White Light / White Heat

This one was just too obscure or weird

Another Velvet Underground album checked off, and I'm still not sure what to do with them. I didn't get much out of White Light / White Heat. The first track has on old 1950's rock and roll sound to start, before it transitions in to noise. Noise is a common feature to ¿all? of the tracks on this album. Between the noise and lyric content (including frequently spoken lyrics), I did not like this album.

I like the last song being about someone getting a blowjob for over 17 minutes. but this album isn't my cup of tea, some good songs here but I don't think i'll be coming back to this again.

Oldie but not so goldie

Absolutely stunned to see people are all bottom-Drake meme with the banana album but somehow top-Drake meme with WL/WH.

Wacky album. I like it more than the debut. Sister Ray is a monster as is known.

Sounded very dissonant to me. Did not enjoy it at all.

I get that the VU is very influential, and I like a ton of stuff that smarter listeners say were influenced by them, but calling this album good is like calling a bucket of cum a doctor.

An insult to my ears

Fyfan, En gång var det nyskapande och edgy nu mest jobbigt.

så trist och dåligt

The aural equivalent of spinning out on heroin. Dark and discordant, perhaps too much for its own good.

Man blir kanske lite trött på The Gift efter en stund men annars kan man ha detta album på repeat förevigt och det skulle vara en helt bra användning av tid

This album is raunchy, dirty, ugly, and smelly. 5/5

Ohh... kay. Wasn't really expecting... whatever that was. It certainly has its moments of brilliance ("White Light/White Heat", "Sister Ray", and "Beginning to See the Light" are so good). But it also has its moments of utter batshit WTFery. Unfortunately, the latter far outnumber the former. I mean, "The Gift"? "Lady Godiva's Operation"? What the actual hell? I really REALLY wanted to give this at least a 2-star rating. I kept desperately looking for reasons not to fail the album... but I realized I was trying too hard to make excuses for what is, truly, a shit record.

p127. 1968. 1 star. Unattractive 60s art-house rock. You can see its influence on punk rock, but that doesn't mean it's good. Outstays its welcome on most of the tracks, especially the 17 minute wankage that is Sister Ray. You can see why it didn't sell. Would not listen to it again.

09/27/2022 Bruh…they were off the shits when they recorded this album. Considering I’ve heard like 3-4 of their other albums, this one is easily the worst. A lot of these songs were a pain to get through, or I had to skip them altogether. It’s like they were all fucked up off whatever they were taking and were like “oh SHIT, we have to pull up to the studio today. Alright y’all, let’s just pull something out our arses and make this deadline” Boo

Very strange. Seems to be mostly talking over improvised/disconnected music.

Just go listen to it I can’t do it justice with my bird brain words

Their 2nd Album. Quite different from their debut which I liked very much. Standouts: Sister Ray Others: The Gift, Lady Godiva's Operation, Here She Comes Now Rating: 3/5

While I like The Velvet Underground's most famous record, I still think they are one of the most pretentious bands of all time. This album is fine, but I would not listen to it again. Best Songs: White Light/White Heat, Sister Ray Worst Songs: The Gift

Excellent, if challenging in places

Not really enjoyable for me. But some parts are interesting, which is the only reason why it gets 2 stars from me.

I really, really love that album. Where VU & Nico was more pop, this one is all about explorative, drony, strident sounds. A big, experimental piece of work that everyone won't love, but that I cherish.

I understand the importance of The Velvet Underground in music, but not something I want to listen to. It seems loud and over compressed for the sake of it. Had to push myself to finish it. Maybe it's just too artsy and I'm too basic.

Not great, but at least no Nico! The best song was The Gift, a mad spoken word story about a guy who posts himself. Many of the others are sloppy and unfocused, and there are way too many outtakes and live versions as filler on the linked version of the album.

Seguramente no sea conciderado como lo mejor de la Velvet pero este disco tiene algo que siempre me gustó mucho, y es que durante gran parte del álbum aparecen muchas melodías y sonidos que intentan ser agradables y dulces pero el caos, casi constante de los instrumentos, no los deja llegar a ese punto. En la version 2013 del disco, aparecen 7 canciones más y en ellas el caos paulatinamente va desapareciendo, se va tranquilizando, se agota por sí solo hasta llegar al último track, "Beginning to see the light" que en realidad aparecería en el siguiente y tercer álbum de la banda.

2+

Recording is shit but the album is quite great!

The Velvet Underground's first album is griity, raw, and unpolished, but hints at greater things to come.

I can see how it was edgy and novel at the time of release but it does nothing for me

I know it's the classier album to like, but this one seems a bit of a triumph of difficulty over substance. It's by no means bad, and Sister Ray is obviously a classic - though for 20 minute epics, the suite on Lou Reed's Street Hassle does it better for me, I feel like you could cover everything worthwhile in Sister Ray in 10 minutes. But it's just good in my mind.

VU is another one of those bands I can acknowledge was pioneering and led to other genres and styles of music, but I have trouble getting into them. "The Gift" for example just seems so pretentious.

Love the title track, and lots of other good stuff on the album but not these versions - the production/mix on this album is awful.

Songs weren’t very catchy and repetitive - psychedelic rock just isn’t for me I think

The Velvet Underground was a good band but in this album I cannot to see the best songs.

Listen, I don't mind a jam session. I'm not *that* 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 into a grave, don't they? Yes, yes, the lyrical topics were extremely progressive for their time, but there's got to be more than that, especially when the vocals are buried beneath everything else. I thought this album would escape my one-star graveyard, 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. "Suckin' on his ding-dong," eh, Lou?

Probably good in the 60’s trippin on acid. Not for me in 2022

Just noise

eu gosto muito de velvet underground. a musica deles tem aquela barulheira que de alguma forma acaba se resolvendo no final, e que deixa a musica nunca enjoativa. e esse album não é diferente, o problema é que na minha opinião esse album tem exagero na tal barulheira, sendo assim, é o que eu menos gosto de todos os albuns deles. mas mesmo assim, um bom album, com algumas musicas nada atraentes e outras muito boas. não da pra dizer que existe alguem no mundo que sente e escute 17 minutos de sister ray, lady godiva operation ou the gift. mas a outra metade do album é muito boa. SHES BUSY SUCKING ON MY DING-DONG!!!🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘🗿🗿

Weirdly Tidal's link brought me to Social Distortion's White Light, White Heat, White Trash from 1996. I enjoyed that album. I can't say that I enjoyed this album. Lou Reed wrote some of the best tracks in rock and roll history, and I respect the Velvets and understand their massive importance in music history. I'm just not a fan of fuzzy noise jams, not a big Sonic Youth fan for the same reason. This album is kind of a mess, I know I won't be getting it for my vinyl collection!

gott að hafa klárað þessa. Ekkert endilega að fara í rotation

Not what I’m looking for.

Very long album, with nothing to prove for it. I think the music is alright but not good enough to listen again. There’s too much talking and not singing like just make it instrumental or don’t talk.

I always struggle if I love or hate this one. This listen fell closer to love.

The notions dripping off these lads in this album.

Some tracks way overblown. Disappointing

I kinda dig it. The bad songs outweigh the good

Meh. Had its moments, but not many. And the 8-minute story time wasn't one of them. Although it sort of pains me to give this a 2, I can't justify a 3.

Idgi maaan

Freak classic

White Boy/ White Boy

I think its fair to say this is the least accessible of the 4 VU albums and often gets the most kudos. The Gift annoys me a bit as you don't really want to listen to the story more than twice. Sister Ray is s behemoth. The production is deliberately rough and ready. To think this is a 1968 album takes your breath away a bit. Also Reeds guitar on "I heard her call my name" Remarkable. I feel I should like it more than I do. Still, 4.

The only thing left to say about the brilliance of this album is that the deluxe version is both better and unnecessary as perfection cannot be added to.

Can confidently say I never need listen to this again

Only Here She Comes Now prevents this from getting a 1 star

A harbinger of what was to come in the chaotic year that was 1968, White Light/White Heat remains not only the antithesis of the Summer of Love but a crucial turning point in the world of The Velvet Underground. With John Cale one foot out the door and Nico and Andy Warhol completely gone, Lou, Sterling and Moe paint a wholly bleak picture of grisly proportions; death via good intentions, botched entries into a more comfortable being and a seventeen minute romp whose most memorable refrain refers to fellatio. Sgt. Pepper's, Majesty's Request and whatever The Monkees' latest was this was not. The punk movement had arrived early and White Light/White Heat was the first of the few flag bearers.

Lou is a fucking clown and I love it. Like, have you heard his vocal on 'Lady Godiva's Operation'? Comically daft. Elsewhere, they do their ur-band thing, sullying previously unsullied corners of drone, monotone, and the poetic-prosaic. Their music refelcts an era that hasn't happened yet, but once it's been and gone, those reflections will prove to have been staggeringly astute.

Is this meant to be an example of the struggling sophomore release? Anyway, I don't know. Sister Ray is pretty good.

Harder VU, missing the mark for me

5/5. One of the greatest 😎🤙🤘

This album is very strange. Especially "The Gift" at least the stereo mix that is, where the short story and music are panned hard left and hard right respectively. I don't think it is bad and it was certainly an influential and critically acclaimed album, but I don't think it is The Velvet Underground's best album. I feel bad about ranking this low, but I know that the other two albums I'll end up rating higher.

Музыка необычная и в своё время благодаря концерту Петра Мамонова про Незнайку я узнал о треке The Velvet Undrerground под названием Gift из этого альбома. Как раз он здесь есть. И эта монотонность нравится. Но в целом... Не так сильно цепляет. Долго это слушать тяжело.

Velvet Underground one of the most influential bands of all time. This album is one reason why since it really challenged what rock music at the time. Sure it's noisy, strange and weird and not something you can listen to all the time but it really pushed music to a new dimension. Many people took these elements, polished them and made them more accessible. It's not my fav or most listen to Velvet Underground album but it does make sense to be on the list. It's a 4.5 for me, so once again I'll round up.

Not for audiophiles or the squeamish.

This is their weirdest album. There's a lot that I like on it and there's a lot that i don't like. I always skip "The Gift" but the title track and sister ray are great.

You can see how this album influenced so many bands that I like now. I really like the album. Here She Comes Now is a great song, and the Nirvana cover(s) that it sparked are amazing. It may have gotten a 5 from me if it wasn't for The Gift. I just can't stand that one.

I love The Velvet Underground. Every album of theirs is distinct and different. This one - their second - is their strangest. The music is mostly fuzzed out, low-fi rock and the production is unpolished and sloppy in a way that feels confrontational towards the listener. The songs are an odd batch. The title track is simple enough (before deteriorating into noise right at the end) but is quickly followed by "The Gift," a weird little short story about a man who mails himself to his girlfriend and gets a knife to the head when she cuts the box open. The background music simmers underneath, keeping a steady beat while the guitar riffs on some psychedelic vibes. "Lady Godiva's Operation" continues the psychedelic music while telling the story of a botched sex change operation. I love how Lou Reed jumps in to emphasize certain words in a monotone voice. It's a crude, jarring effect that I think is really funny. The first half ends with "Here She Comes Now," a beautiful gem of a song and a generous track to include on an otherwise abrasive album. (Nirvana does some really good covers of this song.) But then the real chaos starts. "I Heard Her Call My Name" is a blast of noise and feedback that turns out to just be a warm-up for the 17-minute "Sister Ray," a truly insane assault on the ears. You can really get lost in it. Lou Reed's vocals are wild too as he shouts about drugs and sex. "Too busy sucking on a ding-dong!" must have been a controversial thing to include on an album in 1968 but it's also hilarious. It's nice to know that even as the band was upending what rock music could be and inventing new styles, they had a sense of humor about it all. It's aggressive for sure but you can hear them having fun too.

Pros: - First track - I love that experimental ending, with all of the instruments just gradually pulling apart rhythmically. Very cool sound! - Then the second track starts with some spoken word! I have to admit though as this track went on that I became a little bored by it. I've mentioned it before but I'm a big believer in albums starting with a song or having their second song be some kind of moderately uptempo / interesting sound regardless of the genre, and this one was really interesting to have the second song be a repetitive 8 minute long spoken word song. - The experimental-ness of the album and overall sound is really intriguing. Specifically experimenting with vocal deliveries is really cool. Cons: - Not every act needs things like choruses and hooks, but I think they could benefit from having some of them? Or more of them? I found myself bored at times with some of the songs. Ultimately I didn't love the album..

Loud noise but I get it

ugg, I need more melody

Here she comes mow was covered by nirvana so that's a star and I wanted to know how the gift would end so that's 2. Was a bit disappointed in this one. Expected better.

Most influential band of all time, blah, blah, blah. There’s less to like here than on the other records, as much as one admires the experimental bent and iconoclasm, which doesn’t fully come off anyway. “Sister Ray” is as gritty as art/noise rock got, but just because it was among the first of its type doesn’t make it a masterpiece. Anyone annoyed by Reed’s talky vocal style will be sent over the edge by “Lady Godiva’s Operation.” The muddy, submerged production is a big part of the issue – one wonders what this lot would have achieved with modern technology, including sampling (Cale’s later work suggests what might have been). The record’s commercial performance suggests sometimes bands get what they deserve, while its critical reception shows the power of revisionist history. 2.5 for 2.

Demasiado experimental y ruidoso para el vinilo. Un 4.

Ni fu ni fa.

Why? God to live in a time where you can make absolute shit and get recognized.

Pretty good but not the best VU album

Didn’t realize how much his voice sounds like Julian Casablancas at times. Biased towards live recorded albums. Noisy, fun.

3.5

Lost a fucking point because of the 17 minute song about a blow job. Sucking on my ding dong says Lou Reed. God I think deep down really fucking hate the Velvet Underground. I get it, they are super influential and all that. But I also fucking incredibly fucking pretentious man. Avant Garde heroine chic rock and roll bullshit.

White Light/White is an unflinching and at times brutal album which in many ways surpasses Velvet Underground & Nico. Gone is the softness added by the chanteuse Nico, replaced by John Cale's sardonic spoken singing. Sister Ray is the stand out with it's assault of noise becoming and influence on kraut rock, Joy Division and the whole no-wave scene. This is another one of those albums soaked in turmoil. You can hear the turmoil between Lou Reed and John Cale bubbling over and in this case leads to a couple of the less amazing parts of this album Often overlooked when compared to the Velvets first album.

Robert est au plus mal en ce moment et je vais vous expliquer pourquoi. Alors qu'en début de semaine, je lui avais déjà tenu tête en refusant catégoriquement de me plier à ses exigences, celui-ci vient d'être transféré à l'hôpital en soins intensifs pour la raison suivante : il aurait été tabassé par mon compère et rival de toujours eltrapeze (l'intéressé l'a confirmé à l'heure où je m'enregistre). Bien que je trouve l'album du jour très moyen (Lou Reed se moque de nous depuis les années 60), il n'aurait certainement pas mérité de créer un tel élan de haine. Je ne cautionne en aucun cas les agissements d'eltrapeze. Pour en revenir à l'album, et je crois que tout le monde sera d'accord avec mon analyse, le problème a deux sources : Lou Reed et le menuisier du dernier morceau. Inutile de rappeler comment le premier travaille ses chansons (il appelle ses parents, lance l'enregistrement, puis la conversation, et une fois le combiné raccroché, colle sa voix sur des instruments). En ce qui concerne ledit menuisier, son intervention est un énorme point d'interrogation. Il scie d'abord des planches de bois puis perce un énorme trou dans le mur du studio avant de creuser le sol au marteau-piqueur. « Que cela cesse » crieront nos oreilles jusqu'à la dernière seconde.

En cette matinée du 9 mars 2022, Robert a donc décidé de nous enchaîner la gueule de deux albums de rock experimental. Les deux albums sont evidemment cataclysmiques, le premier nous présentant differents primates hurlant sur un fond de tam tam, tandis que le second passe en revue tout l'assortiment du rayon quincaillerie de Bricot Depot. Ceci a generé non pas un album mais une haine phénoménale en moi. Je me suis donc dirigé directement chez Robert, suis rentré dans son domicile sans frapper, et me suis rué sur ce dernier dans un élan de fureur. Je l'ai attrapé par le col, et rué de coups, afin qu'il retienne bien la leçon. Une fois son quart d'heure terminé, il m'a certifié qu'il tenterait de faire mieux sur les prochains albums.

The other Velvet Underground album we've had was fantastic, but I'm a lot less enthusiastic about this one. It definitely had some good moments. But the horrendous production really doesn't work for me. Lady Godiva's Operation would be pretty nice, if not for the really weirdly mixed vocal lines thrown on top of the track and I Heard Her Call My Name was a chaotic mess.

4.5

Ding-dong, Lou Reed et al calling.

A surprisingly good album. Certainly unique in relation to some songs (The Gift and Sister Ray). While not really a song in the typical sense The Gift is actually a great story that really made me enjoy the album, not for its musical value but for its entertainement and sheer courage for producing something so peculiar!

Ick. No thank you. Sounds like uninspired trash.

White Light / White Heat is a fantastic foray into very early punk rock. The Velvet Underground were lyrically transgressive, and likely one of the first bands to demonstrate to the audience, through their lyrics, that they were the embodiment of Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll. Best: Whole Album Worst: N/A Note: the Link to the album above on Spotify is the deluxe version. I only listened to the original album.

Just awful. The Gift just sounds like he’s reading a book and no one can convince me that the 17-minute closer is actually good.

I’m not sure if this is a different band named Velvet Underground, But this is some of us disappointing music I’ve listened to. I had high expectations going into this and was extremely disappointed.

the prototype art rock album. it's easy to forget that one of the founding members of the famously new york velvet underground is a welshman. it must have confused the shit out of the americans hearing a welsh accent telling that story. i've got welsh ancestry and the welsh accent still confuses me.

My friend Dave and I spent a heady weekend back in 1969 tripping to this colossal record on some ridiculously strong hallucinogen. It was pure liquid acid, dripped onto centimetre cubes of plaster of paris, which you had to keep in the freezer to prevent the drug evaporating. Having chewed and swallowed a cube apiece, we listened to “Sister Ray” at huge volume, pinioned in our chairs. It was my first and only true synaesthetic experience: I could actually see this music, a turbulent, roiling maelstrom in which, though merely mono, the various constituent elements were clearly visible as a three-dimensional sculpture of visual sound. Dave died.

Tits on a stick.

Crimely over looked in favour of the debut album. This is the Velvets at their difficult, anti-flower power best. I can only assume that a lot of the wilder elements of the Velvets originated from John Cale as the John Cale-less third album is positively bland in comparison.

Manages to sound simultaneously of its time, modern, and like nothing else I have heard. Starts off with fairly conventional rock and roll sounds on the first track, White Light/White Heat, before giving way to a gradual descent into spoken word madness (The Gift) and then ending with lengthy proto-punk noise and feedback (Sister Ray). A big shift from the more melodic sound of their previous album. It sounds much more improvised, spiky and chaotic.

The height of pretentiousness

The Velvet Underground are usually remembered fondly for their innovations to the rock music canon as a whole. Grunge, no wave, post-punk, punk rock, krautrock, prog rock, alternative rock, they all trace back to White Light / White Heat in some way. People smarter and more dedicated than myself have written about it better than I ever could, but I can at least share those same sentiments. Even Sister Ray alone, the 17-minute marathon track that dominates side B, could take credit for the ways that it pushed rock music. Most "experimental" rock music could be boiled down to just a few people with instruments fucking around, but to say that about The Velvet Underground would be underselling it's historical significance. As for me, it's certainly not an album I thoroughly enjoy, but there's no denying that this record is the root of many of my favorite albums. One small step for The Velvet Underground, one giant leap for rock music.

Art rock

intresting mad shit going on here. Can see why its a must listen

Raw

Such an experimental, awesome album that really provided a groundwork for so much music that I love. I think it might be my favorite VU album.

I always feel like I'm in an "Emperor's New Clothes" situation when I listen to The Velvet Underground. This is garbage but I have to listen to everyone tell me it's brilliant. Pretty sure I heard him say "busy sucking on a ding-dong" at some point?? There were one or two moments that prevent this from being one star but it really is complete trash.

I just don’t like Lou Reed.

Könnte gut sein wenn’s nicht so lärmig wäre

Beginnt recht harmlos mit eher konventionellen Songs, und geht dann über zu nois lastigen Feedback Bonanzas, mit dem classic Velvet Underground Drone. Ein song klingt wie die Blaupause zu The End von den Doors. Find ich schon geil, aber The Velvet Underground & Nico find ich nicer - Nico geht ab und die Mischung zwischen on-point und abgedreht funktioniert dort besser.

I get, in part, this is an experiment in what an audience will put up with under the guise of art and that pushing boundaries is necessary in the evolution of music but I really object to just how unlistenable the whole album is - the discordant guitars, the monotonous sound mix, the shouting - and presented in such a way that I am the problem if I don’t ‘get’ it. If I’m square then so be it. An extra star for being on this list, to educate others to avoid at all costs.

I like the Velvet Underground a lot, but this is far from their best work, and a pretty questionable inclusion on the list. Lou Reed's (?) interjections on "Lady Godiva's Operation" seem like he's trying to tank the track!? Fave track - the title track probably. "Sister Ray" is fun too...

Man I played this to the death way back when. Great album.

An incredible sophomore album

Review this album its a very hard task, since it`s not so revolutionary, but it's still classical. It is too much noise, but not absolutely experimental. I don't know, but this album is an interesting experience, even when I'm not capable of any type of a real analyze.

What a stupid album. I'll give it a 1 so I can remember it. Because it did actually make me feel something and think. I like it. But it's really terrible. "Your business' sucking on my ding-dong" And then they put "Stephanie Says" on the Deluxe Edition, and it sounds like a fucking masterpiece beside all the other horrible shit they made you listen to.

Not good

Man muss definitiv in Stimmung sein für dieses Album, es ist Ausdruck der Stimmung der damaligen Jugend. Sister Ray: mitreisender Rhythmus, Text über Drogen und Sex etc. ist gemäss Reed als Witz gemeint.

A lot for a Monday morning. Totally manic, 13 minutes of Sister Ray sounds like two trains on the same track steaming toward a head on collision but never actually making contact. I feel bit ill.

It's not an "easy" listen, but it's good. I love The Velvet Underground especially when they get their drone on. I also love that this is like The Stooges play The Velvets, you can see how this inspired sooooo many artists

not in the mood at all for this

“Utterly pretentious, unbelievably monotonous.”

Big fan of VU first album. First time listening to this, really enjoyed it too, though is a harder listen, very experimental some of the songs are a bit messy. But can see massive the influence VU had on music.

I didn't like this one, I think it was too avant garde for me.

Nothing much is pleasant about this listening experience - the production is dense to the point of singularity and the music is loud, clangy, and crude. It's almost like the band is trying to alienate the listener, and in large part they have. That said, I see this as an even more sophisticated attempt to throw popular music on its head - while their debut at least has some 'catchy' tunes, this one dispenses with any of the trappings of musical enjoyment, dragging listeners down a dark alley, against our will, to show us smacked-out junkies and heroin whores. Its inconceivable to think this came out in 1968, and my rating here reflects the cutting edge nature of the work (if not my actual enjoyment at the listening)

I was hoping to get a good album for my birthday, and here it is. I actually just listened to this album yesterday. I'm on a big Lou Reed/VU kick because I just finished reading a biography of Lou Reed. I think all four of the "real" VU albums (the 5th one is basically a Doug Yule solo album) are 5 star albums. This one is the noisiest and the ugliest in a way, but out of ugliness comes great beauty. This is also the last VU album with John Cale, which makes it even more special. His keyboard playing on the Sister Ray jam is epic. 5 stars.

*hits blunt* Uh yeah I do happen to be a huge connaisseur of *looks at hand* expremented Rodc

Not as good as Loaded or Banana, but still solid

Not bad, not memorable. A lot of the chords through the songs all sounded the same.

Important, influential, experimental. All of these things, but it's not enjoyable. Interesting to note that Peter Gabriel might have been influenced by the "short story" narration on "The Gift." Sister Ray is a trip, but you don't need to hear it often.

Definitely not the same level as some of their other albums. This one felt a bit all over. The first song was pretty noisy then the second song was just talking. The other three songs weren’t too special and the album was pretty short. Overall pretty meh. 4.2/10

I felt like I was deeply immersed in the cool 60s until Lou Reed start singing about dingdongs. Still an enjoyable listen.

Incredibly boring

Met vlagen lekker, soms ook weer een beetje teveel van het goede..

Er zitten dus echt geweldige tracks tussen al die herrie en ik vind die gekte ergens ook wel tof, maar dit kan je toch met goed fatsoen niet meer echt briljant vinden...

Veel te rommelig en arty. En de stem van Lou Reed trek ik echt niet.

The Velvet Underground hebben best aardig wat nummers die ik erg kan waarderen. Maar dit album....niet door te komen. Chaotische herrie. En het gaat maar door....

Wat een akelige toestand. Dit verdienen we niet.

Не понял

Terrible solos… is it a joke? Bad sounds Stephani says was good doe

3.5

Heftiges Teil mit untergründiger Schönheit - unterhalb all des glitches und fuzzes schimmert ein poppiges und fast monotonisch eingängiges Stück Rock. Nico fehlt kein Stück. Mir jedoch etwas die Abwechslung. 3.5

Absolut hilarious und wunderbar grotesk die Geschichte vom armen Waldo, unschlagbar sweet und leicht unbeholfen mit walisischem Zungenschlag vorgelesen von John Cale - der mir überhaupt sehr gut gefällt, auch als Sänger von Lady Godiva. Man möchte baden in dieser Platte, und man kann. In der wohligen, flauschigen Wärme genauso wie in der überall wogenden Salzsäure sich auflösen und transzendent werden - als heißweiße Hitze, kaltweißes Licht. Sister Ray halt - wie schön das genau NICHT auf den Punkt bringt, was sich ausstrecken will, einsaugen lässt. Verstärker, Verstärker.

Meh

didnt like not good

3.5

Not really for me. Rather bland.

Vittu mitä paskaa. En jaksanut kuunnella koko levyä ja biisit meni hyppien läpi. Ei käynyt mielessäkään testata levyä 2....

Yks kuunneltava biisi ja senkin Nirvana coveroinu paremmin. Skippailin enkä kuunnellu niitä extroja

1968. Why am I not surprised. lol. Ok wow, this fucking SUX. Even worse than expected. What in the hell?? 1/5.

entiendo que es un disco realmente influyente e innovador para su época pero de lejos es mi favorito de la banda. tiene buenas canciones y otras en las que simplemente no puedo concentrarme, pero en general lo siento como un caos de sonidos que no logro conectar.

Never have been impressed with TVU. Kind of boring and pretentious. Don't get it.

Not terrible. Just sooo long

The first half (5 songs): clearly 5*. Had not listened to the second half for years: Sister Ray is alright but still too long. (5+3)/2 = 4.

Poor Waldo ...

Def liked transformer better. This gets a bit weird, especially the 18 mins of him talking about getting his "Ding dong" sucked. Musically it's spot on.

Oh fuck off

I know, I know, they're iconic or something but...ehhhhh.

Utter garbage

Psychadelic rock. Guitars remind me of Cream quite a bit. Songs are all very unique, each one does it's own thing. Opens with "White light / white heat" a bit of a traditional rock tune. Followed with "The Gift" an 8 minute story/stream of consciousness while a guitar is wailing. Next is "Lady Godiva's Operation", once again a bit more of a standard tune with dueling vocalists that gets more surreal as it goes on. "Here she comes" has a summery vibe, brief tune about a beautiful hippie lady. "I heard her call my name" is a grungy tune with lots of distortion in the guitars and growling vocals that sounds a lot like Steppenwolf. Last is "Sister Ray" which plays for a whopping 17 minutes and 30 seconds. This song has some attitude, angry Organs that remind me of Ina Gatta Da Vita. Intensity increases throughout the song until a big crescendo of wailing on instruments to end. The keys are literally just holding on notes so it's a thrumming buzz with the drums and guitar going. Great jam session tune. Overall good album, was worried after the 2nd song but that was the only one that I really didn't enjoy. The rest were pretty good, though a bit too "out there" to add to the playlist.

How do you rate an album that feels like an experiment gone bad, yet goes on to create and/or drive a genre by how it influences other artists? Ultimately I have to go with my own ears and emotions—how do I feel about the music? Would I listen again? I really struggled with this review; the best I can give it is a 2.

Ugh. I…. _HATE_ Lou Reed. So asking me to listen to VU is asking a lot. The song “White Light / White Heat” I know from Bowie. He performed it in concert a bunch of times. I can see where the foundation of punk came from from these songs, but some of them… people talk about prog rock bring pretentious, THIS stuff sounds pretentious to me. That 17-minute piece just meanders. God, it was bad. I’m adding one star for the song “White Light / White Heat” since I always liked it. So that’d be 1.5 stars, round up to…

My god the 60's in America were F'd up. The Gift epitomizes everything I've seen in movies and recordings about that era - the drugs, the sex, the grungy and wheezy guitar riffs. Listening to that track was like watching Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (a truly F'd up movie). It might've been okay if it wasn't so completely overdone (8min). But kudos to the effort and the creativity. And if I thought the Gift had edgy lyrics, Lady Godiva's Operation took me to new depths. Didn't mind the music layered in. The whole album kind of reminds me of Kanye West in that they try so hard to show how intelligent and cool they are through their lyrics and beats. Arrogant is the right word. Still, it's a solid album (minus the production value, which is nil). The title track, Here She Comes Now, and I Heard Her call My Name are all fun little tracks albeit with some excessive guitar work in all of them. Cut out the self-indulgence and depravity (see Exhibit Z, Sister Ray) and you'd have a real winner. 3.5 at least but I'll round up to 4 just to have an even more different take than others. Seems fitting given the extremes of the album.

The Velvet Underground are one of the most important band of all time, or so I keep hearing. Doesn't help that this album sounds like it was recorded on a boom box because Lou Reed spent all of the recording money on heroin. I actually like some of their material (mostly from their previous album with Nico but also some of Loaded). This album just kind of sucks though. It does get a bonus star because of the Gift though. The feedback cleared my sinuses. Actually the title track is okay.

The album started off ok - "White Light / White Heat" sounded like proto-glam and was promising. "The Gift" had a fun riff and story, with a good punchline. However, underneath both these tracks were hints of the noise that was going to annoy the crap out of me later in the album. "Lady Godiva's Operation" sounded like some decent 60s psychedelia until the doctor part where it got weird. "Here She Comes Now" also had that 60s vibe and wasn't bad. But then the last two tracks brought the noise rock front and center. "I Heard Her Call My Name" had a horrendous almost all-feedback guitar solo that sounded like garbage to me. The jam in the middle of "Sister Ray" was just sloppy and all noise. I wanted to shut off the squealing organ and feedback. The end of "Sister Ray" was even more obnoxious than the middle. I tried to give the album a fair shake - even listened a second time, and that's when I noticed that the noise was present throughout, just not as noticeable on early tracks. I like some Lou Reed solo stuff, but I'm definitely not a fan of this album. Giving it a 2 rather than a 1 solely because there were some redeeming moments.

Muito paradao e devagar pra mim

Haiku Tuesday: Music vs. Noise “Sister Ray” may save the day She can’t win the war

I get it, the velvet underground changed the game and was super influential. I'm thankful for that, but it still doesn't hit me as much more than a novelty. Not something I'd want to listen to most of the time. I feel I'm being generous with the 3 only because I know I've given objectively worse albums a 3 too.

I usually don’t like weird artsy rock but this seems so genuine and original I find it really endearing. “The Gift” was probably my favorite of the track here.

The Gift is the standout track here, but probably only for the first time of listening. Doesn't lift the rest of the album up above being mediocre, especially on subsequent plays.

Not a big VU fan.

Absolutely ridiculously over hyped garbage. I’m actually angry for having had to listen to this and try find something positive. There’s a lot of albums here that I feel like I have to like because everybody does and everybody does because everybody does. Like a contagion of stupid music. Can some of these older artists just be considered old and irrelevant and not hold the “classic” tag forever?

To say I'm baffled is an understatement. I had to triple check that I was listening to the right album, especially after reading some of the reviews. There's about 3 half-songs on this record and the rest is noise. And those half-songs are OKAY, not great. In what universe does someone sit down and listen to "sister ray" - 17 and a half minutes of fuzzy garbage - and enjoy the experience? I had to lower the volume down, it was literally hurting my ears. Same with "I heard her call my name". Wtf am I missing...?

Art rock bullshit. 2 stars for a couple catchy songs.

bleh

Mest oväsen

not a banana cover album but this wasnt the best at all lol

buen disco

I bet I’d like this more if I had some of what they were smoking… repetitive hippie music. Plus I’m pretty sure track 2 is just the vocalist reading a smut story. Not really my cup of tea, but listenable/ignorable.

not at all what I was expecting after the first song, and while I can appreciate the artistic merit and experimentation, it's not for me, at least after a first listen

1/5 - I get why it's on the list (it's a bridge between two worlds of music), but this album objectively is terrible.

Don’t like the album Music instruments sound harsh on the ears and lyrics are not appealing 1.5/5

I wanted to like this so bad, but every song just had something that annoyed me, from the random different voice singing 1 word to the guitar being made to scream, did not love

Phenomenal beginning of noise rock. LOVE THIS

literally terrible there were such random screeching noises and i cannot think of any way this is influential i literally hate this album no offense

OK, bad recording quality.

For those who say that metal is noise, this is noise. Never been too much into LOU Reed, but this is ok

This was a hard listen. It seems to me to be an early example of that difficult second album. Or maybe no Nico was the problem. Or maybe you just had to be there, and I wasn’t obviously.

Might appreciate it more if I were on drugs.

Probably the most open and boundary pushing VU album. John Cale's influence is felt the most here, both on tracks like The Gift and in the instrumentation. Each VU album has it's own special place in my heart, and while I don't know if I could choose a favorite, this is always a fun one to put on because it's very much not the "greatest hits" but still makes a very compelling argument for what a great band they were.

The aural equivalent of 8mm black and white endless sweaty torture nightmare fuel. The horror... 1/10

I expected to hate this one, but not so much in the end.

Some screeching is fine, but there are limits... this pushes the boundary a points. Some of it is fun.

More interesting than I imagined. Very experimental and textured. Sucking on ding dongs yeah...!

Zugegeben ich Habs ned ganz ogheard

couple of really good songs - the rest was pretty nice as background music

epic, a near perfect record! a must own

Dude, this was not good. Even for them

Pretty good actually. Probably wouldn’t be someone I’d listen to more but the songs were actually quite good.

Not interesting.

Lacking any production value whatsoever and with little regard to singing in tune, this was the ultimate 'fuck the system' album of the time, doesn't make it any good though.

Really not much of a fan of this. Sounds kind of Beatles - ish. Bit experimental, bit rock n roll. Didn't warm to it though, bit too out there. I assume/hope these guys have better albums. 1/5

An Interesting album. With some good times and equally some shite. Literally had to turn some off because of the racket. Weird little story track about a bloke posting himself to the woman he loves and she ends up stabbing him in the head. Compelling.

Velvet Underground hieß unsere Studentenkneipe in Brügge. Das Album hat leider weniger Spaß gemacht, als die Abende da.

Mir fehlt Nico hier. Teilweise ist es mir dann doch etwas zu abgefahren. Here she comes now mag ich am Liebsten und ist m.M.n. auch am ähnlichsten zum ersten Album mit Nico.

Experimental and interesting

This album had a 17 minute electric jazz song about a blowjob.

I am once again upset with myself for not owning this album. In fact, I don’t have any of the John Cale VU’s on vinyl, and I don’t know why. Oh yeah, this album inspired pretty much every band I’ve ever liked, ever. 5 stars

Hurt my ears.

A couple of good songs but I found the album quite stressful to listen to.

This album is very weird and I kind of hate it. I can get behind a messy album, but this is all over the place with some truly annoying stuff like someone basically swallowing the mic and blowing out the levels. It doesn't sound artsy, it sounds stupid.

Good instrumentals

Art-rock at it's artiest - but scratch the surface and there are still pop melodies hidden away. BT: White Light/White Heat, Lady Godiva's Operation, Here She Comes Now

I can feel it influencing me

.

Old sounding but good. The song "the gift" was particularly fun. 0RS

Wow, I did not care for this. 3/10

4/10. I will admit, it was better than the Wikipedia article made it sound. But you know, I really didn't need some guy talking into my left ear for 8 minutes straight about some hopeless romantic, and honestly it was a bit of a cop-out to just have him die at the end. Similarly with the 17 minute song at the end, except I couldn't even be bothered to follow the story of this one, though I did figure out that she was busy sucking on his ding dong, because the singer said so about every 30 seconds. I'd be inclined to say the album was fairly good if it weren't for these two songs, except that these two songs are 65% of the album.

3.6 - Self-indulgent at times, especially during the spoken word track “The Gift” which drags on too long. Interesting early examples of guitar feedback that work well especially on the last couple of tracks that at times sound like noise rock and metal. One of those records that probably serves as a touchstone for many musicians and genres.

5.5

No se lo pondria ni a mi peor enemigo

This was a lot. Stomach-churning at times. I guess that was probably the intended effect and I honestly enjoyed parts of it. 6

crazy

Not my favorite VU album, but clearly very influential on a lot artist I enjoy. I do love Sister Ray though!

Interesting. Never heard it before.

Another gsrage band

Classic lou reed: half of the time is interesting, half of the time you can enjoy it. Hole time is just noise. I get it, is experimental, but why?

Not my favorite VU record, but still a vibe to listen to. A little too noisy & chattery to be enjoyable throughout.

Ne das war nicht ganz meins - 2

Awful. This album was developed by the Imperial Japanese Army as a form of torture for POWs so severe they begged to be cut open and experimented on. If aliens invaded earth it would be because this album was beamed out to space. If aliens invaded earth, humanity would win by playing this album so the aliens decided suicide was preferable. Worst album to ever disgrace the universe.

Tratando de ser breve (porque es un grupo en el que me podría extender demasiado). Bowie en algún momento dijo que la influencia verdadera no eran los críticos, sino los artistas; en referencia a que Velvet Underground terminó siendo mucho más influyente que los Beatles. Decían que su primer disco solo vendió 10,000 copias pero que fue la razón de la creación de 10,000 bandas. Este segundo disco termina siendo muy muy distinto a su primer material más conocido. Tiene siento yo una cosa buena en la ruptura con Warhol y una mala en la ruptura con Nico. Aunque perdieran una voz particular es muy interesante ver el verdadero rock experimental en sus inicios. No es un disco facil o digerible, tiene todas las características temáticas del grupo y de Lou Reed (sexo, drogas, violencia y subculturas, a niveles impensables para la época y a un grado que los hizo invendibles) pero esta vez cambia lo undulante de psicodelia por lo que solo puedo llamar un caos lleno de belleza. Es necesario comprender que todo lo que se escucha era basicamente la primera vez que alguien lo intentaba, que se usaran guitarras y distorsión en ese grado, que se utilizara el feedback como parte integral de una canción, realizar un disco básicamente improvisado. Sin este disco no hay música garage, no hay música alternativa, no hay grunge, no hay punk. The Velvet Underground fue el verdadero avant garde del rock en todo lo que realmente significa el término. Lou Reed después hizo cosas muy grandes, muy influyentes en algunos ámbitos; pero el grado de impacto que esos 4 discos lanzados en 4 años consecutivos tuvieron es inmenso.

Claramente no es un disco que a la mayoría le guste. En su tiempo fue recibido con muchas reservas aunque después los críticos han exaltado su influencia en la música. Entiendo el mérito que tiene por proponer cosas disruptivas y que es un volado que puede impresionar a la gente o parecer repulsivo. Pero el mérito no lo es todo. Las letras me parecen muy interesantes y supongo estas letras que hoy parecieran normales eran escandalosas en su tiempo. El tema de las distorsiones me parece muy interesante, los cambios de voces también y si el punto era experimentar en crear un disco feo, disonante e incómodo para probar algún punto o llevar la contraria, vaya que lo lograron. Pero reconocer el mérito no equivale a gustar o disfrutar. Creo que es importante haberlo escuchado pero no es algo que me interese volver a escuchar.

love me some lou reed

Now I know what heroin is like. I didn’t like it.

Good representation of VU style, a little rough around the edges and can get kind of repetitive. Highlights: -White Light/White Heat -Sister Ray

Nope

7

Nah. Not for me

The Velvet Underground (and particularly Lou Reed) were one of my early musical icons. As great as I think this is I'm not sure I see it as the flawless masterpiece some critical reception suggests. They say it was recorded in two days and it shows. Still, a critical work of raw innovation.

Mucho proto de muchos lados, sonidos estridentes que marcan gran influencia en la música de 20 años después, hay un par de rolas que llegan a saturar demasiado el oído (sister ray) pero no por el ruido sino por la mezcla de ritmos asincopados.

Ok, la de The Gift está chistosita pero el resto me recordó una banda de garage en un ensayo en el que no terminan de ponerse de acuerdo. Con todo y que le di dos pasadas y que entiendo un poco que son retos a la estética y salidas a lo convencional y eso puede funcionar en algunos puntos, los 17 minutos the Sister Ray son algo que no logro apreciar.

The gift is a wtf story Very daring album for the time, "filthy, rough" guitar work 4 stars

Some good tracks on here but the final product is ultimately too disjointed to read as a cohesive album. Comes across more as a set of B-sides and demos, a view reinforced by the garage-level production

The distortion on this album is why every kid wants to start a rock band. The genius of this album is it sounds like it was mixed and recorded in an old cement basement. Just raw music without letting studio guys kill it.

Meh

An album of two halves. At first I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't think I liked velvet underground. But was enjoying some classic 60's rock/prog rock. The last half got a bit too discordant for my tastes though.

Definitely not an album that I choose to be in a list of best albums, half of the songs are just random noise sounds. Maybe when they make the album have just a few songs and wanted to release something new and say, ey, we should load the rest of the album with random shit and wala!

Not my favorite VU album, but it has some good music but is a bit too avant garde

Some stuff stood out- "The Gift" was experimental and interesting, as was "Sister Ray" and "Lady Godiva's Operation", but I can't see myself returning to it, and too much was plodding

Good rock album

I wouldn't say I enjoyed this album. A little to Avant Garde for my taste. It did however have some super interesting components and a sound that was probably ahead of its time. To be enjoyed as an artifact rather than for the music itself.

I was not a fan of this album.

Great record.

Interesting, but not as much my speed. Somewhat grungy.

Got through disc 1 and the start of disc 2 but boy it wasn't easy. What a weird band.

They remind me of the Beatles and, crazily enough, I'm not a huge Beatles fan. I did really enjoy the second song but that's primarily because it was a spoken song. I thing the singer's singing was the biggest issue for me however the instrumentals were good. I'm giving it a 2 since I couldn't even finish the album.

interesting

It was aite, not super my style

Not great

It's always strange to me that I enjoy the Velvet Underground so much but have not spent much time diving into their different albums. This one is a bit tough for me to rate. I love the title track and Here She Comes Now. The Gift and Lady Godiva's Operation drag on a bit for me. It's strange how sometimes the lofi quality of the recording really seems to work for the band, while other times it really seems to hurt the quality of the music. Regardless, when Lou Reed brings the energy, he can make a track all by himself. Sister Ray makes this album, which makes sense as it is nearly half of the running time by itself. Ultimately a difficult album to rate because of its inconsistencies, but the innovative aspects of this album outweigh the negatives 4/5

pretty fucking horrible

Ik vind dit geen chille muziek. Beetje te druk en niet mijn smaak. Nummers I Heard Her Call My Name en Sister Ray doen pijn aan mijn oren.

Not amazing.

Not sure why I never heard this before. It sounds awful but at the same time sounds amazing. Weird.

These boys either need to get laid or take a break from fucking. I can't tell which.

Better than the last VU album but not by much. Not my thing I’m afraid

Just bad

this album kinda OWNAGE maybe??????????????????????????????? fucking weird ass lo-fi sloppy as hell noise rock, especially for 1968. the last track is especially insane. like weird improvisational bullshit wasnt unprecedented (Jazz Music) but im pretty sure this is one of the first times a rock album sounded like this ? the hard panning on The Gift is annoying at first but i think it fits the songs fucked up vibe. honestly this album as a whole just has a super fucky vibe, feels completely out of touch with reality at times. majorly respect this for proceeding all the fucked up lofi nonsense i love 9/10

A lower tier VU album, more noise than melody

VU at its best

Garbage

Made me grinds my teeths together. Definetly did not like it.

I go here to escape the Velvet Underground and they follow me.