153. The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground (1969)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning to See the Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's the Story of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

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The Velvet Underground is a focused album. Well, it's certainly focused when compared to White Light/White Heat. The songs are also a lot more mellow, relaxed and melodic. Or at least the melody is more apparent.

This album starts out really strong, keeps improving and then falls short on the last two songs. I wouldn't be surprised if there are people who enjoy those two songs, but the Murder Mystery sounds like Frank Zappa doing a rendition of the Monkees' annoying Zilch. After Hours just seems out of place with the rest of the album.

Despite the last two songs, this is the best Velvet Underground album, but that may only be because Nico was on the first album. I'm somewhat unsure why this album is on the 1001 Albums list, but I have a nagging suspicion that this album actually is ahead of its time—that it doesn't sound much like a late '60s recording and that that's not just a fluke. So either Lou Reed is helping to set the tone for the '70s or is simply ahead of his time. No matter, this album worth listening to.

Actually, if The Crickets played no frills, straightforward rock and roll in the '50s, then this album is a modern updated version for the '70s of no frills, straightforward rock and roll.

The stand out songs are Candy Says, What Goes On, Some Kinda Love, Pale Blue Eyes, Jesus, Beginning to See the Light, I'm Set Free and That's the Story of My Life.

★★★★★★★★★☆

104. The Velvet Underground | White Light/White Heat (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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Tracks

1. White Light/White Heat
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva's Operation
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray

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White Light/White Heat is a noisy album. There's a certain amount of normalcy in most of the songs, but at some point the songs veer off in a surreal direction. Either the music turns into fuzzy, screeching feedback or the lyrics become nightmarish.

This makes even the most psychedelic album seem like a collection of children's songs. This is like being trapped forever in a trip gone wrong. It's understandable that this album wasn't successful. I don't think it ever could. It's only possible for this album to be accepted after incremental imitations of are made of it.

I like this album a lot. Would I have liked this album in 1967? I can't imagine I would have. The first half of the album would have been tolerable, but the second half would had been unlistenable. It seems to have taken nearly ten years for this kind of music to be accepted and even then punk is a watered down form.

All the songs except for The Gift are worth listening to. The Gift was good the first time, but once I knew how it ends it became tiresome to listen to. Sister Ray is a masterpiece, but it's not "user-friendly".

★★★★★★★★★☆

91. The Velvet Underground | The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967)

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Wikipedia Entry

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1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting for the Man
3. Femme Fatale
4. Venus in Furs
5. Run Run Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
7. Heroin
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel's Death Song
11. European Son

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The Velvet Underground and Nico is a stark album. The songs evoke a dark exoticism. The music is either rumbling and manic or slow and droning. The guitar sound is reminiscent of an exposed nerve—raw, metallic, bright and painful.

The world that this album inhabits is not a nice, beautiful kind world. It's ugly, dark, twisted, lonely and painful. But, for all its brutality, it's honest.

It's a brilliant album, but it's so bleak that it'll bum you out if it's all you listen to. I don't think there have been any albums that have had such authentic songs and lyrics.  Most songs on other albums are sappy love songs, idealistic or fantastical so that they really don't infer the real world. The Who and Jack Elliott come close, but even Bob Dylan isn't able to capture reality so vividly.

The songs  establish a coherent mood that lasts the whole album. The real stand out songs are Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow's Parties, Heroin, There She Goes Again and European Son.

★★★★★★★★★☆