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The Velvet Underground and Nico | 
 enlarge | Artists: Velvet Underground, Nico
Label: Commercial Marketing
Category: Music
List Price: £8.99
Buy Used: £2.99
You Save: £6.00 (67%)
New (39) Used (17) Collectible (2) from £2.99
Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 556
Format: Original Recording Remastered
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Running Time: 48 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.5
MPN: 531250
UPC: 731453125025
EAN: 0731453125025
ASIN: B000002G7C
Release Date: May 20, 1996
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
| • | Sunday Morning | | • | I'm Waiting For The Man | | • | Femme Fatale | | • | Venus In Furs | | • | Run Run Run | | • | All Tomorrow's Parties | | • | Heroin | | • | There She Goes Again | | • | I'll Be Your Mirror | | • | Black Angel's Death Song | | • | European Son |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
When the Velvets recorded this debut, they were best known as the protégés of Andy Warhol (who designed the sleeve), and as a grating, combustible live band. Fuelled by drummer Moe Tucker's no-nonsense wham and John Cale's howling viola, some of the straight-up rock & roll and arty noise extravaganzas here bear that out. But before Lou Reed was singing about sadomasochism and drug deals and writing lyrics inspired by his favourite poets, he was a pop songwriter and this album has some of his prettiest tunes, mostly sung by Nico, the German dark angel who left the band after this disc. Even the sordid rockers are underscored by graceful pop tricks, like the two-chord flutter at the centre of the classic "Heroin". --Douglas Wolk
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 The Velvet Underground and Nico August 28, 2008
The Mancunian Candidate
One of the most influential releases ever to grace the world of popular music, its effects shaped the course of Glam Rock, Punk, Goth, New Romantics, Indie and no doubt music which is not very good. It's a truly special album, which deserves its hype amongst music critics and fans alike.
Released in 1967 on The Verve Record Label, The Velvet Underground and Nico really does stand out from the other albums recorded during 1966/67. When we talk about the production going into other 1967 releases like Sgt Pepper, or even the closest British equivalent to the Velvets; Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates, The Velvet Underground and Nico's production on their debut is pretty much none existent, but that surely is the point.
The album was apparently produced by Pop Art pioneer, Andy Warhol, but in reality his role in the making of this album was to house the band in his New York eccentric art house, "The Factory", to sign the cheques and to introduce the band to the mysterious German model come singer Christa Päffgen or Nico as she was known. It also has to be said that Warhol also created the front cover, one of the most iconic front covers ever to come out of America. But in musical terms, this album is really a Lou Reed/John Cale masterpiece.
Instead of producing a typical late sixties album, Reed, Cale and Co produced a beautiful yet stripped down album with songs as poignant as the city it was born. Songs like Heroin and Venus in Furs provide darkness while songs like the beautiful Sunday Morning, Femme Fatale and I'll be Your Mirror brighten up your day, even if the meaning behind the lyrics are probably just as dark as the previously mentioned songs. Run Run Run and I'm Waiting for the Man are as raw and garagy foot tappy as the best of them, while All Tomorrow's Parties is as avant-garde as they come, what more can you ask?
Like many folk, I tend to avoid things which are clouded in hype because normally they are quite the let down, however with this album; I have nothing but praise and admiration. Believe the hype; buy the Velvet Underground and Nico.
 You can believe the hype March 22, 2008
Wayne Starling (Waterford, Ireland)
I first got into the Velvets via The Doors soundtrack which contains 'Heroin' and from there had to investigate further. Some time later I bought 'The Best Of' and Lou Reed 'Retro' compilations.
When I bought this album though I admit I didn't quite know what to make of it. I knew that I should like it, because it's a classic right?...one of the greatest, most influential...blah etc. There are songs on this album which are instantly, obviously, magnificent ('Heroin', 'Waiting For The Man', 'Sunday Morning' etc), but some of it, at first, I found hard going and you may have to work at it a little.
Having said that, it is worth the effort. It has a sound of it's own when compared with the other Velvets material, or compared with pretty much everything really. Yes, the recording is poor, vocals not great, it's very basic, stripped down, under produced and bare. But that's what makes it so attractive in this plastic, pre-packaged, pop world we live in today.
Outsider Music December 11, 2007
Richard (Blackpool England)
Lou Reed kicked off his music career by cutting 2 singles at Pickwick-one of which Do the Ostrich was a spoof on the entire dance craze thing.When it began selling in the New York area a group was hastily assembled to tour and is where John Cale came in-a classically trained viola player.The song was no more than an endless repeat of the riff from the Crystals' Then he kissed me.
Next on the agenda was to form a band called the Velvet Underground-a nod to what was happenning on the West Coast and the plan was for psychedelic music possibly modelled on a band called Its A Beautiful Day and you can also say that the V U would never have existed but for Dylan.
All tomorrows parties on this first album is the Bells of Rhymney with different words.
However Reed had made sure his band would never be added to radio playlists and its why they were not as much of the 60s as of the 70s when Lou Reed suddenly had a hit single called Walk on the wild side.By this time there was enough to go at-other VU albums plus the solo ones by both Lou Reed and John Cale and when Roxy Music had paved the way.Though the VU no longer existed as such the music and its subject matter of mainly lowlife and women of ill repute appealed to both punks and New Wave fans
Not only that but there were tribute albums such as the 3 volume Heaven & Hell sets on Imaginary and the many covers best of which was David Sylvian's take on All tomorrows parties.
Time had changed enough and yet even today the VU is still Outsider Music-European Son is just one of many songs which could clear a pub!
Reed isn't even consistent-when he isn't singing about the glories of drug use he comes up with a song called Jesus-which is pretty close to the Kristofferson song Help me Lord. Yes Reed is on his knees like some Born Again Christian!.
In 1982 English singer Virginia Astley-whose music is heavily influenced by classical music and pastoral sounds and poetry-was compared to the VUs short lived girl singer Nico but it certainly wasn't for the voice as Virginia Astley-a cult figure in Japan and California-has a sweet fragile voice and was nowhere near the hedonism practised by the VU. However she admitted one of her favorite songs was Pale Blue Eyes-apparantly she and her friends had listened to the VU at one of her music colleges.
Millions of words have been written about the V U-about their brilliance about how influential the music was. But I'm not gonna write stuff like that-its like the stable door after the horse bolted. All you need to know about the VU is give them a try if you like psychedelic music and Dylan.
If not forget it
One of the pinnacles of all music September 1, 2007
A. Weaver (Somewhere in England)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Most people have heard of this album. Most people have listened to this album. Then, why are you reading this review? Is it because (a) you haven't listened to this album yet or because (b) you have and you were just wondering what everybody else thought of it? Well, let's assume it's the first one and you have become so sick of all the rubbish released nowadays, that you are looking forty years into the past to find some decent music. Well, look no further because you have found some of it with this.
The Velvet Underground and Nico was the debut album from the Velvet Underground, simply one of the best bands there has ever been. Hated by most when released back in 67' as the summer of love was kicking into full stupidity, this album was the absolute antithesis of everything going on around it. With songs like `Heroin' popular music would be forced to change into something far grittier and that could have razor sharp barbed edges compared to the cloud lined toss piled up behind it.
Eleven songs and forty eight minutes after hitting the play button I almost guarantee you'll be asking yourself what the big deal is. Especially if you've been raised on modern garbage like I had before listening to this for the first time. Well, that's because this is definitely one of those albums that demands another couple of listens before you get it. Trust me though, when you do get it, you get it real bad. Before long it's gonna be the only thing worth listening to in your CD collection, till you read some of my other reviews that is, and you'll be wondering how you ever lived without the beauty of tracks like ` All tomorrow's parties' `I'll be your mirror' and, what is in my opinion the greatest song ever written, `Venus in Furs', a song of such startling and insane innovation it shocked the hell out of me even forty years after it was written.
From start to finish this album is more a menagerie of horror stricken, bleakly desperate melodies and gothic opera like chalkboard scratches, than a cohesive whole. The production is rubbish throughout, but instead of ruining the album, it simply adds to then barren feel of it all. The music is about as consistently genius as you will ever find on something that isn't classical, and compared to any album released since it is so much better in terms of everything, it might even ruin modern music for you forever. But, who cares when you'll have this to listen to till you die, right?
World class, but not all the way through August 2, 2007
Brian Levine
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
As an album this is a very disparate collection of songs.
From the upbeat and innocent 'Sunday Morning', sung as a lilting lullaby, we crash straight into the thumping bass line and piano of 'I'm Waiting for My Man' and Reed's druggy, throaty drawl.
That transition, from lullaby to scoring Class 'A' drugs, is magnificent.
Venus in Furs is another highlight, the clanging resonance of its drone - the whole song is a play on two notes - perfect for when things are getting a little spaced out.
But the highlight of the album, beyond a doubt, is Heroin. There is not much you can say about this song, other than, because of its connotations and obvious message, it seems to have been banned from pretty much all VU compilations. There is good reason for this. It is an amazing song, and played loud it tends to take you over.
All Tomorrow's Parties is another classic, Nico's Germanic bong of a voice giving the whole album a surreal note.
But make no mistake: this album is pure Lou Reed controlling some excellent musicians - Cale, Morrison and Tucker - and a tall, blonde German singer whose voice is just coaxed to the level of respectability.
This is a seminal rock album, as if the other reviewers haven't already commented on that, and has influenced a huge number of bands. The Velvets only produced 3 'proper' albums. There is also a 4th, released after they split, but I have had the amazing pleasure of seeing them live (all bar Nico, who was dead) in the early 90s at Wembley Arena.
Lou held off til the very end, and then, when he did Heroin, the house came down...
I nearly forgot to mention that if you are a student of pop art, the cover is an example of Andy Warhol, and it is really due to him that Lou and the Velvets got their break in the mid 1960s, playing weird music while strange visions flashed before people's eyes, created by the man with white hair who liked floating silver pillows.
And if you've never heard of the Velvets, buy this. You will not regret it, and it could take your musical tastes into interesting directions...
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