So why is The Velvet Underground & Nico on this best 1,000 albums ever thing?
For The Velvet Underground experience at full immersion, turn up “Venus In Furs.”
It’s a singular number that’s psychedelic rock but slow in tempo. Very slow. And just as importantly, it’s got a foreboding and sinister vibe to it while at the same time it’s insanely compelling, nearly hypnotic. It’s a remarkable song that I’m thrilled I took the time to allow it to get under my skin.
Also pretty wild, via Wikipedia: “’Venus in Furs’ is ‘inspired by the novel of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the song includes sexual themes of sadomasochism and bondage.’”
Taste the whip indeed.
But I really dig how these lyrics could be interpreted in all kinds of ways:
I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
This ain’t peace and love and flower power psychedelia right here.
Which leads us to a song title that alone is striking and harrowing: “Heroin.” During the research phase for this here best 1,000 albums project, I wrote the following about this one:
This is a nighttime song, a nightmare song, a Hunter S. Thompson song, a Doors song, a dark mystic seeking song. And when it hits you at just the right moment à la Harrison Ford and the Staff of Ra in Raiders of the Lost Ark it hits you exquisitely right.
I’ll stand by that, I suppose, even in the light of day.
It’s pretty amazing that the seven-plus minute journey into the darkness of “Heroin” flows into the sweet and effervescent seeming “There She Goes Again.”
I’ve listened to “There She Goes Again” countless times in my life, with a goodly chunk of those listens coming by way of R.E.M.’s great cover version, off of their Dead Letter OfficeLP (#357 of best 1,000 albums ever). But even so, it took me quite a while to realize that the song – like much of TVU’s and Lou Reed’s material – is a stark look at some of the grimier aspects of modern day life.
In any event, it’s an absolute classic, endlessly re-playable and catchy, and it’s impossible for me to not get caught up in Reed’s turning saw her walking on down the street into a concise blast of vocal wonderment.
And then there’s “Femme Fatale,” The Velvet Underground heading from the shadows and night lands of “Heroin” to arthouse European pop, Nico’s German-accented vocals lending an ethereal vibe to the proceedings. It’s fascinating to think about how the band and producer (and New York City artworld icon) Andy Warhol masterminded all of this amid presumably lots of other goings on.
Overall, The Velvet Underground & Nico makes me think about what an incredible year 1967 was for music. The madhouse brilliance of this album out of the New York art rock scene is one thing, and then I picture The Doors exploding out west in Los Angeles as the Summer of Love struck with bands like Jefferson Airplane and Love dominating the scene. And then over in the UK, bands like Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience were gearing up, paving the way for Led Zeppelin.
And then there were The Beatles, off of the gobsmacked brilliance of Revolver (#15) and Rubber Soul (#28), coming back with a little album called Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (#81).
That’s what great music can do: take you on a trip away from the here and now. And no need even for any illicit substances to help pay for the ride.
Some stats & info about The Velvet Underground & Nico
- What kind of musical stylings does this album represent? Rock Music, Art Rock, New York Bands, Psychedelic Rock
- Rolling Stone’s greatest 500 albums ranking – #23
- All Music’s rating – 5 out of 5 stars
- When was The Velvet Underground & Nico released? 1967
- My ranking, the one you’re reading right now – #68 out of 1,000
The Velvet Underground & Nico on Spotify
A lyrical snippet from The Velvet Underground & Nico that’s evocative of the album in some way, maybe
‘Cause everybody knows she’s a femme fatale.
What does the “best 1,000 albums ever” mean and why are you doing this?
Yeah, I know it’s audacious, a little crazy (okay, maybe a lot cray cray), bordering on criminal nerdery.
But here’s what it’s NOT: a definitive list of the Greatest Albums of All-Time. This is 100% my own personal super biased, incredibly subjective review of what my top 1,000 albums are, ranked in painstaking order over the course of doing research for nearly a year, Rob from High Fidelity style. Find out more about why I embarked on a best 1,000 albums ever project.