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.

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. 🤷‍♂️

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

Interesting but can’t get me excited.

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.

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.

'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.

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

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.

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.

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

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).

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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"

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

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?"

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.

This works great as a whole album for me. Another nice discovery for me. Hadn’t heard this before.

....

This is great. I continue to be impressed by VU when I get their albums. It’s been awhile since I revisited VU+Nico — and it never really clicked with me — so that one will be interesting to get back to now that I’ve experienced this self-titled and WL/WH, both of which I’ve adored. This album just has such an interesting downcast vibe. It’s not overly sad, it’s not overly sappy, and in fact there’s sort of a despondent blankness with which the vocals are delivered that REALLY adds to the experience. You can trace this album’s influence through the careers of people like Beck and Mac Demarco and Conor Oberst. ML 171.

Classic. Lou Reed and Nico ❤️

It really is the blueprint. Dream pop, garage rock, psychedelic rock… It’s all there.

My favourite of all the Velvets’. It walks that difficult line between romanticism and jaded cynicism, perhaps After Hours the best example of this in a literal sense. Pale Blue Eyes and Candy Says are masterpieces and if they’d bunged Stephanie Says on there as well it would have been the Strawberry Fields cherry on the Lonely Hearts Club cake. As Matt Johnson said of Mind Bomb, this is one to play very late, very loud and very alone.

Classic

I don’t think I’ve ever listened to this album before - I’ve been missing out. It sounds like nothing else from that time - it’s testament to their influence that it sounds more like a 90s low-fi indie record. The Murder Mystery was a real standout track for me. I’m going to be returning to this album again

Off the cuff remark: easy to see their influence across a wide range of bands new and old. With the exception of Murder Mystery I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very familiar with Velvet Underground & Nico and most of these songs individually so great to listen to the whole album. Standout track: "Pale Blue Eyes" though several others come close. Revisit?: Yes. Lovely stuff.

Timeless.

Not to be confused with The Velvet Underground & Nico, this one is a lot more straightforward than their prior work, in part due to the departure of John Cale. Like most of their albums, this one sold like shit, but was hugely influential on acts to come. I’ve been a fan since college and was more than happy to get this one after a pretty lackluster weekend pull.

Oh, geez. This often sits atop my list of favorite Velvets albums. The softer side of Lou Reed. Probably their best period.

Murder mystery sucks though.

Klassiker.

Another one I've always meant to listen to but never did. A fuckin' masterpiece, 10/10

I was vaguely aware of Velvet Underground before. Nice surprise.

8/10 Have I even heard this before all the way through?

The best, love this album. Not much more to add

Loved this album even the tracks that Lou Reed didn’t sing. Guitar work, melodies, lyrics. Every song was good.

A true classic, the Velvet's at their best in terms of songwriting and sonic experimentation. Melodic, dark, and noisy in the best ways.

Am I a Velvet Underground fan without even realising it? Second 5/5 album by them. This is incredibly good. It starts with the lyrics "Candy says I've come to hate my body / And all that it requires in this world" - what an extraordinary, fierce opening - and it never lets up. Fragile, angry, beautiful, quiet, intelligent, determined, vulnerable, and singular.

The murder mystery is one of the best songs of all time

This album is perhaps underrated particularly when held up against the first two records and given the lineup change with Doug Yule replacing John Cale, but this album is every bit as good as the first two. Nearly perfect. An easy 5 stars.

Hell yeah

A classic, I hear the influence in so many bands that I love. The Velvet Underground is amazing.

Lou Reed really said ‘what if instead of heroin we tried therapy?

What's there to say? Velvet Underground. Top marks. Vignt sur vignt.

I LURVEDDD ITTTTT obviously, loved this album since like 2020. favourite has always been after hours but i also did quite like the murder mystery!! yeah absolute banger, very happy to have gotten this album, like a breath of fresh air x

A really beautiful collection of songs. Lou Reed,man.

What a chill album and a lot more accessible than the first two. Really want to know what the alternate version of this album would be if John Cale hadn’t been fired.

I listen to The Velvet Underground and I feel like I’m one of the retro guys in a recording studio smoking a cigarette, complexly writing my own sheet music and lyrics, recollecting the best and worst moments of my life, breaking down and reconstructing said moments, and finding some sort of closure through music. Listening to this album is like hearing a song and wanting to cry or maybe like Gravity Falls, if that makes sense. On the flip side, it’s like I can be wild and groovy and bare. The Murder Mystery is like perfect entropy; probably one of my favorite songs on the album.

Absolutely incredible.

Kings of cool.

I don’t know why I enjoyed this as much as I did. Every revisit has added more value than the last. I hated murder mystery at first. Still don’t get it after my third listen, but I am warming to it. Im going to be optimistic here and give this a very generous score in hopes I will one day appreciate that damn song.

Really enjoyed this. I don't really know why.

Classic...

The Velvet Underground is hard to pin down, despite its simplicity. It tends to be slow and lo fi, yet paradoxically rich and experimental. The songs unravel patiently, in no rush to impress. At times laughably simple, yet at the same time somehow weighty. They’ve lost a bit of their experimental edge now that Cale has left the picture, but what they lost in experimentation they’ve gained in cohesiveness. Lou Reed’s simple yet genius songwriting emerges as the guiding force behind the band’s vision. 4.5/5

Jesus

A rush of nostalgia listening to this album. I have so many Velvet Underground albums and not played them in ages. Lou Reeds vocals are timeless.

"Jesus, help me find my proper place" might be a bit baffling coming from the lips of Lou Reed, but it reflects his search for something new. With John Cale gone from the group, the Velvets feel free to pursue a new direction. And as much as I love John Cale (whose solo work is so inspiring), the first album made after his absence from The Velvet Underground makes for the band's best album. This record is rather unlike its two predecessors, but its calm and casual atmosphere kicks ass! Discounting the discombobulating 'Murder Mystery' (which still works in its own weird way), the album floats by as if it were scrapped together in a single afternoon, and that chill mood works so very well. Favorites: 'Candy Says', 'Pale Blue Eyes', 'Jesus'

VELEVTET UNDERGOFUNDDDDD

Top class music. Made the playlist multiple times.

One of the bests so far!

This is the third album by The Velvet Underground, a storied band with a delayed but significant influence. This is the beginning of the best the following decades had to offer in (what would later be called) the alternative stream. It’s a gentler album than their first two, and more minimalist than their fourth (Loaded). It’s wonderful. There is a bit of a religious arc with the three songs Jesus, Beginning to See the Light, and I’m Set Free, which I find interesting. In the late 60s you had a movement away from traditional American religion but still a searching spirit. The long song - The Murder Mystery - is an experimental piece that fits the times. But it’s listenable and has energy. You could choose to skip it on future listens if it’s not your style. For me, it just makes me envision this 60s New York art scene that was the birthplace of this band… and, through them, other great artists to follow. Think R.E..M. for example. As a teen in the 80s I was suffocating in synthesizers but also maturing past the hair metal bands that were effectively marketed to me up to about age 13. Thanks, VU, for carving out an alternative lane.

This is the first album I've listened to in a long time where the members of the band (whatever the manifestion) are completely comfortable with themselves and the music they are creating. There is no pretense. The composition, songwriting, performance all seem completely organic. Image the Beatles without the weight and pressure of expectation. And the music is fantastic. It is not filled with singles with hooks and riffs, it is just artistry on display. They're not playing for the record company, the charts, or even their fans. They are just in the artistic zone, playing music for the joy of it. I highly recommend this album. First five in too long.

The "soft" Velvet Underground album might be least favorite of the first four, but it is still absolutely indispensable. Some of Lou Reed's most vulnerable songwriting and prettiest melodies, but still with an edge and darkness that makes it all sound a little sinister. Great stuff.

душевно пиздец, нечего сказать даже, мне понравилось, аж плакать хочется, 5/5

Legendary

wonderful 4.5

I've seen the rotting banana album around, but I had never taken the chance to listen to their music. I quite enjoyed listening to this album. 03.24.2025 (Mon), MGL