushed recordings in 1967 the band overwhelmed the equipment with noise and it led to a very distorted end result, the compositions are immense but little would be lost if you listened to them through a tin can. The band were disappointed with the results, and (unpopular opinion amongst fellow fans) I also think they would have benefitted from a bit more time, but what we’re left with is a welcome time piece which could not be more different from VU’s other output. Fans of this record can quite rightly point to the fact that the band are delivering an early form of noise rock and punk, putting them well ahead of their time. It is for this reason that it's such a well regarded album, though I would personally put LP1, LP3 and the aforementioned live album well ahead of this.
Today’s VU album is COOL. I really like it but the production stops me loving it, but may also be what makes me really like it. I’ll spin this more and it may grow, its some kind of 4 and contains a lot of great stuff bands i enjoy realised more fully in the 70s and 80s, and even 2010s
I definitely preferred the last Velvet Underground album we had. There was some interesting stuff going on in this one, but I’m not sure I’d listen to it again. Fav song: White Light/White Heat Least fav: Here She Comes Now
Not as bad as the other velvet underground - still not my favourite though. Had a twinge of mothers of invention- if maybe mothers of invention had a twinge of them. Felt bad for Waldo :( . Specific rating - 2.1 Fav song - here she comes now Least fav- I heard her call my name
Feel like there’s a joke I’m not getting, like a bunch of teenage boys have somehow managed to have their shitty album get big. Favourite song: White Light/White Heat Least: The Gift
This was a vibe and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I'd maybe listen again.
<3 velvet underground. sex
I think theres a reason that people mostly talk about "The Velvet Underground & Nico" in regards to The Velvet Underground as group because while the whole nature of their work is experimental or avant garde in nature... Some of it is too much so to be enjoyable for the average person. Frankly the only song I kind of liked here was "I Heard Her Call My Name" and the rest was absolutely not for me, ESPECIALLY "The Gift" the 2 channel use on that song drives me fucking crazy I h a t e it. And y'know what I bet Sister Ray sounds life-changing if you just shot some smack into your veins
White Light/White Heat I Heard Her Call My Name
White Light/White Heat Lady Godiva’s Operation Here She Comes Now
I love when someone takes garbage and turns it into art. I hate when someone, posing as an artist, produces garbage and tries to convince you that it's art.
I’m not sure all of that was actual music.
This was better than the banana album but I still don't understand what people like about this band.
This was way too underground for me
This is a classic album, but not my favorite Velvet Underground record, so only gets a four.
Interesting, but wouldn't listen again. Sounded like people just rambling on instruments.
artful dissonance. conceptual album. passes for high art.
Allegedly musical geniuses at work….. I guess the fact that it’s just noise and distortion is the point, but it makes for an unlikeable & unlistenable mess. Can see in the year it was released that it was perhaps way ahead of punk and can be revered as such. But it’s definitely nothing I would choose to play again. 2
First listen in a few years and the first thing that struck me was: this must have been Steve Malkmus’ favorite record. The blueprint of Pavement (and yes, 1000 other bands) is here in many of its facets. Anyway, I love this record and on any given day it's my favorite VU record. The title track and Sister Ray, The Gift (!!!) Here She Comes Now, I Heard Her Call My Name. It's loaded (PI)
To me, the album that encapsulated the true Velvet Underground essence. It’s one of a kind
The thing about the Velvet Underground...it's hard to be this fucking cool. So many bands have tried to make songs like this and failed miserably but somehow it works here. Spoken word; Yes. 17 minutes songs, sure. Lou Reed is in fact a magician... Also the title track is an all time great Velvet Underground song so there's that. This album isn't for everyone and that's OK. Lastly it's New York AF...
This one really grew on me. Some amazing storytelling. Sister Ray is a big highlight. Amazing song. Here she comes now also a classic
Dat dit in de jaren 60 is gemaakt, is nog steeds wild. Echt een ongelofelijk cool album. Als alle luisterboeken zo'n coole instrumental hadden als The Gift, dan zou ik vaker luisterboeken luisteren. Ruime 4 sterren. (De beste heren zaten overigens denk ik wel aardig aan de heroïne toen ze dit maakten, maar dat mag de pret niet drukken.) BUSY SUCKIN ON MY DING-DONG🍆💦
Extreem taaie listen dit
Een soort lange advertentie voor hallucinogenen.
I didn't like this. They were trying SO HARD to be counterculture it just comes off cringey.
If I were to say anything about this album it would be that it is very creative. There are a lot of tracks that introduce you to how this band makes its music and I loved all the musical ideas and choices made. Favorite Song: White Light/White Heat. 6/10
3/5
Totally spaced out through this whole album. White noise.
The original Hobo Johnson. Three songs I love, three songs I really do not. Sounds about right for the Velvet Underground
I went in biased because I saw the little blurb on Apple Music refer to this as The Velvet Underground’s noise album. My fears were confirmed. Absolute garbage.
I do like their more melodic stuff better but the Underground is always good.
begin van art rock, noise rock... rockt als de pest
nao curti, mto diferente pro meu gosto, músicas estranhas demais
Some of this will always be more in the admire/respect camp, but from their own telling it was a failure technically, the product of amateurs enthralled with the sound of distortion and loud guitars, something anyone who has been in a practice space will understand. Reed’s lyrical concerns have never interested me and their “boundary-pushing” a bourgeois, adolescent fascination, a tourist on holiday, maybe provocative in its time but quickly tamed. At times his performance has the sensibility of a 6 year-old giggling at the word fart.
Solid
VU = 5
Rambly organ rock
Alright. Enough of this era. I appreciate the experimentation and was laughing out loud at the gift but come on, it is not enjoyable.
Finding it very hard not to rate this a 1 and move on, but I enjoyed it enough that it wasn't as miserable as the other 1 star albums, so it's a 2.1/5. I have a very consistent history at this point with The Velvet Underground. I just can not stand this band unfortunately. I tried, but I could only listen to this one completely once and then I just had to have a pallet cleanser and listen to anything else. The worst part is that I really do love Lou Reed. I just kind of hate his early stuff like this. This is the second album I've rolled by them, following the banana album, which I had heard good things about and I was at least able to listen to throughout the entire day, but bound rather boring, unmemorable and just unremarkable. My issues with this one stem a lot deeper. What the hell is up with the sound quality here?? I feel like it's on purpose, but this entire album sounds like it was produced from the perspective of a bit crushed blender. It's choppy, hard to understand, repetitive, art for arts sake and sadly it just kind of sucks. I think anyone who really enjoys this album might just be either an ENORMOUS fan of this band, or are simply pretending to sound like they're better than everyone else. God damn, this one was rough. Begrudgingly, I'm going to give my favorite song to "I Heard Her Call My Name". This album narrowly avoided getting one star, and I'm just super not interested in listening to the third and final album by The Velvet Underground whenever the bot decided to spring that on me. At this point, I'm fine with it being sooner rather than later just so I can get it over with. If it's my weekend album I'm going to be upset though. We'll see, I'm rambling again because it's difficult for me to praise a single thing in this album. The guitar playing is fine sometimes, that's all I got. Ciao for now, more tomorrow.
???? bien pour les 2 classiques dessus mais sinon pas aimé
A bunch of noise
I remember liking this more than I did this time around
It was god. But they have better ones
121/1001 First listen. Don’t do drugs kids. 3/10
Highlight: Lady Godiva's Operation. In a nutshell: tame Velvets. The experimental edge is still there, a little lo-fi. Not as many "wtaf is this?" moments compared to TVU&N. Overall: 3/10
Ten stars
Yet another oldie. Right after In the Court of the Crimson King, no less. I haven't listened to this Velvet Underground record, though I did listen to & Nico a long, loooooooong time ago. It was the 29th album I've catalogued on my Rate Your Music, which isn't an accurate figure given that I bump the listening dates on my profile around all the time. Anyways, I don't really recall what these guys sounded like. I recall them having a raw, heavy sound and being controversial for their subject matters, but that's about all that I recall. I'm not sure what this era of the band will sound like now that they've presumably parted ways with Nico. Probably same old same old, if I'm guessing. This was certainly a Velvet Underground record. It has that bassy, underproduced sound that I recall, but I don't remember the music being as frantic or as erratic as it was on this album. The guitars are solid. The early tracks have some solid hooks, a nice bit of kick and some neat growl, though as the album dragged along I felt that the guitars became too abrasive and harsh for my liking. Apparently there are other instruments on this album, though I honestly didn't notice them. The blown-out guitars engulf absolutely everything, which isn't necessarily bad as they'd likely be the strongest aspect of this album regardless. Lou Reed is an adept vocalist, though John Cale is more of a mixed bag. He sounds strangely Indian for a Welsh bloke. Can't say his segments worked for me. I salute this album for being short, but Sister Ray was a bit of overkill. Overall, not my thing, though I guess I respect it. Book time. Sold less than their debut, but is the more ambitious release. The rest of the entry has absolutely nothing of note. Wikipedia says this album is "lyrically transgressive", was recorded in a very short time frame, was partly improvised, is influential within punk, shoegaze and noise rock for its experiments with guitar distortion and was ignored by critics at the time, but later received acclaim. Yeah, these seem like solid qualifiers to me. I cosign this inclusion.
Love those punky sounds. Something about it feels raw and artistically expressive. I wasn't crazy about lou reeds voice in this context at first, almost seems too cool, but it really won me over. The drawn out atmospheric sections are the most beautiful though
2.5/10
This project is saving my money - I’m no longer compelled to by “great” albums on reputation . Experimentdul . It’s like giving a bunch or art students recording equipment and hoping for the best -an avant- garden version of the 1 million monkeys experiment
Meh. It’s a little more interesting than other Velvet Underground albums, but it’s still only okay.
Struggling to think of anything positive to say about this. Jarring guitars that sound like they're being bashed against a wall, coupled with awful vocals and mumblings. The only thing that would be a positive would be if I never have to endure any more Velvet Underground ever again which, given the nature of this list so far, is pretty unlikely.
This album sucks ding dong. 4/10
White Light/White Heat 3 The Gift 3.5 Lady Godiva's Operation 3 Here She Comes Now 2.8 I Heard Her Call My Name 2 Sister Ray 2.1 Score: 2.733333333
Wasn’t my mood for the day
verryr, experimental. I mean the album begins in the middle of a song.
this guy really can yap but it's worth it
This thing is a weird muffled mess. The mixing is a total disaster but the songs themselves are weirdly fascinating. I appreciate the commitment to being as unpolished and abrasive as possible. It’s creative, even if the audio quality is frustrating. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - White Light/ White Heat - The Gift - Here She Comes Now
Could not stand this. Not for a second. Sorry.
Really liked some of it but definitely not all of it
Lofi in the late 60s is crazy, low replayability
I like Velvet Underground a lot. Like, a lot a lot. This is not one of their good albums, though I can respect the vision.
Meh
As someone who loves Lou Reeds solo work so much - you can see the origins of it here way more than Nico. And look I get it. No one is gonna listen to The Gift more than once - but still feels so important for me what rock and roll could be.
Never been a Lou Reed fan but can hear the Jazz influences and there are a couple songs that are kind of cool.
This felt like I was the only drunk/sober one at a party. First it started off fun and making sense (White Light/White Heat). Then we got a little paranoid and crazy. Then went off on tangents and telling stories that people can't really follow and finally we got a little angry and started fighting over something that nobody really understands. And here I am the sober person that just wants to go home and have this party be over.
I listened to alot of Velvet Underground when I was younger so I'm familiar with this album and others. I'm a fan of the band. This is not the album I would choose to introduce someone to their music. It's probably the LAST album I would recommend. It's pretty rough around the edges and takes some artful approaches to songwriting. I've made it all the way through Sister Ray many times but it seems really unnecessary.
If this was supposed to mimic their live sound and be kind of loud and chaotic, I can see why the band wasn't happy with the finished product. It felt like I was listening to something in my basement from upstairs. It still had chaos and the essence of being live, but it did feel quite muffled. I thought the songs were interesting though and the album was a strange little trip into the fringes of society. I also thought The Gift was a really well told story, despite the music taking a backseat in that one. This was eclectic and creative enough for a 3, even if I wouldn't listen again.
Avant-garde masters come out of the gates on their sophomore album to establish a new world order.
So, I’ll be honest, I’ve never really bothered to explore the Velvet Underground’s work before. On the face of it, this is a major oversight - some of my favourite artists (Can, Eno, Kraftwerk and others) cite them as a major inspiration - but the odd bits I’ve heard never encouraged me to dive in further. Thankfully, working through this list has changed that. So, White Light/White Heat. Reading the reviews of this before getting into it, I was expecting this to be a more challenging listen than it was, which isn’t me trying to claim some hipster points, more that the influence of the Velvets on a lot of music I love means this feels a little more accessible than if I was coming to it fresh; its influence on Can’s early work with Malcolm Mooney is in evidence, particularly "The Gift”. It’s not an album I can imagine I’d listen to over and over again, but it’s absolutely one I’d recommend, and one I’m glad I finally checked out.
idk how to feel about this one 4/10
I don’t care if its legendary, I just didn’t enjoy listening to it very much.
Here’s another for the “interesting, but I didn’t really like it” pile. Sister Ray - repetitive, inane, and long - lost some of the good will it had built prior. “Lady Godiva's Operation” took a dark turn that was kind of interesting. If nothing else, I respect the unhinged creativity of the endeavor
Didn’t really enjoy the distorted sounds
This never really was my kind of thing. I appreciate the artistic nature of it. I'd only ever heard the punchline ending of "The Gift", so I was happy to hear the whole thing.
arty and punky. Weird but enough of this was 'good' and 'made sense' to me.
I do not like the Velvet Underground. This isn't good and their vocalist is so annoying. There are decent parts, but not great overall. Liked Songs: "White Light/White Heat" , "Here She Comes Now"
Stupid album by a stupid band 1.5
I think I’d pass on this one again. Not terrible, but not that interesting or enjoyable. 2/5
Album #43 The Velvet Underground: White Light/White Heat I really am not surprised to see this album have a rating that falls below a 3. If someone were to, like me, get this as their first Velvet Underground album on the list, but unlike me, had never heard any of their music prior, then it is completely reasonable not to enjoy this album. As a massive fan of The Velvet Underground, I am thankful that my introduction to the band was their debut and not White Light/ White Heat, because frankly, I definitely wouldn’t have been ready for this. Part of me sometimes wonders if the only reason that I and many others were able to give this album the benefit of the doubt is due to us already considering The Velvet Underground geniuses, which gives us a predisposed idea that it will be good. If Tom Macdonald were to drop this album tomorrow, I have a very strong feeling that this album would not be as heralded as it is. But regardless of the meta reasons why I like this album, musically, it also has a lot to like. Whereas their debut album with Nico has moments of harshness and noise, it also has many areas of respite for the listener to feel safer in amongst the chaos. Songs like Sunday Morning, I’ll Be Your Mirror, and Femme Fatale are gentle and comforting, meaning you never get lost in the madness of say European Son or Black Angels Death Song. White Light/ White Heat, however, provides you with no such safety; it is a non-stop trip through chaos. Even the songs which appear to be normal, like the title track and Here She Comes Now, have an underlying sense of malintent, whether it is because of the lyrical content, or the noisy guitars. A song like The Gift, which is a 10-minute spoken word story about a man shipping himself to his girlfriend and being stabbed to death through the box, to the backing music of harsh guitars, somehow isn’t even the most intense experience on the album. The album is most famous for its closing track, a 17-minute beast known as Sister Ray, in which Lou Reed twists a tale of Transgender girls sucking on his ding-dong until they eventually kill each other. White Light/ White Heat is far from my favourite Velvet Underground album, as for me personally, their self-titled albums are untouchable. And it would probably be the last one that I showed to a friend, I was trying to get into the band. But it is undeniably one of the boldest and most unique albums of its time, and though it seems that the band was mostly making it with the intent of being as abstract and funny as possible, it still actually sounds good. The Velvets didn’t invent avant-garde with this album, but they certainly influenced a good deal of musicians who would go on to push boundaries in similar ways. But I wouldn’t fault anyone for thinking that this is overly pretentious, yet vulgar, ’60s drug-induced slop; because it absolutely is, and it’s amazing. Best Songs: Lady Godiva’s Operation, Here She Comes Now, Sister Ray Worst Song: I Heard Her Call My Name Score out of 10: 8.5
If you weren't into the Velvet Underground after listening to a few of their albums on this list, I'm not sure how this one will sway you to be honest. Definitely the most experimental I've heard from them, which is saying something given the impact their previous album. I see it as noisy for the sake of being noisy, which I never care for. I won't argue that this likely inspired noise rock and shoegaze for the next few decades, but my compliments stop there.
The VU are cool, and I’ve always thought I was cool. But maybe I’m not because I found this fairly boring. There is great guitar work and Reeds voice is always like a twanging nerve in a good way but the art gets in way of the music
Influential and groundbreaking. Great record.
Drugs have facilitated some of our most precious art. Also, this. Drugs has some work to do to make up the deficit.
Good
Good i had thoughts but mostly it was just a pleasant album a good backdrop to conversation but like nothing crazy that one that was like Run chalie run or whatever was crazy but otjerwise chill
I’ll probably need to come back to this. Very noisy obviously but it’s not annoying.
Everyone who rated this above a 3 has made Lou Reed their whole personality. The opening track was fine, then the Avante Guard shit starts up with that lo-fi noise rock behind it. not my thing but you do you. and whats with the 17 minute song about a handjob?
7/10
Llevaba tiempo con ganas de escucharme algo más de la Velvet que no fuese el del platanete. Habré quemado ese disco pero nunca me había escuchado nada más, y lo consideraba un sacrilegio por mi parte, así que me alegré cuando tocó este disco. Buena mierda. Más noise rock que otra cosa. Ningún grupo tuvo tanta libertad. Ni tantas ganas de drogarse y meterse en el estudio a ver quien hace más ruido con su instrumento. Esto es punk y lo demás son tonterías. Buenos temas. Buenísima la historia de The Gift, me encantó, escrita increíble, hasta el final estuve intentando ver por donde iba a ir el giro o si me iba a dar pereza y fue un desenlace magistral. Lou Reed sonando menos mixeado que el carajo en Lady Godiva fue un jumpscare super gracioso. Y más buenos temas hasta Sister Ray que es ya maltratar a tu guitarra con inquina durante dios sabe cuanto tiempo. Buen disco. El mejor grupo. Abrieron todos los caminos. Para su creatividad ninguno estaba cerrado.
Not my favourite. I appreciate the history, but probably won't listen to this one again.
Fuzzy guitars and weird British patter. Ends with a long wank about a blowjob.
68/100.
Late 60s rock, psych rock. Extremely rough around the edges, distorted recording, band wasn’t happy. Kond of cool, lots of talking over guitars. Rambling songs. Quite messy and short.
Holy jesus christ. What a headache of an experience. But also a mind bending experience. One you're not going to hear with most artists in the modern day and age. And one that will without a doubt leave an impression on you whether you like to or not.
The Gift was a fun one to read the lyrics but overall I did not dig this album.
Tunes: 3 stars... at most. Innovation and influence: 4 stars As I once read in a review, it's innovative, but is it actually fun to listen to? Same here. I love their debut and followup, but not so much this one.
Альбом був доволі цікавим, але я сумніваюсь що повернусь до нього. Хоча в групи цікаві пісні, можливо пораджу друзям
I was almost immediately prepared to write this album off... "It sounds like a group of people who are infinitely ambitious but not at all talented decided to make a record" - was my first, fleeting thought. I'm glad I stuck around. I'd suggest skipping most of the album though, which feels as though it's just lowering and lowering the bar so that the monumental album closer 'Sister Ray' seems even more gargantuan than it already is in reality. Bin the rest, all my homies love Sister Ray. I'm also glad I got to hear Lou Reed talk about his ding-dong being sucked for 17 minutes. Big up.
A drug-fuelled trip. Echos of early punk.
Title track enjoyable.
I don't think Lou Reed was that interesting
There were parts I loved and parts that hurt my ears. All in all, it was an experience, which I think is what the group was going for.
Again, this is them trying to be cool rather than trying to make good music. The guitarist is solid, but the rest of it is just fart-smelling at its finest.
I haven’t listened to this album in maybe 20 years which is crazy to think. I know this is a definitive Velvet Underground album, but I think it’s just ok. The title track is excellent and I love ‘Here She Comes Now’. But that really is about it. This album is ok, I think it really suffers from being less music and more art.
Experimental and a bit weird.
Didn’t love this one
Not sure if it's good or enjoyable, but glad it's here.
Fun and freaky like a good art rock record, but it pales in comparison to their debut. Feels a little unfocused instead of just more difficult. The first and final songs were the highlights.
Die Frage ist nicht, ob die Katze beim Hören gestorben ist – sondern ob es Gnade war. Dieses Album klingt, als hätte jemand Feedback zur Kunstform erklärt und vergessen, wieder aufzuräumen. Verzerrung, Dissonanz, ein 17-minütiger Krach-Monolith namens „Sister Ray“, der klingt wie ein Stromausfall im Irrenhaus. Die Künstler wollten Noise – sie haben ihn bekommen. Avantgarde? Vielleicht. Hörbar? Kaum. Am Ende bleibt nur Stille. Und die klingt plötzlich wie Mozart.
an album full of people who can’t play their instruments fronted by a singer who can’t sing. never liked lou reed and never understood why he was so arrogant.
I like a lot of the VU’s work and dig some of the riffs here but there’s just too much feedback here.
The gift was really bad. Some others were the good kind of noisy, but didn't really like the album Will I listen to again: 12%
Essential
60’s Hendrix - Vietnam like rock
Classic Velvet Underground
Too noisy for me :[
Didn't get this at all.
Their debut with Nico I hated but this one somehow works better. I like their „I don’t give a f*ck“ attitude and Reeds singing is somehow enjoyable when others do the same it annoys me to death. Fun for one listen but never again.
If you can make it through the cacophonous banging on some of the songs, you will be rewarded.
Why do I love this so much and hate prog rock so much? I think I just need grit in my musical noodling. Whatever the reason, the Velvets are exactly my type.
Starts strong and then just turns into a hangout. A nice jam with friends.
I didn't mind the seventeen-minute final track, but side one was pretty terrible; some laughably bad bits - like Lou Reed coming in loudly on the final words like a demented Beastie Boy. The production on this is not great; you can barely hear the drums.
Totally ok album. Not really one that should stand out. Very typical, middle of the road, 60s rock n roll.
Okay, second velvet underground album in a week and actually interested to see the evolution. Just discovering my Lou Reed intrigue so I’m here for it… I don’t find this offensive or dissonant as some others are suggesting, although only just starting side 2. I mean it’s left field and a little wacky but I’m all for that. Maybe I’m just a bit of a Lou Reed fanboy, but this stuff speaks to me and makes sense 🤷🏻♂️ Sister Ray 17 minutes though….
Love this album. The Velvets in full noisy chaotic mode, but still managing to produce some memorable tunes along the way. Definitely a big influence on a bunch of my fav 90s bands. Recommended highly!!!
Either a groundbreaking work of experimental genius or a bunch of nonsense. When I was younger and wanted to sound cool, I insisted that it was the former, but had to inevitably come to the conclusion that it was mostly the latter, although parts of it are still entertaining. The title track tries to encapsulate the feeling of shooting meth and admittedly I've never tried meth, but I think I'd be fine because the song itself is mundane and forgettable and not addictive in the slightest. "The Gift" is one of the most annoying songs to listen to with headphones. John Cale monotonously tells a creative writing story that Lou Reed wrote in one channel, while the band jams in the other. The jam sounds pretty good, but this is not a great way to listen to it. "Lady Godiva's Operation" is one of the earliest songs about a trans person, but don't get too excited. It's about a botched lobotomy on said person, and there's this thing halfway through where Cale sings and then Lou Reed will step in to sing like that last two words of each line flatly at a louder volume, and I can't tell you how much it drives me crazy to listen to this part of the song. "Here She Comes Now" is a light and blissful throwaway, but I have a fondness for "I Heard Her Call My Name" with it's Ornette Coleman-inspired guitar solo freakout. But then we get to "Sister Ray." How you feel the album largely consists of how you feel about this song, because it takes up almost half the running time, and thankfully, I actually kind of like it. Reed's lyrics about drugs and sex are easily ignored (if you ever thought Lou Reed was cool, please consider the repeated line "she's busy sucking on my ding-dong"), but the music, a chaotic jam conducted in one take and left untouched, warts and all, is very fun in a noise-rock way. (The album's producer, Tom Wilson, disagreed and walked out halfway through). Looking at it in total, I can't quite bring myself to see it as a work of artistic genius as much as Reed saying "let's use our cultural cache to fuck around on an album because someone is allowing us to do it." I don't think there's anything serious or ambitious here. That it's as influential as it is, is as much due to the talents of the musicians as as any particular artistic vision. I'll speak more on the Velvets when I review their other albums, but honestly I think this is my least favorite of their four Lou Reed-led releases.
Beznadziejne czuć że słabo nagrane