#1: The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

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

Well, where better to start than with one of the bands that is partially responsible for inspiring this project? Although not for the reasons you might think if you're a fan of the band - it's actually because I'd barely listened to them up until now. You see, when talking about music, honesty tends to get the better of me - so I'm not going to pretend to love a band I know barely anything about. Therefore, when a friend asked me (in a rhetorical manner): "Who doesn't love The Velvet Underground?" I foolishly replied "Um, me?" Not because I hated, or even remotely disliked the band, but simply because to say I liked them would be a lie, as I was pretty much totally ignorant about them at the time. In hindsight I should probably have just kept my mouth shut, but hey, we're here now, and this blog was partially inspired by similar exchanges with... well, some people more than others, but pretty much anyone I ever talked to about music. (Yes, the irony is not lost on me.)

I'm often confused and/or overwhelmed as to where to start with artists if their discography consists of more than 3 or 4 albums. Thankfully, this wasn't too much of a problem with The Velvet Underground as they 'only' have 5 albums to their name. Having discovered that Squeeze (largely made by only one member of the band, Doug Yule) and Loaded (significantly different to their previous material) wouldn't be particularly representative starting points, it seemed sensible to begin at the beginning.

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It might seem a little pointless for me to write about this, one of the most influential records of all time. But it's taken me long enough to get round to listening to it, and so I feel there's some worth in sharing the experience of a first time listener.

The album eases into existence with 'Sunday Morning', the twinkling chimes of the main instrumental hook (played on a 'celesta': An instrument most famously used in Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker Suite) providing a little hope amongst the melancholy comedown from the night before. "Watch out, the world's behind you", Lou Reed warns in an almost nonchalent, yet heavy-hearted manner, perfectly capturing the feeling of having the weight of the world on your shoulders. It seems odd, thematically, to begin an album so based around drugs with a comedown, 'morning after' song, but it works perfectly.

'I'm Waiting For The Man' transports us back to 60's New York with a straightforward tale of trying to score heroin in Harlem. Lyrically honest and with a steady driving rhythm, it feels like one of the album's more easily accessible songs. 'There She Goes Again' is another track that's easy to appreciate with its bluesy jangle and vocal harmonies, but it's perhaps not as lyrically straightforward: Does "You'd better hit her" infer physical violence or a more metaphorical need to snap out of something?

'Venus In Furs', on the other hand, is a far more challenging listen. Build on a discordant guitar drone and stabs of violent strings, the whole song has the air of someone in a trance - and that's before considering the lyrics, a dark tale of sadomasochism sung in an equally trance-like manner. (Upon further research, it seems the song is inspired by the book 'Venus In Furs' by Baron Sadler-Masoch.) However, once you get over the initial shock and play the track a few more times, it becomes a mesmerising masterpiece. 'The Black Angel's Death Song' is another difficult listen, due to the almost grating viola that, for me, just detracts from the song as a whole. Far be it for me to be criticising a band that's held in such high regard, but I have to wonder what an acoustic version (sans viola) might sound like - as it stands, it's my least favourite song on the album. Following this and closing the album is 'European Son', which feels like the ultimate antithesis of modern math-rock - any semblance of order and precision thrown out of the window after the first minute in favour of seven minutes of frantic, almost masturbatory instrumental chaos.

Given the period it was recorded in, it's not surprising that the album is shot through with drug references: 'Heroin' being the most obvious, a crash course for the innocent in the highs and lows of the titular substance. The track's throbbing drums sound like the heartbeat of an addict - slow during the comedowns but rapidly increasing in pace as the drug hits. The rest of the instrumentation parallels this, melancholy and thoughtful during the slower sections, but speeding up during the 'highs', eventually to the point of disarray as the drug finally takes over. 'Run Run Run', meanwhile, seems to explore the colourful characters of the drug scene: And I suspect that the title isn't just referring to using your legs.

Of course, the album wouldn't be titled as it is without the appearance of German chanteuse Nico, and she provides vocals on three tracks. When you first hear her on 'Femme Fatale', the contrast between her vocals and those of Reed can seem jarring: It takes a couple of listens to appreciate what her breathy performance and inflected accent add to the song. Her Teutonic vocals return on 'All Tomorrow's Parties', her low-pitched tone combining with methodical percussion to give the song an almost medieval sound that's dragged into the present by a guitar line that sparkles incessantly. The song itself seems like a requiem for material excess and a lifestyle that can't hide the emptiness of "Thursday's child". 'I'll Be Your Mirror' is the final track to feature Nico. A tender, melancholy love song that certainly holds some personal poignancy for me, it's about insecurity and trying to show other people the good that's in them. In my opinion, it's the best of the tracks that feature Nico.

While the album is rooted in the drug-fuelled haze of the late 60's, some of the lyrics still seem ironically relevant to today's 'indie' culture: Girls wearing "a hand-me-down dress from who knows where" and boys who "want to make love to the scene". Of course, the true magic of the album for many will surely be that it gives them a window into a world they've never lived. But while the record might inspire romantic notions of a hedonistic life in 60's America for some, it's also a cautionary tale that details the lows as well as the highs.

One other thing I noticed about the album as a whole is that tracks often seemed to fade out too soon. It's a minor nitpick that's easy to forgive given that the album was made nearly forty years ago, but it makes the transitions between some songs seem a little forced.

In my opinion, The Velvet Underground & Nico is a record that takes a little getting into, but once you do it's largely a rewarding collection of great songs. Everyone will have their own personal likes and dislikes: Some may find Nico's vocals difficult to listen to, but I've got over that and learned to appreciate them. My personal limit comes with the final two tracks: 'The Black Angel's Death Song' is ruined by the tuneless strings, and the psychedelic wig-out of 'European Son' drags on a little too long for my liking. However, the rest of the album is brilliant and deserving of the classic status it has gained, with my personal highlights being 'Sunday Morning', 'Venus In Furs', 'Heroin', and 'I'll Be Your Mirror'. There's little point in me attempting to pass any further critical judgement: This has probably been said before, but it's one of those albums that everyone should listen to in order to make up their own mind.