The Velvet Underground and Nico is regarded to some as one of the most influential albums of the twentieth century. This was The Velvet Underground’s first album and was unlike anything that had been commercially reproduced at the time. The music on the album is a mixture of beauty and noise and was created as a form of art more so than a rock album. Much of the subject matter of the album was also shocking to many of the time. What was heard on those tracks is what could be seen walking through the streets of New York City, where drugs and sexual deviance and promiscuity reigned free. Armed with out of tune guitars and strings and fueled by drugs and a rebellious desire to create something other than the “Love and Peace” norm of the time, The Velvet Underground created an album that has influenced western music ever since[1].
The lead writers in The Velvet Underground were Lou Reed and John Cale. Mr. Reed had a background in literature, street pharmacology, and in a sense the Sociology of the streets. He had also studied under poet Delmore Schwartz. He joined up with John Cale through their work with PickWick records. John Cale was a very well trained composer; a graduate at London’s Goldsmith College had; and studied at Tanglewood Music Center[2]. Together, Reed and Cale were the driving creative forces behind The Velvet Underground.
Andy Warhol on the other hand, was the band’s manager, producer, and driving force financially and influentially. He helped them get a recording contract with MGM’s verve records and also featured them performing in his show, Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Warhol was also insistent that German model Nico be featured on their debut album[3].
The Velvet Underground and Nico was a very different sound than anything else that was getting nationally released at the time. Their subject matter focusing on drugs, transvestites, and other sexual deviance combined with the gritty sounds including feedback and detuned instruments was greeted with confusion and initially rejected by the public. However, it is now considered revolutionary in its use of intentionally incorporating unpleasant sounds into music.
I can appreciate The Velvet Underground and Nico for their creative use of noise and dissonance and their bold experimentation in the studio. I do however find it difficult to sit down and really listen to the album in its entirety. There is a lot of tension built into the album and at times I feel that it is just droning on and on.
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