The Velvet Underground

You would think The Velvet Underground were the second coming of Jesus or something with the way people hype them up, but the reality is they actually had little commercial success during their time. Honestly, I can see why. This is just your average underground rock album from the '60s. There is some interesting instrumentation and are an interesting enough mixture of rock and avant garde things, but it's very middle of the road to me. I wonder if the "myth" of the band is greater than the sum of its parts. The standout song is "Candy Says" which was actually surprisingly progressive and sensitive for its time. Excellent song. Other than that, meh.

The Velvet Underground albums with black covers are better than the Velvet Underground records with white covers. …and this is the best one.

However flawed he may be, I am a Lou Reed fan. This is the first VU album after John Cale left the band so the experimental weirdness that came from him and Reed together is lacking here. This makes for a more widely palatable VU sound, which is not a bad thing. I love this album! There are lots of standouts for me, the biggest being "Pale Blue Eyes," which is one of my favorite love songs/songs in general. I think this record is also a testament to albums as a cohesive piece of art as opposed to a handful of singles and supporting tracks. The pacing is fantastic. It goes from serene to rollicking and back again throughout, which creates this wonderful feeling of tension and release. This is especially apparent as the wacky, intense "The Murder Mystery" plays into the cute little ditty "After Hours." I also love that track as a closer because it feels like I'm being tucked in and sung to sleep as a night of partying, and the album, concludes. A classic.

This album is boring and is not interesting. I don't know why this album has 4.10 on rym

I really liked this. Actually, reflecting on it, I really, really liked it. Every song had something that caught my ear by way of darkness, tenderness, beauty, despair - usually all of the above in some transfixing you constellation. Then came the one-two of Murder Mystery and After Hours, which really sealed the deal. Murder Mystery staggered me - so many of the (emo) songs of my youth lifted wholesale the double-voices murmuring gnomic, dark lyrics - it was truly surprising to hear this approach on a record 45 years older than those songs. Then After Hours acts as a gorgeous counterpoint to all that fevered intensity, and sealed the deal - the deal being that I really, really liked this.

Mellow, bland, dull, boring. I guess I'm just not hearing what everyone else is hearing. But reading the reviews, and the book entry, I still haven't found anyone who was able to articulate exactly what makes this essential listening. One confused shoulder shrug. 🤷‍♂️

During a heroin zonk-out on their previous album, Lou says, “and I know that I just don’t know”. He probably says it a few times. Heroin is like that. Here, considerably less heroin’d, and aided by melodies and vocals so affectless they’re almost childlike (just joking—you ever heard a kid make music? it’s shit) he shows us in exquisite detail just how much he doesn’t know. “What do you think I'd see if I could walk away from me?" “Between thought and expression, lies a lifetime.” “Here comes two of you. Which one will you choose?” “That's the difference between wrong and right. But Billy said, ‘Both those words are dead.’” They’re the questions, thoughts and feelings the great unwashed have every day. They just can’t put them in such a way that they retain their allusive, liminal quality, yet feel entirely accessible. Happily, Lou shows us he can brain-fart, too. The whole of Murder Mystery, for example, or the one where he says, “I wore my teeth in my hands, so I could mess the hair of the night.” Sure you did, pal. Elsewhere, After Hours may be the most unassumingly beautiful song ever recorded.

Interesting but can’t get me excited.

This is terrible. Lou Reed has just never clicked for me. This does nothing to change that. It’s just boring, meandering, and pointless.

I’ve heard this album a lot over the years, but I’m really enjoying it more now today for some reason. It’s nicely cohesive for a VU album, and far more musically accessible. The absence of John Cale gave the band an opportunity to be a little more restrained, moving into fresh territory while still retaining some of their trademark grit. The album also feels like more of an all-band affair, and frankly just sounds like they’re just having fun. The lyrics are more contemplative and emotionally earnest, with less of the cool cynicism you might expect from VU. The band really nailed a certain moody, melancholy vibe, one that other artists have been chasing unsuccessfully ever since. I really like the collaborative aspect of the vocals that the band took this time around. Lou Reed had a strong pop sensibility, which I don’t think a lot of people give him credit for. He didn’t want to do the vocal on every song, and the other band members were brought in to do lead or harmony depending on who he felt was most effective for each song. Doug Yule probably doesn’t get enough acknowledgement for the quality of his vocals, but his work on “Candy Says” is really lovely. Also, Moe Tucker on “After Hours” at the end is such a bright blossom of a song. When the band ventures into more energetic fare, the commingling guitars of Reed and Sterling Morrison are riveting, the sonic equivalent of a sneer. I tend to favor tensely melancholy songs like “Candy Says” and “I’m Set Free,” but the punchier little rockers like “What Goes On” and “Beginning to See the Light” are great fun, full of the old VU jangle and burn. “The Murder Mystery” is some kind of wackadoo madness that you’re only going to find on a VU album. It’s noisy and outlandish and so very 1969, but weirdly fascinating. The album would have been better without it, but you just know they couldn’t help themselves. And I can’t help but love them more for it. Fave Songs (all songs, in order from most to least favorite): What Goes On, Candy Says, Pale Blue Eyes, Beginning to See the Light, I’m Set Free, Jesus, Some Kinda Love, After Hours, That’s the Story of My Life, The Murder Mystery

'The Murder Mystery' is easily the best and craziest song on this album. Two verses at the same time by different people hard-panned to each channel, with strong instrumental backing. 8/10, want more like this song, but the banana album is better overall.

Fell asleep briefly in the middle of the day listening to this. When I awoke it was to a cacophony of babbling. Then Mo Tucker sang a song. Most unsatisfying.

What the fuck is this? It's fucking brilliant that's what it is. Why have I never heard this. That's on me really.

More late 60s, hooray. Lou Reed sucks, his band sucks too. 2/5.

Three albums from 1969 so far this week. Great year, and this is probably the best of them. Timeless, influential and so listenable.

Songs were a little hit or miss but overall a nice chill album that felt relaxing and easy to get through

Quite liked about half of this, although largely fairly forgettable. A few songs bored me a bit. Might benefit from a deeper understanding of the band/context. Not really what I expected from TVU. Much more folky (almost country?) than I imagined. Quite like the sad/relaxed vibe to some of the songs. REALLY like After Hours - probably the only song I'd return to. Faves: After Hours Pale Blue Eyes Least faves: Jesus I'm Set Free Track-by-track: 1) Candy Says - Striking lyrical start. Chilled. Sad. Like it. 2) What Goes On - more upbeat. Jangley! Like it a lot. Good organ. 3) Some Kinda Love - yee ha - country. Less keen. 4) Pale bule eyes - pleasant. Relaxing. Not sure its supposed to be. Sad vibe. Like it. 5) Jesus - bit dull 6) Beginning to See the Light - like the harmonies bits. Bit Bob Dylan otherwise. Meh. 7) I'm Set Free - nah, not keen on this. Dull and also a bit irritating. Folky at the end. 8) That's the Story of My Life - Jaunty. Fun. Nice little interlude after a bit of a drudge. 9) The Murder Mystery - System of a Down! Organ! Weird vocals. Some spooky and some talking. A bit odd. Don't mind it, but doubt I'll listen again. Liking it less the longer it goes on (which is long). 10) After Hours - Nice. What does this remind me of? Mr Rodgers? Really like the happy tune and sad lyrics. Soudns like Mouldy Peaches. Which is a good thing. Maybe my fave on the album (sorry Lou).

The Velvet Underground should stay buried. Sounds like the soundtrack to some bad romcom movie. I couldn't sleep at all lest night but this album almost cured my insomnia.

8/10

I was majorly into The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed circa 18 years old. Even spent what was probably an entire paycheck to buy the Peel Slowly and See boxset. I remember having a crush on a girl I worked with at the grocery store and lending her this cassette. I don't think she was that impressed. Looking back I'm wondering if I truly was that into The Velvet Underground or whether I was just being pretentious. Probably both. But listening to this for the first time in maybe 30 years I knew every word except for the long song where they just talk into both sides of the mix. Jesus is still a standout on all levels and I'm not sure why that song is not talked about more in the Velvet Underground canon. Also justice for Doug Yule, that guy was doing some heavy lifting here. Rounding up for nostalgia.

Phew I was worried yesterday's gem was a happy blip on an otherwise trashcan radar. If yesterday's album got me imagining ripping a giant bong and sinking into a couch while jerking it to Zooey Deschanel, this album makes me imagine dressing in all black, injecting just the tiniest amount of heroin, and squeezing lemons on Nico's cheek bones. I don't know if I've ever fallen in love with a voice quite as hard as Moe Tucker's in "After Hours". She was also their drummer—Matt, maybe this is an opportunity for you to lilt a tune while drumming during our next jam. Who knows what bulges will emerge. It's hard to not feel cooool, maaaan, while vibing to the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed will swallow you whole and shit you out into Andy Warhol's Factory.

Listening to The Murder Mystery while at Atlanta International Airport has to be one of the most surreal experiences with music I've ever had! Overall, the vocalist balances traits of both anxiety and tranquility efficiently.

I don't care for Lou Reed's voice and I think The Velvet Underground are largely overrated. But this album wasn't too bad. It was cruising for a high 3 star rating but then it ended on a shitty note with the bizarre (and not in a good way) "The Murder Mystery." Left a yucky taste, so I grant this album a begrudging 3 stars rather than a curious and optimistic 3 stars.

A real joy to hear this album for the first time. I had the sensation that I already knew both "I'm Beginning To See The Light" and "Pale Blue Eyes", but I think I only knew them by reputation - since they are part of the template of what became indie rock. There's no Belle and Sebastian without this band. Interesting how even the titles predate the Smiths ("that's the story of my life") and echo the Beatles ("what goes on in your mind?"). In a sense it's a rejection of the motoric experimentation of first couple of albums in favour of the poppier sensibilities of "Loaded". Having lost John Cale they were freer to go for a more commercial angle. And "What Goes On" is a light funk groove - you could imagine this would fit on the radio in 1969. Experimentation isn't totally suppressed, however - "The Murder Mystery" is a sprawling collage of hypnotic doors-y organ mantras, stereophonic spoken word paranoia, proto-Reichian minimalism, and smashed piano fists. The mood shifts finally in the cutesy closer "After Hours" featuring Moe Tucker's naif-jazz vocal, and order is restored. Maybe it's not as packed with classics as Loaded, but still great.

Whew. I'm really in a pickle on this one. VU is incredibly influential and this (more) mainstream album is a great example of why. Their downstream effects are so clearly visible on this. The last track "After Hours", for example, could be found on any current indie band's tracklist and you'd just assume it was an original by them. Nope. Lou Reed beat them to it.. 40+ years ago. I'm stuck between a '4' and a '5' mainly because of their experimental, "The Murder Mystery" which this list/project has taught me (and this song reinforced) I don't have much patience for -- especially at an almost 9 min runtime. To balance out my feelings on them, as a whole -- and knowing we haven't been given their first album with Nico on it yet -- I think this one will get the (5/5) mainly because I don't believe that some of Nico's tracks will stand the test of time for me. I listened through a lot of their stuff in HS and college and even then I had limited patience for her razor sharp (not in a good way) voice.. Her absence and the more mainstream aesthetic elevates this for me.

Amazing always a banger

I know it like the back of my fist... perhaps the best album VU ever released (which is quite a feat considering the albums before this one.) I find this album so clever because the 'gimmick' is that there was no gimmick. The first two albums, which are both masterpieces in their own right and have great songwriting to back them up, have the smoke and mirrors of Andy Warhol allure clouding them. If not that, then it's the noise: both of their first two records can be harsh, even by the modern standards of what rock and roll dips into. If you were cool enough to know who The Velvet Underground were, you were probably buying it expecting to have your ear drums ruptured. So imagine the high (or the lack thereof) that would come from dropping the needle on this album and hearing "Candy Says", an unflinching song about gender dysphoria and self doubt. If they were blowing up amplifiers at any point on this album, the music would suffer. The pain leaks in through the restraint, and the genius comes somewhere after.

This album works whatever my mood. Sometimes I feel so happy, sometimes I feel so sad...When I'm up it feels bouncy and celebratory, when I feel more introspective it still feels in tune. That's before we get into the fact that this band made - to this point - three absolute classic albums, all of which are so different from each other. Beginning To See The Light and What Goes On will always make me smile. One of the best.

Heck yeah this album is brilliant. There are no bites of the commercial apple taken on this and I'm glad for it. Mellow and lo-fi, I'll be adding this to the rotation. Just exactly perfect for a Friday morning. I think Kirk Hammett said it best, "when Lou Reed says he wants to make an album with you, you say yes." 5 stars all day, everyday, in my book.

Candy Says and Pale Blue Eyes have been some of the most important songs in my life since I was a teenager. The blend of calm and melancholy have been a source of much comfort in many different times, and also a source of enhanced wallowing when I could not wallow to proper depths unaided. I have heard What Goes On described as "a big swingin dick of a song", and crass as it may be, I cannot disagree. The Murder Mystery is probably the only song I'm not as in to, but hey, who am I to tell the Velvet Underground what to do. After Hours is such a great contrast to the rest of the album. I really wish she hadn't gone off the Right-Wing deep end. Album cover: (B) Its good but its no banana.

10/10 The Velvet Underground’s first 3 album run is possibly the greatest album run in Rock history, first by cementing an Art Rock classic in 1967, the most grotesque and Avant-Garde Noise Rock masterpiece in 1968, and with this, one of the most beautiful and lovely Pop albums of the 20th century. If you at all loved the lovely’s tunes on their first album, you are presented with an albums worth of wonderfully written and delightful melodies and tear jerking lyrics, a complete whiplash that displays the versatility and range of Lou Reed and company. I love gay people and Jesus!

Hard to believe how early this music was. So ahead of its time.

Masterpiece! Wondering if song - the murder mystery was taken as an inspiration for chop suey. Tried googling it, didn't find any info saying it was, but I'll live my life further believing that it's true. Overall I really think this album is a piece of precious art and should forever be cherished!!! Listened to the 45th anniversary deluxe edition, really appriciated the live versions of their songs from other albums, very nice. What can I say, I really like the velvet underground.

I want to start this review with the one complaint that I have about it. I did not enjoy listening to "The Murder Mystery." I have... respect for the song, but it just give me too much of a sensory overload that I feel like if I ever listened to this album again, I would probably skip this song. But would I ever listen to this album again? Yeah, probably. Aside from the one skippable song, this is basically a perfect album. Going back to when I listened to Lou Reed's "Transformer" a while back, my one complaint with that album was that I didn't like Reed's singing. Fortunately, his singing in this album is a million times better. The singing from the other members is great too. The songs have interesting writing that makes you really think about these songs. The instrumentation and tone are expertly crafted as well. Overall, this is a (mostly) phenomenal album, and I'm willing to excuse the one song that freaks my brain out and give this album a 5/5.

The machine has started the week kindly. I won't try to write something new about a record that's been dissected, scrutinised, extolled and rolled between many a sticky hand. My experience of listening to this today was marred by some randomizer I couldn't switch off in the car that kept jumbling the record, usually to play 'After Hours', one of the two songs on this record that I find a little irritating - the other is 'Murder Mystery' - though I'm glad they exist. The randomizer also threw 'Foggy Notion' at me, which is not on the record, but should have been, and is one of my favourite rockers in their repertoire, so irritated me in a different way. So I'm knocking one star off their six as punishment.

Love all of this ("The Murder Mystery" included), probably the VU album I listen to most (sorry, John and/or Mark). I could play "What Goes On" on repeat ad infinitum, love that proto-Motorik drone groove (see also "Foggy Notion" elsewhere). Just so good

Mellow and reflective with the aggression dialled down from their other efforts. A sobering soundtrack for that inevitable moment when all tomorrow’s parties turn to morning-after, makeup-smeared, self-loathing introspection.

This is nowhere near as experimental or influential as the banana album (like even "The Murder Mystery" is tame compared to "Heroin" or "European Son"), but it still has some extremely good songs on here! My personal favorites are probably "What Goes On" and "I'm Set Free". This is a mid 4

The Velvet Underground has been a great discovery from this project for me. I was familiar with Lou Reed because of his collaboration with Metallica, but I had never taken the time to go back and explore VU’s music. The first album we had “White Light/White Heat” was a bolt of lightning with how ahead of its time it sounded. This one is more accessible, full of straight rock and roll traditions, but still seemed to predict and influence for years. The stretch of songs from “What Goes On” to “Beginning to See the Light” was beautiful and melodic. The rest of the album is good but didn’t reach a full 5 for me. Still, I’ve already added a few of these tracks to some playlists so I’ll be sure to return to it. 4/5

more cozy music! much calmer then their debut, so i glom on to it faster. 92/100

Candy says is such a beautiful song

Feels like a bridge between the more experimental early VU and the later Loaded era. After hours feels like it was written yesterday.

This album is very cozy and enjoyable. Liked songs: Candy Says, What Goes On, I'm Set Free, The Murder Mystery Favourite songs: Pale Blue Eyes & After Hours

Solid jams! 4/5 just reminds me of oldies

Overall, I did like this album. No songs really stood out to me, but it was a good vibe all the way through. Some of the lyrics were really nice and I liked the sound.

Overall, I enjoyed it but some songs were still a bit trippy for me.

More mellow than I was expecting which was a good thing. Interesting, I'll have to revisit sometime.

Really good. One's always thought VU to have got overrated after years of being underrated. Their massive influence is legit of course, as is quite hearable here, easily their best record because the least pretentious and most earnest. Understatement worked well for them, particularly LR. "Pale Blue Eyes," "Some Kinda Love" and "After Hours" are all great, and other cuts are interesting, and the whole thing feels like a nicely integrated whole, and a product of them not trying too hard. Aside: It's weird to do an eponymous title on a third record, especially given the "w/ Nico"the debut.

I had never listened to this one from the Velvet Underground. This is a really good record, somewhere between the sneer and agression of their first one and the sunny disenchantment in Loaded. Though John Cale has left at this point and been replaced by Doug Yule, the tension and dissonance he was bringing to the whole is still haunting some of the songs, like with the organ in What goes on. Lou Reed is maturing as a writer really in his own league, but this feels like a transition: where the tension between Cale and Reed was driving the early Velvets' music, the center is visibly moving on this one. Love the doo-wop accents on Candy Says, a nice wink from Lou Reed to the music he grew up listening to in the 50s. And the nod to early R'n'roll on Beginning to see the light. And I love the closing song, with Moe Tucker singing, bringing to the foreground the child-like innocence and simplicity that drives most of their music, even at its most furious. Though it does not reach me as viscerally as their first record, this album is a great listen, with some amazing moments: Candy Says and Pale Blue Eyes are easily among the best songs Lou Reed has written. There is a kind of purity that he reaches at these peak moments. These songs feel like quiet creeks that invite reflection (the mirror is a theme in the Velvets music that reappears here and there here): moments of peace in the chaos. I don't know many bands who can capture this sense that beauty and chaos are merged at the hip, that there cannot be one without the other. The beautiful, the quiet, the still carries the memories of the grit and the filth it emerges from. And the oceans of noise carry the seeds of grace. It is playful and dark, graceful and filthy, honest and sarcastic, full of paradoxes. Just like life, and just like humans.

Surprisingly gentle and charming. This had a lot of sweetness to it backed by strong songwriting. And while we lost John Cale and subsequently a lot of the bite that I loved in the debut, we also got rid of Nico. So, you know, trade offs.

Aside from the iffy experiment "Murder Mystery", this album is tight from top to bottom and shows a lot of craft. Reed's vocals and lyrics are their characteristic mix of enthusiasm and apathy and ruminate on love and morality.

I really enjoyed this one. The songwriting is intriguingly subtle (especially for The Velvet Underground), the performances have an enchanting energy, and the production is appropriately raw. "What Goes On," "Pale Blue Eyes," and "Beginning to See the Light" are absolutely fantastic examples of alternative songwriting. It's a power album for The Velvets where they flex and show their depth. My guess is that most detractors get stuck at "Murder Mystery" which is admittedly extremely avant garde. But it's not enough to tank the whole album and, if you take the time to dig into what's being said, it's actually a really great piece of poetry about existential identity confusion brought on by an onslaught of popular culture. It's often considered to be a great example of the power of modern poetry.

Why have I never listened to this album in full. Simply outstanding from music to lyrics to overall vibe. Going in the keeper pile.

'Down for you is up' is maybe my favourite lyrics of all time not because it is difficult or clever but it's performed with such beautiful simplicity that I want to die a little bit every time I hear it. Does anyone else think I look a little like Lou Reed on this album cover? Just similar energy. He's got good posture though.

This list has definitely made me a Velvet Underground fan. I love this stuff. Nothing really sounds like them, even in the decades since, everything they do is interesting because it's unique. If nothing else good comes from the 1001 albums, opening my eyes to these guys will be worth the time spent. I feel so at home with this music.

I think this album is really gorgeous. It's deceptively simple, but the chord structure is nearly always flawless. Reminds me of a bit grittier version of the Beatles. Banana album will always be my favorite, but this rocked.

Never been a huge VU fan because my only point of entry was Lou Reed's solo stuff, and my one coworker who only played their live stuff. I like this quite a bit. "The Murder Mystery" is an absolute mess, but I really enjoyed the rest of it. Lackadaisical, subdued, easy listening. Favorite tracks: "Candy Says", "What Goes On", "Beginning to See the Light"

Go stundtals, lite för utsvävande ibland

They are pretty boring without Nico and JJ Cale. Pale Nlue Eyes and I'm Beginning to See The Light standout.

I like weird. I like experimental. But I also like good songs. And “musical” sounds. The album has its moments (“Pale Blue Eyes” and, oddly, “After Hours,” e.g.), sure, but it’s mostly more weird than musical.

Favourite Track: After Hours

I don't know exactly what this means, but... at some point in the early 00s, I bought the self-titled Velvet Underground album, then an quiet part of their canon, overshadowed by the influential debut and White Light/White Heat, which included songs covered by Bowie and Nirvana. Of course, over time, I decided it was my favourite record of theirs. It was a bit of a surprise, as I always reckoned John Cale was the best part of the first two albums. But, truly, not so much of a surprise: why accept the received wisdom when you can peacock your contrarian opinions? In the years that followed, the self-titled album would be reclaimed, reassessed, and revised, steadily climbing historical charts and receiving mention in all the right places. A decision I had come to by myself was apparently the same one everyone - or everyone cool, at least - had come to. We've seen something similar, although much grander and harder to fathom, happen with Abbey Road, where footnote has become mountain head. Perhaps there is such a thing as culture after all. Perhaps there is something in the water (I heard it might be full of estrogen). Regardless, I can't trust my feeling on the self-titled album now. Which is a shame, because it is a lovely record. If the Velvets' small catalogue is one of reduction - remove Nico and Warhol; remove Cale; remove the cutting edge; remove Reed and try to make it with Doug Yule; gone - S/T sits in an interesting spot. Who was the transgressive element in the band and what was the form of that transgression? Are the hushed tones of the album an inevitable result of losing Cale, the noisemaker, or a deliberate retort? To me, the strangely intimate rock band sound is just as sensory and disorienting as the La Monte Young drones that Cale introduced. Everything is miked so closely that it feels like ASMR, there is a faint distortion on everything because everything is too near to everything else. The lyrics, then, feel more like inner monologues amplified, a breach of privacy that discloses self-hatred and desperate prayers. Even the guitars, which play together beautifully in stereo, hover around the same band of sonic space, playing the same undemonstrative licks, a drone in execution if not nature. Not exactly the highlight of the album, but an exemplar of all this, is The Murder Mystery, which is how I fear God experiences his people: too many voices all at once. It is a more contrived experiment than any Cale put into operation, but it is exactly right for an album that - consciously or unconsciously - is obsessed with proximity and the sacred. Probably not the best Velvets album then, but a great collection of songs with a strange, loveable character. 3.5 I said somewhere else that I thought Pop music was record-making first and songwriting second. Here’s another album, taken in context, that proves that to me. The first two Velvet Underground albums are great records and while there is really no drop in the standard of songwriting - there are some crackers here - the third album isn’t a great record in my opinion. The speakers miss John Cale, simple as that. The hole might be less about the loss of general ‚wacky‘ ideas than about the absence of textures - particularly harsh trebles. Everything - even that familiar choppy guitar in the left speaker - is softened, like it’s wrapped in cotton wool. Supposedly Lou Reed wanted this album to be more of a commercial gambit than the previous two. It’s very hard to understand how this collection relates to that ambition. The general sense is not of keen, fresh-faced courting of an audience’s approval but of a band that is done with ambition and now just wants to hang out in the studio and make something nice. I find it hard to escape the temptation of comparing this album is the introspective bits of The Beatles‘ White Album. ‘Candy Says‘ subdued guitars and whispery vocals recalls ‘Julia’. The sleepy sweetness of ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ and Jesus‘ makes me think of ‘Long, Long, Long’. There is facetious old timey-ness in ‘After Hours’ as there is in ‘Honey Pie’. The only track that lifts the sleepy, bassy veil is The Murder Mystery - with the twin spoken tracks buzzing around your ears like an annoying fly. But even that track does not really seem to me to constitute any kind of proper challenge to the listener - in the way that Revolution 9 or Sister Ray does. Those tracks know the audience is there and want to shock it; The Murder Mystery is merely selfishly introspective. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it ruins the album - in fact it might represent the spirit of the album as well as all the other tracks put together - but it isn’t any good at the same time. A lot of this album is ‘good’. Lou Reed’s lyrics are funny and striking and sad and memorable. The melodies are strong. It’s an easy collection of songs to admire - but not an engaging listen, and so a difficult record to love. If John Cale had dressed these songs though... I think that would have been something special. 2.5/5

i love them but a lot of the songs sounded like they didn't have energy in them

Baš jako puno dosadnog mediokriteta na projektu, šteta. Još veća šteta je što mi moj OCD ne dopušta da odustanem kad sam već toliko daleko stigla. Eh... 2/5, 3/10

zzzzzzzzzzzz

I don't see how this album got so many good reviews. It's fine to listen to, but maybe I just dislike Lou Reed's style. I can't get along with any of these albums. They're just boring. Especially for 1969. This album sounds like it could've been released 10 years earlier and would be right about right.

I get it, you have to know the roots - but the first song was booooooring! The second song is way better! Why do you have to start an album with such a boring tune? The third number is strange, but not in a good way. All in all: I'm too young for this music. And I'm born in 1971.

Kinda boring ngl

I'm not so sure about this one. Every song sounds pretty much the same.

Achingly trendy. Just not worth a lot of time spent. Known for the album cover more than the songs of which only a couple pass muster. A critics band or someone who hates music

Honestly don't really get what all the hype is about

Slow, Melancholy, forgettable, unremarkable, and boring at times I dont think I'll revisit the whole album often, if ever, but Candy Says is a beautiful song I liked. I really disliked The Murder Mystery. Overall I give the album a shrug.

Some laid back folk/pop rock. Not what I expected from The Velvet Underground as this was my first time listening to them, but it was ok. Hard to believe this is 1969 as it sounds pretty fresh to this day - smooth, laid back clear production and vocals. However, there’s nothing here that sticks out to me and I’ll likely never revisit. It’s fine to have on in the background while I’m doing something else.

I don't care for this album at all, but I just want to shout out the final song - After Hours - which is amazing and was doing the modern indie bedroom pop thing 4 decades before that became common. I'm glad I had the opportunity to listen to this album for that song alone.

# Playlist track - After Hours # Notes - Not particularly interesting. - Found "Murder Mystery" to be way too gimmicky and the rest of the album to meander between "oh, that's really nice" and "can't this track just end already?"

Much, MUCH more palpable than "The Velvet Underground & Nico" which was my first forced exposure to this over-loved band. I actually didn't hate the entire album this time which is a huge improvement. Dare I say that this album was actually.. Good. Standout songs that I would not push back against if someone played them: "Candy Says", "What Goes On", "Pale Blue Eyes", and "After Hours" The song "Murder Mystery" can fuck all the way off. What a deeply inserted thorny rod Lou used when writing that song. Just when I was starting to enjoy the album, The Velvet Underground had to remind me why I fucking hate them. What a pretentious counter-culture gorefest of a song. I bet all the self-proclaimed "critics" think this is some kind of revelatory breakthrough that symbolizes a mental health crisis in song form. Into the toilet with my digested tuna sandwich it goes. 1/10, an otherwise decent album ruined by a 9 minute dive into Lou's heroin-stained gray matter.

in the beginning i thought "meh, this is boring". it quickly became clear that actually, it's worse than boring, it actually gets on my nerves very fast. i'm sure it's important and influential and whatever but it's a very hard no from me

I just hate this. I hate this band and their lazy boring sound and their poor singing and everything.

Abysmal, barely a single coherent thought in the whole shebang. Absolutely rubbish, but still better than the Nico album! 0.00000001 🌟

Super boring. One long section of chord vamping made it sound like the mixer forgot to layer in the guitar solo. Least interesting 60's album thus far.

There's more to say about this than I've had time to write. Review TBC

yes i love this one

a classic, "candy says" is one of my favs

Top 10, top 15 albums all time

One of the top top albums

My least favorite of their albums, unless you count Squeeze, which no one does, but this is still a 5. The opening to What Goes On was my ringtone for years and it still makes me jump whenever it comes on.

can’t believe this came out in 1969

The Heroin to Jesus pipeline is crazy

215. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969) 9.24.26 Variety: 4 Adequacy: 5 Listenability: 5 Uniqueness: 5 Emotionality: 5 = 4.8 rounded up to a 5 We've only had one Velvet Underground so far - White Light/ White Heat, which I liked quite a bit, but which is not my favorite. This one I've only listened to a couple of times, but I remember it being much more my speed, and being a much more lowkey affair. I'm pretty surprised Loaded did not appear on the list given its reassessment of the last few decades, but understandable I guess given the space requirements. I mean, it's not like there are way more underserving acts that have more albums than that, right ( seriously? four Morrissey albums?). The band was more or less falling apart by that point I guess. This is the first one without John Cale, who provided quite a bit of the avant-garde vibes ( though reed is no slouch in that department) and the first with Doug Yale, who seems like the Cousin Oliver of the band ( to make a really dated reference) and who would eventually be the last man standing for the forgettable and forgotten last album, which uses the name, but lacks any of the original band members. I don't know much about the man other than he provides some great vocals for a coupe of my favorite tracks off of Loaded, so I can't confidently lay any of the blame at the man's feet. Assuming maybe everyone just got bored, or tired of Reed's supposed epic bullshittery. Anyways, I'm sure this one will hit a lot of sweet spots for me as it's chock full of Lou reed's softer side, and I've got the sweet tooth. It'll also be curious to try and chart the influences from this one. I know of at least one subgenre that is heavily indebted to one track in particular. Though I would argue there are swaths of bands from the late 80s on through the 2010s who owe their whole vibe and sound to INIDIVIDIAL tracks off of this album, so it's surprising that I don't see it mentioned nearly as much as their debut when it comes to influence. I guess getting there first matters some. THE TRACKS Side one "Candy Says" - We start off on a good foot with one of the band's prettiest numbers ( they have a LOT ). Gentle and beautiful and touchingly biographical. Reed is one of those rare talents in the rock world who can alternate between nonsense and literate, with stops in between that are funny, menacing, sleezy, charming, cute, and most of all empathetic. Who else in the world was writing about gender dysphoria in 1968? He's up there with Dylan in that respect for me, and above someone like Cohen who doesn't seem to have much of a sense of humor, being the ironic. Yule does a great job on vocals here, even though it's weird realizing that this is not Reed, like I thought when I originally listened to it. And I still think they have very similar voices, at least when Reed goes into his sweeter mode. By the way, there's a full album made up almost entirely of unreleased songs ( some would eventually come out n a changed form on some Reed solo albums) from a session just after this one that is well worth your time if you liked this stuff, and which was not released until 1985 called VU. Of particular note is the below song which I think is one of their best ( and which Reed does sing on)and would have been a great addition to this album: * "Stephanie Says": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4tS67TDo6Y&list=PLxQpHEbxKcsic66eIYUVHFQfKhORxMBsO&index=3 "What Goes On" - We get Reed's generic "rock" voice on this one, with some awesome driving, droning instrumentation underneath from the rhythm section, and some nice crunchy, feedback goodness from Sterling Morrison's guitar. There's an organ in the background here as well ( uncredited as far as I can tell), which add some real earthy undertones to things. This is an absolute jam, and I would happily listen to a 10 minute cut. "Some Kinda Love" - A little less rocking, but still a headnodder and wonderful piece of drone rock. They already would have had their minds blown by the debut, but all those early Krautrock bands' ears would have definitely perked up at the repetitive beats on display here. Another one that was over far too soon for me. "Pale Blue Eyes" - One of their best. And belongs up there in the all-timers club. Reed has several of these under his belt, and this is one of the prettiest, and most sadly romantic songs I can think of off the top of my head. There's a level of sincerity here that I think can't be overstated, as Reed I think is often viewed in light of his later grump persona, and one could very well think he was being ironic in so many of these. But I think he's genuinely putting real emotion into songs like this, and his delivery is built for it. Much as I love their other stuff, the drone rock, the doo-wop, the weirdo stuff - it's the gentle, emotionally vulnerable stuff that I love most of all. I also think this is another prime candidate for a funeral. memorial service and would have a good portion of the attendees in tears. By the time this list is done, I'll have a good funeral playlist, as we've had some good ones so far. In no particular order, so far we have, the below, so this song is in good company: "In My Life" by the Beatles "Blackbird" by the Beatles "People Get Ready" by Aretha Franklin "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" by Pink Floyd "Brokedown Palace" by the Grateful Dead "The Big Ship" by Brian Eno "Jesus" - This is one I had completely forgotten about, and which is a lot more modern sounding than I remembered. The slightly off kilter harmonies, the warm and pretty ringing single note guitar bits all remind me of something that Yo La Tengo would do ( I checked and could not find them covering this, but they did cover another song - see below:). There's a pretty good Glen Campbell cover though which is a lot brighter, and has country overtones of course. This is very pretty stuff, and a song that I think probably gets left off a lot of playlists, which is unfortunate. Glen Campbell cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pswsY37a1iA&list=RDpswsY37a1iA&start_radio=1 Side two "Beginning to See the Light" - Side two opens with something that I think most people would find much more in the pocket of what they imagine a Velvet Underground song is. It's a solid, bouncy drone rock number that suffers a bit from some muddy production that might be on purpose as things seem to clear up during the refrains? Not sure, either way this is fine stuff if not to the level of amazing. There's a little bit of a messier sounding kind of Byrds-ish harmony going on that I really dig. "I'm Set Free" - Much more my speed with a strong vocal melody, and some real energy. This is another one I think would sound not out of place at all if found on say, a Beat Happening pr Magnetic Fields, ooooor... perhaps a Yo La Tengo album some 25 years later or more, with just slight changes to the production. I can even hear some Pavement in this. When the dream pop Santo and Johnny guitar comes it, I'm completely sold. This could very well be my favorite track on the album. Stone cold classic that deserves to be better known. Yo La Tengo cover: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VygmZachvM8&list=RDVygmZachvM8&start_radio=1 "That's the Story of My Life" - This one gallops along at a a nice clip and has an almost country-rock feel to it. I could easily imagine this one popping up on a Grateful Dead album. Short and sweet. "The Murder Mystery" - Man, I'm torn on this one. The guitar and drums that open this sound modern as hell, and could have come off any number of cool ass indie rock albums TODAY. It keeps getting repeated, and works underneath the voices when they come in and balance it really well. When Tucker's charmingly off kilter singing comes in with the male vocals ( not sure who it is as everyone is credited) the song kicks into high gear and as much as I hate this sort of thing normally, the fact that all the voices are overlapped and more or less unintelligible works without grating on me at all. There's even a rad, Doors-ish psychedelic organ line that weaves in and around like some big snake that's trying to hypnotize you. This should not work for me, but it 100% does. I even enjoyed the protracted piano loop/ poetry slam. "After Hours" - This track is SOOOOO good. This is like Twee ground zero, and I guarantee it you can hop on Youtube right now and find a zillion ukulele cover versions from women wearing weird hats. And I love that. This has a very vaudeville feel to it, and sits well alongside stuff like "He Needs Me" that Shelly Duvall performs as Olive Oyl in the 80s Popeye movie. Penned by Harry Nilsson, who did no small amount of lifting to influence the genre. This song makes me want to listen to a bunch of that stuff. As good as "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Candy Says" are, push come to shove this might be the track I'd save from a burning house. Maybe I'll make a playlist and include some Paul McCartney stuff as well. But this one is infectiously catchy and Moe Tucker kills it with the almost naive, cute as hell persona she puts on here. * Cover version by the White Stripes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKeFLZYzYok * "I'm Sticking With You": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PreKtsgoUM&list=RD1PreKtsgoUM&start_radio=1 HIGHLIGHTS - "Candy Says" - "What Goes On" - "What Goes On" - "Pale Blue Eyes" - "Jesus" - "I'm Set Free" - "That's the Story of My Life" - "The Murder Mystery" - "After Hours" MIDLIGHTS - "Beginning to See the Light" LOWLIGHTS - FINAL THOUGHTS If you just swapped out Reed's super distinctive vocals on these songs, and replaced them with any respectable indie rock dude from today and released this again - I strongly doubt anyone not in the know about the original would bat an eye. That's how enduringly evergreen these tracks are. Its been many many years since I've listened to this whole thing in one go, but it's very apparent that it should be heralded as possibly JUST as influential as the original. Though the range of influences is a much narrower band, I think the soft, naive, and heavily melodic weirdo pop featured on here has maybe had more of an impact on the last couple of decades worth of music than the debut's overall influence on alternative rock in general. There's a lot less experimentation on this, though it's not completely gone, and where it does exist, it's very well integrated to the overarching subdued, and pretty sound. Even at its weirdest - "The Murder Mystery" - there's still a very solid base of melody and carefully attuned poppiness that comes through. This album is gentle and flowing, and full of an eagerness to show you a good time, where the debut is arrestingly off book, and ties you in with its melodies DESPITE every impulse telling you this is somehow wrong, or not what music should be, all the way down to the untraditional vocals and the experimental arrangements. I think it being so plain and sparse compared to the debut goes a long way toward explaining this. Now, that's not to be said that hundreds of wannabe Pitchfork writers haven't spilled a ton of ink on this one because I'm sure they have. I'd wager I probably haven't uttered an original thought in this whole review, but my point really is that while the debut has now been minted and certified even in the mainstream public eye ( more or less) since the 90s, I think this one is underrated and underappreciated still. As someone who absolutely can't get enough of that sickly sweet Twee pop sound, this album really hits for me. When it comes time, I think I might still have to give it up for the orginal as it's just so completely full of bangers, but this EASILY is a quiet 2nd place, and right up there for me. Possible turn-Offs might include: - droning, repetitive rhythms - Lou Reed's voice - a very mellow vibe - twee and sugary, sincere vibes You Might enjoy this if you: - have the ability to appreciate emotionally effecting music delivered without a trace of irony - really dig pretty, melodic and gentle music - like the softer side of the band glimpsed on other albums - like Lou Reed's more subdued solo work PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - Nope. FURTHER LISTENING Precursors: - Berry Is on Top by Chuck Berry - The Complete Recordings by the Harptones - 12 × 5 by the Rolling Stones - Mr. Tambourine Man by the Byrds - Revolver by the Beatles Contemporaries: - Mothermania by the Mothers of Invention - Easter Everywhere by the 13th Floor Elevators - The Stooges by The Stooges - Bookends by Simon and Garfunkel Descendants: - The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers - Send Me a Lullaby by the Go Betweens - Brave Words by the Chills - Vehicle by the Clean - Backwash by Talulah Gosh - Mobile Safari by the Pastels - You Turn Me On by Beat Happening - Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic by the Sundays - The Way of The Vaselines: A Complete History by the Vaselines - Tigermilk by Belle and Sebastian - I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One by Yo La Tengo - 69 Love Songs by the Magnetic Fields - The Moldy Peaches by The Moldy Peaches - Remember That I Love You by Kimya Dawson - Pinkerton by Weezer - Return of the Rentals by the Rentals - White Blood Cells by the White Stripes - Adventure Time soundtrack by Various

Amazing album! It was very psychedelic and had this really unique sound to it. Such a shame that Ride Into The Sun didn't make it into the actual album, but it can be found on the Super Deluxe Edition. Lou Reed is one of the greatest vocalists of all time. Truly amazing!

Oh shit

Duh.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5. At some point, this album just swept me into its more drawn-back style, sort of like pulling a blanket over yourself while you’re already asleep. The comfort isn’t sudden, you just sort of succumb to it & it enhances what’s already there. This album’s strength is in its restraint, trusting itself to get to the destination it wants at its own pace, and while it might take a bit for a listener to adjust (especially with some longer tracks in the first half & a noticeable lack of luster in the vocals / soundscapes), I think its patience pays off in a pretty fulfilling way, as it does start to pick up more & more in the back half, until “The Murder Mystery” overwhelms the senses as a climax & “After Hours” ends on a light, lo-fi note. It’s well structured. It also just helps that it’s a nice set of tracks. Nothing is reinventing the wheel here (save for “The Murder Mystery”), at least compared to the push on their first two albums to shift the genre & artform entirely. Lyrically, I do think it’s interesting; there’s a healthy mix of cynicism & hope, but one never really overrides the other. It just feels like a lived-in experience throughout, with bubbling doubts, regrets & misgivings sharing as much space as pleas to Jesus, moments of enlightenment & desires to stay in endless nights. Instrumentally, it can feel a bit plain, especially since it rarely layers things on top of each other & often loops. I found myself gravitating towards annoyance for a bit due to a lack of variability, but like I said, I kinda just grew into it. I still think they could’ve done much more in the first half for the listener’s sake, especially on a track like “Some Kinda Love”, which is the only one I found to be utterly mediocre. It’s most of the reason I’m at a 4.5. Everything else worked for me at varying levels. You do have to immerse yourself a bit into “The Murder Mystery” to get the extent of that track; I found myself walking into a room, turning off the lights, and holding the doorknob for added tension & to let the dueling vocals overload the senses in a very cool way, and it did wonders for me. Overall, it just works as an album, for reasons I can’t really explain but ones that are easy to hear. It’s unassumingly strong. The lack of a more traditional ‘confidence’ in the delivery & execution one would expect in a post-Sgt. Pepper’s world, along with a subversion of the expectations already previously set by the Velvet Underground, make for an album that simply works on its own merits. You gotta listen to it before you die to get it, and I think it’s worth getting. It’s a 4.5 that I’ll bump up to a 5, and I liked it a lot.

It’s such a great record it’s hard not to feel love for it I love the drum sounds and the oh so mellow vocals throughout it brings a sort of chill to the relaxed nature of the project. The guitar on this is superb as well. This is a album I can listen to for the rest of my life and not get tired of it. This list is making me a big VU fan. Fav tracks: all of them

To be honest I loved this. Both tame and experimental. Really great album. Felt sincere which is not something I expected from this band. Not sure why.

Great, great tunes, and pretty much a no-frills (in a good way) rock album compared to the experimental moves of the first two LP’s by those wild and crazy Velvets. All four records are 5 stars (with the exception of maybe “White Light…”, simply cuz it’s only six tracks, one being a silly and long John Cale spoken word story song), but this one might be the one I spin the most.

Reminds me of listening to Pink Floyd for the first time

I could write a book called One Album You Must Listen To Before You Die.

A nice easy listen

This caught me very far off guard when I first heard it. So quiet and introspective. But absolutely beautiful. I didn’t know it existed when I found it and I needed it in my life forever after I did.