Customer Reviews

Velvet Underground

5 star:		(101)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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...).

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.

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.

After the noise fury and hedonistic characters introduced in their first two albums, Lou Reed & Co. take a wide left turn on this graceful classic. This is an album of fantastic breadth with some of Reed's finest writing ever. The quiet beauty that surrounds songs like "I'm Set Free" shows that the Velvet Underground could perform just about any type of song. The rhythm-guitar on "What Goes On" is simply awesome. "Beginning to See the Light" is joyous. Other tunes demonstrate the group's vulnerability. The bookend songs, "Candy Says" and "Afterhours" are heart-breaking. "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Jesus," perhaps the best songs on the album, are soul-wrenching. Though this may not be their best album, it is my personal favourite and my recommendation for those unfamiliar with the group.

My brother bought this CD on the original Verve label in the early 90's with the Valentine mix. This version on Polydor has the Closet mix by Lou Reed. I really prefer the Valentine mix which is warmer, softer and more sensual particularly with the song Some kinda love. The Lou Reed mix of this same song is dry in comparison. If you are enough lucky for finding the Valentine mix, you should buy it.

Mercurial without being alienating, enigmatic without being esoteric, syncretic without sounding disparate, jaded but with a fantastic sense of humour and absurdity...This is what happens when a band is so confident in it's own talent that it knows it doesn't have to convince anyone else...and just has fun.
Soft, sad, and subdued as this album is, there is an inherent sense of affirmation (of what is a subjective choice) that threads it's way through the emotional labyrinth of this album. From the wistful "Candy Says" to the chilling, hymn-like "I'm Set Free" to the mordant (yet strangely unpretentious) wit of "The Murder Mystery" to the surprisingly vulnerable intimacy of "After Hours," this Lou Reed and his Velvets at their melodic best. No, it's not perfect, but it's flawed in the best kind of way...its been a steadfast fixture in my admittedly ever-changing music collection. It has a subtly hermetic atmosphere...just let it envelope you.

I know people say the 1st album is essential but this is more representation of the Velvets than anything. No John Cale but his vision remains. Soft songs like CANDY SAYS, PALE BLUE EYES and JESUS are minimal and quiet but still retain a subtle groove that explodes on tracks like WHAT GOES ON, BEGINING TO SEE THE LIGHT and IM SET FREE. This combination of quiet and loud is great. My Favorite song SOME KIND OF LOVE is a groovin country twang with some great lyrics from Lou Reed about who really knows what for sure. THE MURDER MYSTERY is a hold over experimental track from the WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT album. All styles are here.

I realize many other reviewers have put in their two cents on this album, but I feel compelled to add mine. Folks, this is, simply put, an ESSENTIAL album. Coming off the heels of their first two records which are like a building, brooding maelstrom of feedback and experimentalism, this is a very understated, quiet and personal record. Lou Reed at his most lucid and literate, yet still it rocks. Actually, to be more accurate, it ROLLS-- perhaps better than anything of its ilk before or since. With the Velvet's third album what we have is the template for SO many who followed in its wake and attempted to live up to it. Bands such as Big Star, Television, Acetone, the mega-hyped Strokes and innumerable others would have had no starting point if not for this astounding collection of songs.
A wide range of emotions is in evidence here: upbeat and humorous ("Beginning to See the Light"), sweet and hopeful ("After Hours"), confused and insular ("Murder Mystery"), sultry and scorching ("Some Kinda Love"), and utterly melancholy ("I'm Set Free", "Candy Says"). This is just a stellar album-- I cannot recommend it highly enough or say enough good things about it. I do not give 5 stars lightly, but this is classic and timeless. Light a couple of candles, put your mind at rest and sink right in. You will find a welcome respite from the world into a place you will want to revisit often.

In the early 90's, I was in a tiny record shop, when I heard some very spare acoustic music over the shop's speakers.I inquired to the shop's clerk about, who was playing these beautiful solem songs. The clerk held up the cover to The Velvet Underground's self-titled album and it was the beginning of a wonderful discovery. Since that day, I have collected just about every piece of Velvet Underground music, I could get my hands on. I'm a little bias, because I am now of the personal opinion that the Velvets are probably one of the greatest rock n' roll bands, ever. No, they might not have sold a lot of albums during the sixties, but they are definitley, what the spirit of rock n'roll is all about. The self-titled album that, I first heard remains to this day, my all time favorite Velvets album.They certainly have other great albums. The album "Loaded" might have the pop hits and "White Light/White Heat" is full of punk energy. But to me, their mostly acoustic self-titled album is full of soul. This album is best played at 3am on a night you can't sleep and you feel like your the only person in the world awake. It is in these moments, that it is so comforting to hear spare songs like "Candy Says", "Pale Blue Eyes" or the brilliant intoning of the song "Jesus". The more energetic rock songs are also fantastic, including "What goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light". I epecially like drummer, Moe Tucker's humourus and innocous reading of the song "After Hours", which is sort of a little night cap before you go off to bed. Buy this album! It will be one of the best pieces of rock n' roll in your music collection!

WL/WH demands you pay attention, VU suggests you might like to listen. And then it grabs you...

It's all very quiet, genteel almost. After half an hour of beautifully crafted ballads and feel-good rockers you hear the inane pop of "Story of my Life". And that's where you got suckered: the next eleven minutes are anything but comfortable.

"The Murder Mystery" is a perfect expansion of ground explored on White Light/White Heat. Words reminiscent of "Black Angel's Death Song" on the first album spit at you and cajole you from opposing speakers - no choice to listen to either words or music here as on "The Gift". Then as the madness fades, "Afterhours"... Mo's then fragile voice singing of depression and paranoia.

I wish I could forget all knowledge of this record so I could hear it again for the first time.