The Velvet Underground (album)
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| The Velvet Underground | ||
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| Studio album by The Velvet Underground | ||
| Released | March 1969 | |
| Recorded | November-December 1968 Sunset and Highland Sound, Hollywood | |
| Genre | Rock and Roll, Folk Rock |
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| Length | 42:56 | |
| Label | Verve Records | |
| Producer(s) | The Velvet Underground | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| The Velvet Underground chronology | ||
| White Light/White Heat (1968) |
The Velvet Underground (1969) |
Loaded (1970) |
The Velvet Underground is the third album by The Velvet Underground, and their first to feature Doug Yule, John Cale's replacement. It was recorded during autumn 1968 at TTG Studios, Hollywood, rather quickly after Cale's departure, and marks a radical shift in sound and approach.
[edit] About the album
The Velvet Underground was the band's first album for MGM Records, the band's first two albums having been issued by MGM subsidiary and legendary jazz label, Verve Records. The previously strong Andy Warhol influence is diminished, with the most notable ties to The Factory being the cover and back photographs taken by Warholite Billy Name, and opening track "Candy Says," written about Candy Darling (who would later appear in Lou Reed's Walk On The Wild Side).
The record was produced by the band themselves, and issued simultaneously in two mixes: one done by sound engineer Val Valentin, and one by Lou Reed, dubbed the "closet mix" by guitarist Sterling Morrison. He thought it sounded flat, as if recorded in a closet. The two can easily be told apart by the use of entirely different takes for "Some Kinda Love". Subsequent domestic and foreign re-issues of the record dither between the two mixes; the CD issues have always used the Valentin mix. The Reed mix can be found on the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See. In 2003, the album was ranked number 314 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
[edit] Track listing
All tracks written by Lou Reed.
- "Candy Says" (lead vocals by Doug Yule) – 4:04
- "What Goes On" – 4:55
- "Some Kinda Love" – 4:03
- "Pale Blue Eyes" – 5:41
- "Jesus" – 3:24
- "Beginning to See the Light" – 4:41
- "I'm Set Free" – 4:08
- "That's the Story of My Life" – 1:59
- "The Murder Mystery" (verse vocals by Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed, chorus vocals by Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule) – 8:55
- "After Hours" (lead vocals by Maureen Tucker) – 2:07
[edit] Personnel
- Lou Reed - lead and rhythm guitar, piano, lead vocals except as noted
- Sterling Morrison - rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals
- Doug Yule - bass guitar, organ, backing vocals
- Maureen Tucker - percussion, backing vocals
| The Velvet Underground |
|---|
| John Cale | Sterling Morrison | Lou Reed | Maureen Tucker | Doug Yule |
| Willie Alexander | Angus MacLise | Walter Powers | Billy Yule |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: The Velvet Underground and Nico | White Light/White Heat | The Velvet Underground | Loaded | Squeeze |
| Live albums: Live at Max's Kansas City | 1969 | Live MCMXCIII | Final V.U. | The Quine Tapes |
| Box sets and outtake compilations: VU | Another View | What Goes On | Peel Slowly and See |
| Selected best-of compilations: Rock and Roll | The Very Best of The Velvet Underground | Gold |
| See also |
| Chelsea Girl | Exploding Plastic Inevitable | Lou Reed | Nico | Steve Sesnick | Songs for Drella | Andy Warhol |
