Search - Velvet Underground :: Velvet Underground / Nico (Dlx)

One of the Birthplaces of Modern Rock!

Scott E. Browning | Newport Beach, CA. U.S.A. | 06/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It has to be historically accepted that The Velvet Underground & Nico is one of the most inspirational and crucial albums ever made in rock 'n' roll history. This new deluxe edition has great additional features with Nico's voice as well as fine mono versions of the stereo versions of the original album.

This album was released before other masterpieces of other groups were released. Examples are the following: The Beatles-Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Doors(self-titled album), Pink Floyd-Piper at the Gates of Dawn, and Jimi Hendrix-Are You Experienced? However, hardly sold; it only reached 199 on the charts. Well, it just goes to show that commercial success and artistic merit do not always go hand in hand.



This album has one of the most groundbreaking songs of all time, "Heroin". It starts off quiet and slow, then it goes faster during the first verse. During the second and third verses, it does the same thing. Then, in the fourth verse where Lou Reed sings 'Heroin', John Cale starts to play his viola like a buzzing chainsaw. He does this until Lou Reed sings the last line of the song, 'Oh and I guess that I just don't know'. Finally, the song is fairly calm and slow again.

All of this is execeptional for this avant-garde type of music. All the songs on this album are great. A few in particular which I like besides "Heroin" are "Venus in Furs", "I'm Waiting For My Man", "Run, Run, Run", "All Tomorrow's Parties", "The Black Angels Death Song", and "European Son". Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker, and Nico demonstrate that you do not need to play exact same instruments over and over again or have a clean and clear signing voice to be a fine rock 'n' roll band.

They were the kind of musicians who thought outside the box and challenged the way rock 'n' roll should be played.



Lou Reed is one of the first artists to treat rock 'n' roll as an art. He uses just about any kind of instruments in his songs as well as writing poetic lyrics. We should get back to the song "Heroin".

In the first verse he sings,

'I don't know just where I'm going

But I'm gonna try for the kingdom if I can

'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man

When I put a spike into my vein

Then I tell you things aren't quite the same

When I'm rushing on my run

And I feel like Jesus' son

And I guess that I just don't know

And I guess that I just don't know'

In my opinion, Lou gives you an impression or surreal situation about what a person experiences and feels after he/she injects heroin inside his/her body.

Do doubt has this song changed songwriting from then on!



This band is extremely fortunate to have a man like Andy Warhol as their friend and motivator. He designed an innovative album jacket. You see this white album with Andy Warhol's name and a banana on the front. In the upper right hand corner, you read, 'Peel Slowly and See'. Then when you do peel it open, you expect to see something vulgar like a penis. Yet it turns out to be a pink banana. Gotcha!



Well, I would say that since its release in March of 1967, it has gradually had a huge influence on musicians that would follow: The Stooges, Queen, KISS, Talking Heads, Patti Smith, The New York Dolls, Blondie, The Ramones, Television, Jane's Addiction, Nine Inch Nails, INXS, Devo, Marilyn Manson, Sonic Youth, REM, David Bowie, U2, Jesus and Mary Chain, and others.

This is why I think this is one of the places where modern rock started!"

Five Stars is not enough...

Walter Five | 13th Floor Elevator, Enron Hubbard Bldg. Houston T | 12/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"So much has been said and written about this album since its release in March 1967, that a review of the material is irrelevant, and commentary pointless. Inarguably, it is one of the most influential LPs of all time. So let's look instead at what this *release* of "The Velvet Underground and Nico" IS.

Over the years, the Velvet Underground catalog has begun to get the overhaul it has always deserved, and this Deluxe Edition set is another example of that. If the "Peel Slowly And See" Box Set and the "Fully Loaded Edition" of "Loaded" appeal to you, you'll find this indispensable.



Why both the mono *and* stereo versions of the LP? Differences in the mixes, my friends. Some subtle, some more immediately evident. The casual listener might not spot the differences immediately, but track to track comparisons between the two will be instructive to the faithful. The mono version has been deemed collectable enough to be bootlegged in the past, so it is fitting that it be legitimately released for the completist collectors among us. For what it's worth,I found the mono versions of the singles excessive, as the stereo versions are to be found on the "Peel Slowly And See..." box set, HOWEVER, the tracks from Nico's "Chelsea Girl" were penned by Velvets Cale, Morrison & Reed, who also perform on these tracks. As such, they deserve to be included in the band's output *somewhere*, and as they chronologically follow the 1st LP, it makes sense that they be included here--they're certainly as strong musical numbers as anything else on these CDs.



If you're a Velvet Underground fan (as I've been for well over two decades), you've already bought this CD, perhaps, like me, several times, between the initial release, the remaster, the box set, the 24K Gold Edition. If you have that level of dedication, TRUST ME, you won't feel cheated when you get this baby home, BUT it's not ONLY for completists--more casual fans will find, I'd predict, that they'll have a greater appreciation for this LP, and the ones that follow it because of the breadth of this CD, the liner notes, and lyrics--it truly is "The Deluxe Edition."

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