The Velvet Underground: ‘The Velvet Underground’ Review
9.3
GENRE: Folk Rock
YEAR OF RELEASE: 1969The Velvet Underground’s self-titled third album, released in March of 1969, marked one of the largest shifts to the band’s sound. The record saw lead singer and songwriter Lou Reed taking a more emotional, mellow approach and, for the first time, cutting back on the band’s signature experimental and vulgar imagery. The change was partly due to the departure of John Cale from the group, a classically trained multi-instrumentalist and large force behind their avant-garde arrangements and form altogether, in September of 1968. Filling his space came bassist Doug Yule, who brought new, smooth backing and occasional lead vocals that paired significantly well with Reed’s.
The aforementioned vulgar imagery is what their first two albums, The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light / White Heat, had brought to the music scene of the 1960s. Themes of masochism, drugs, and violence, and lyrics inspired by literature and scenes from Andy Warhol’s Factory—which they were a part of—were often paired with loud and eclectic instrumentals. But The Velvet Underground was bound to be different. Without John Cale in the band, they lost some of their complex classical-inspired soundscapes, though, on the other hand, Reed became able to orchestrate this machine of a band himself, and he decided to take their sound down a more internally focused road, all the while trying to keep the eccentric Velvet Underground style sprinkled throughout. The result was a record that captured different phases of love and soul-searching and painted a personal story full of ups and downs.
The Velvet Underground follows the emotional peaks and valleys in the life of a New Yorker—perhaps Reed himself—told from his perspective with references to characters he knew. Case in point, opener “Candy Says” is inspired by Candy Darling, a transgender actress who was a part of Andy Warhol’s crew. With its harp-like guitar tones and Doug Yule’s smooth delivery, the song tells the story of a self-conscious and confused person who is tired of the world around them, inducing visions of pondering out the window on a rainy day with lines like, “what do you think I’d see if I could walk away from me?”
“What Goes On” lifts the pace with its simple Reed-ian style infused in some cheerful mayhem with its layered, distorted guitar solos that clash but also accompany each other to the end. The verses here invoke feelings of a roller coaster ride, though Reed then brings assurance with the chorus (“lady be good, do what you should, you know it’ll work alright”). This chaos progresses into seduction on “Some Kinda Love,” which features a monologue from a woman trying to get a man to feel comfortable and sexually open, accompanied by a thumping bass drum and folky guitar rhythms underneath.
And then the mood mellows out again with “Pale Blue Eyes,” arguably the jewel of the whole album. Despite Reed’s prickly personality and public presence, he sure could write a heartfelt love song. With its smooth sliding guitar lines throughout, the track creates a very warm atmosphere; it makes you feel like you’re lying in Central Park next to your lover, watching the sunset on what has been a sunny, bright day—even if you don’t have a lover. Guitarist Sterling Morrison buds in at the midpoint for a brief, groovy yet soft bluesy solo that does not take away from the mood. In classic Reed fashion, nothing can’t stay pretty forever, as the listener is abruptly made aware of the adultery behind this love (“It was good what we did yesterday, and I'd do it once again, the fact that you are married, only proves you’re my best friend”). Following in juxtaposition to this adulterous love is “Jesus,” a prayer song of sorts.
“How does it feel to be loved?” Lou Reed asks at the end of “Beginning to See the Light,” a song that starts by bringing back the more upbeat vibe from earlier in the album but finishes with longing as this character seems to fall in and out of enlightenment throughout. “I’m Set Free” is a more passionate and hopeful tune with a glistening guitar solo and drummer Moe Tucker’s signature booming bass drum flipped on its side and played with a stick in hand rather than a pedal. “That’s the Story of My life” can be interpreted as the end of the tale, as if to say that all the happiness and strife prior was just part of the cycle of love and life. The song also features a second allusion to Warhol with the line, “but Billy said that both those words are dead,” referring to Billy Name, Warhol’s photographer and then-former lover.
The last two songs are the odd ones out in relation to the picture painted by the rest of the album. “The Murder Mystery” is a stand-alone piece that shows off Reed’s writing skills and the Velvet Underground's classic wacky flair. Throughout it are long passages read by two that clash and overlap and as well as counterpoint verses that all contribute to telling one abstract and action-packed story. To finish it all off, “After Hours” is the first of very few songs put out by the band that featured drummer Moe Tucker on lead vocals, a lighthearted tune told from the point of view of an introvert who is not keen on the social constructs of society, but still wants to enjoy the things that others get to experience, like love.
The Velvet Underground was on the cutting edge for their time, inspiring countless musicians and the punk music scene as a whole afterward. They became known for their completely unique, experimental rock sound and often raunchy subject matter. What many people often overlook is their extensive range of styles. The further you stray from their most well-known songs, the more you’ll delve into different sounds that seem like an entirely different band altogether. Across the four original studio albums released by the original lineup of the band, each one thoroughly evolved but held on to that Velvet Underground sound. The Velvet Underground, their third LP, was fundamental to the band’s shape-shifting musical style, and it still stands as the perfect example of their unbothered yet self-aware versatility.
9.3
Listen to The Velvet Underground:
With its unpredictable song structures and posh atmosphere, The Car represents the most successful venture in the band’s constant act of self-discovery.