The Velvet Underground (180 Gram Vinyl)

Velvet Underground | Format: Vinyl

Product Details

• Vinyl (June 27, 2008)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: 4 Men With Beards
• ASIN: B0015NORBE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,212 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

Released in 1969 to an almost total lack of critical acclaim or consumer interest, the Velvet Underground's third album may well be the finest record of the band's career. Without the sonic terrorism of The Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light/White Heat or the ill-conceived commercial concessions that marred Loaded, the album's songs are free to stand on their own merit. And stand they do: "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" may be the finest flat-out rockers in the band's catalog, while "Pale Blue Eyes," "Jesus," and "Candy Says" are some of the most delicately gorgeous songs Lou Reed has ever penned. There's no evidence here of any of the psychedelic effects and hippie sloganeering that marked most late-1960s rock releases, which is probably why the record still holds up today. --Dan Epstein

Product Description

Following the departure of John Cale in 1968, and the addition of Doug Yule on bass, the Velvet Underground released their self-titled third LP in 1969. More subdued and lyrically compassionate than the first two records it is nonetheless equally powerful and many consider this to be the band's finest work. The Velvet Underground certainly features some of Lou Reed's finest song writing from the narcotic beauty of Candy Says and I'm Set Free, to the angular jangle of What Goes On and I'm Beginning To See The Light. Deluxe 180 gram vinyl reissue.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shhhhh...., April 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Velvet Underground (Audio CD)

This fantastic album is the exact opposite of "White Light/White Heat": where "WL/WH" was loud, this one is quiet; where "WL/WH" was bold, this album is beautiful; where "WL/WH" was an undisputed masterpiece, this album is...um, also an undisputed masterpiece. (Damn, that was going so well...).

49 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars Are Not Enough: This Deserves a Galaxy, August 15, 2002

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Velvet Underground (Audio CD)

For their third album, the self-titled THE VELVET UNDERGROUND, Lou Reed got rid of both producer Andy Warhol and art-rocker John Cale. And the result is a surprisingly melodic collection of soft ballads, thoughtful lyrics, and flashes of flat-out fun rock and roll that echos the sound of the band's previous recordings without actually repeating it in any discernable way.

This is the Velvet Underground's most accessible album, the one that most people first experience and find easiest to enjoy. After opening with the meloncholy "Candy Says," a song suggested by the musings of transexual Candy Darling, the band ramps up into a go-go beat with slightly mid-eastern guitar twists for my personal favorite on the album, "What Goes On"--and then settles into a series of equally memorable cuts that range from the soft beauty of "Pale Blue Eyes" to the mantra-like "Jesus" to the good time "Beginning to See the Light." Whether upbeat or meloncholy, Lou Reed's unique style of talk-singing imparts a chant-like quality to the entire album, and although he has sometimes equaled these vocals in later work, he has never really bested them. Of course, the Velvets wouldn't be the Velvets without out at least one truly far-out-down-right-weird selection, and they offer it with "The Murder Mystery," a collage of conversation-like speech and lanquid singing that changes rhythms from moment to moment and which challenges the listener to sort out the individual voices and words. And then the album wraps up with an unlikely 1930-ish tune, "Afterhours," sung by drummer Maureen Tucker--and her completely unaffected, non-singer and off-key voice has surprising unstudied charm, rather like that of a school girl unaware that she is being recorded.

Even straight-laced pop fans will likely enjoy this particular album--and as such it is the perfect place for the uninitiated to begin a journey into The Velvet Underground. Everything about it is beautifully done, and it is a welcome twist to the band's earlier, much edgier sound. Strongly recommended, especially for first-timers.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If You Close the Door, the Night Could Last Forever..., October 3, 2001

By 

jgc (Charlottesville, VA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Velvet Underground (Audio CD)

The Velvet Underground were such a great band they probably could have made even third-rate material sound interesting. Fortunately, they were never faced with this challenge. During his days with VU, Lou Reed was on one of the all-time great songwriting tears; and nowhere is this more obvious than on the band's eponymous third album. For the ballads alone, Reed's work here is staggering -- "Pale Blue Eyes," "I'm Set Free," "Candy Says," "Jesus." Throw in the two delirious rockers "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" and the undefinable but wonderful "Some Kind of Love," and you begin wondering which devil Reed made his pact with. No joke, folks: Lou has come up with a batch of songs here as uniformly strong as 'Blood on the Tracks' or 'Plastic Ono Band.' I can't give any higher praise than that.