56. The Velvet Underground and Nico. ( The one with the Banana on the cover)

                                                                                 Listen here.  

  It's high time for another one. When I was in school, my  roommate and I had a Lou Reed interview from one magazine or another taped to the wall adjacent to the toilet. Unfortunately, you could not read the entire interview in one sitting, as the pages were double sided. Every once in a while we'd turn them around to see what the other side of the page had in store for us. I remember him talking about Syracuse University and a fella that I believe was named Delmore Schwartz. Well, look at that, a quick Google of the name and we find out Delmore was a poet and a prof to Lou at Syracuse and that the track "European Son" on this record was apparently dedicated to him. We also find out that when Mr. Schwartz was on his final decline due to alcoholism he lived at the Chelsea Hotel, but allegedly refused to see his former student. 

 Which brings us to the question at hand. Are we listening to Delmore Schwartz's poetry or the Velvet Underground and Nico? Exactly. Let's get down to it. 

 "Sunday Morning" starts the album with some chimes that sound like a kid's xylophone. Nico has an intriguing voice. As the track continues the reverb is more noticeable. It's a dreamy effect. The song seems pleasant enough. But it has a character all of its own. I'm thinking they figured that it would be best to ease us into this journey, because there is definitely something out of the ordinary coming down the tracks. 

 Yup... we're off to buy some heroin. "I'm Waiting For The Man" has gritty distorted guitars following our friend looking to find what he needs. The lyrics are clever and outline the potentially dangerous nature of the quest we are on. The whole thing is stark and … honest? I can't imagine a heroin score is a relaxed business at the best of times. The driving rhythm gives the track a sense of purpose and at the end the bass does a couple of fills that might represent a successful mission and the resulting relief and pleasure from the score. 

 "Femme Fatale" has pretty background music and Nico's voice and accent make for a nice template. The background vocals lack that prettiness which gives the track some depth. The song is allegedly about Edie Sedgwick and was written at the request of Andy Warhol. There is a definite draw to this New York scene of the later Sixties. I find the era fascinating. Boundaries were definitely being expanded and it was part of the beginning of significant social change through art and music. I probably would not have cut it with this crowd as interesting as I might find them. I'm sure there were some trying times that they endured. But we are left with the fruits of their labours to enjoy decades later. Ooof, that was a sidebar. Good tune. 

 Well, if you like the sound of an electric viola... this next tune, "Venus in Furs" is for you. It drones on throughout and the percussion is bass drum and tambourine. The effect is rather Eastern and psychedelic. The lyrics are an adaptation of the book of the same name and highlight the sexual exploits of some fella named Severin who needed some help from his Mistress to "cure his heart". I didn't realize that Severin was a character in the book, so I looked him up. There were names with religious associations, and also a Belgian engraver who had erotic subjects for a large portion of his portfolio. I like the parallels, unintended as they may be. 

 "Run Run Run", is straightforward and apparently highlights members of the crowd surrounding the band and heroin use and New York City of the day. The guitar solo sounds like tremolo picking and is all over the place, a feature which has made the song stand out.

 "All Tomorrow's Parties" starts off with that droning feel again. Nico's voice is so enticing. Apparently this one is about the people at the Factory and observations made by Reed. I like this one, it is not rushed and has an ethereal quality to it. I'm focused more on the sound as opposed to the lyrics. I'm guessing the droning went along with the experimentation that was happening around this scene, and the bands music was well received by their audience, who were undoubtedly high.

  How can I make that assumption? The next track is called "Heroin". It is basically a walkthrough of the experience of heroin usage. The song builds and then recedes and the builds again, and again...  The dynamics make it interesting, as there are only two chords repeated over and over. The lyrics are first person and quite direct. Neither an endorsement or a rejection of the experience, it seems to be the observation of the situation. Good tune. 

 The next track is the most conventional so far. "There She Goes Again" has a syncopated riff lifted from a Marvin Gaye tune called "Hitch Hike". The Rolling Stones covered that song and some critics have called this a rip-off of the Stones cover. It does sound a bit like the Rolling Stones, but it is a pleasant change from much of the other material that has a lot of droning and is more esoteric. 

 "I'll Be Your Mirror" is a short piece with Nico singing again. The vocals were apparently a problem to record, as the band had a definite idea of what they were looking for and Nico was singing more aggressively that they were looking for. They were about to can the track, and she nailed it on the last attempt. The result is a dreamy tune that is short and sweet. Apparently Lou wrote it about Nico. 

 "The Black Angel's Death Song" is not dreamy. It has the viola and Dylanesque poetic lyrics. It is a difficult segue from the previous tune. I'm not really digging this one. and there is a crazy hiss that shows up once in a while that is a tad unnerving. Can't win 'em all, I guess. 

 The album concludes with "European Son". It's got a busy bassline and some cool rhythm guitar and then there is a sound that sounds like something from Stranger Things and everything gets going at a frantic pace. The guitar is basically creating a soundscape while that bass is chugging along like a runaway train, and the ride goes on for almost eight minutes.

 Like so many of the albums I've encountered on this journey, I imagine being in 1967 heading to the record store to get a Beatles album, and finding this big banana on a record cover and thinking... I'll give it a shot. Maybe a dimly lit room with some candles, maybe some wine, maybe some weed or something stronger, and then your mind is blown. Rolling Stone placed this album at number 13 on the 2003 Greatest 500 Albums of All time. 

 

                                                                                      Listen here.