Nico (1) (1938–1988)

Product Details

* Audio CD (May 7, 1996)
* Original Release Date: 2000
* Number of Discs: 1
* Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
* Label: Polydor / Pgd
* Catalog Number: 1250
* ASIN: B000002G7C
* Average Customer Review: based on 230 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,309 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #1,599 in Music

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1. Sunday Morning Listen Listen
2. I'm Waiting For The Man Listen Listen
3. Femme Fatale Listen Listen
4. Venus in Furs Listen Listen
5. Run Run Run Listen Listen
6. All Tomorrow's Parties Listen Listen
7. Heroin Listen Listen
8. There She Goes Again Listen Listen
9. I'll Be Your Mirror Listen Listen
10. The Black Angel's Death Song Listen Listen
11. European Sun
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
When the Velvets recorded this debut, they were best known as the protégés of Andy Warhol (who designed the sleeve), and as a grating, combustive live band. Fueled by drummer Moe Tucker's no-nonsense wham and John Cale's howling viola, some of the straight-up rock & roll and arty noise extravaganzas here bear that out. But before Lou Reed was singing about sadomasochism and drug deals and writing lyrics inspired by his favorite poets, he was a pop songwriter, and this album has some of his prettiest tunes, mostly sung by Nico, the German dark angel who left the band after this disc. Even the sordid rockers are underscored by graceful pop tricks, like the two-chord flutter at the center of the classic "Heroin." --Douglas Wolk
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58 of 68 people found the following review helpful:
Peel Slowly and See a Truly Original Band, July 10, 2002
Reviewer: Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
The Velvet Underground was little known during its lifetime; now, more than thirty years after the band collapsed, it has a world-wide following--but the band's music still tends to divide listeners. You either get it or you don't. For those who DO get it, this recording, with its Andy Warhol-designed "Peel Slowly and See" cover, is a must-have.

Both Lou Reed and Nico possessed flat sounding voices, and John Cale compensated for this by down-tuning his various stringed instruments--and then the band as a whole down-tuned to Cale's pitch. This creates a slightly off-kilter, droning tone... and the result is a strangely hypnotic, frequently dark, and often unnerving sound that swirls around the songs' street-tough lyrics. At worst, it is at least interesting; at best, it is completely original. Several of the cuts have a distinct pop inflection, but the band subverts them; "Femme Fatale" has a mocking tone, and both "Sunday Morning" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" have a decidedly paranoid quality. But the cuts for which this album is most famous are about as far removed from pop as you can get: the strange exotic stutter of "All Tomorrow's Parties;" the pitch black and street scary tone of "Heroin" and "I'm Waiting For My Man;" and the whip-like accompaniment on the S&M-oriented "Venus In Furs"--all of them frequently imitated but seldom equaled. The most extreme edge of the band is captured in such selections as "The Black Angel's Death Song," a piece so far out that The Velvet Underground were actually fired from a bar gig for playing it one time too many for the management's liking.

If your taste in music runs to bouncy dance music, pop standards, or even what passes for experimental among the top 40--you might want to give The Velvet Underground a miss. On the other hand, if you have an ear tuned to the truly cutting-edge (as in Patti Smith, one of several artists who were heavily influenced by the Velvet Underground), you owe it to yourself to give this band, and this recording in particular, a try. For those who have an ear to hear it, The Velvet Underground is an essential. show less

Brought back from New York by a former manager of mine, Ken Pitt. Pitt had done some kind of work as a P.R. man that had brought him into contact with the Factory. Warhol had given him this coverless test pressing (I still have it, no label, just a small sticker with Warhol’s name on it) and said, “You like weird stuff—see what you think of this.” What I “thought of this” was that here was the best band in the world. In December of that year, my band Buzz broke up, but not show more without my demanding we play “I’m Waiting for the Man” as one of the encore songs at our last gig. Amusingly, not only was I to cover Velvet’s song before anyone else in the world, I actually did it before the album came out. Now that’s the essence of Mod. show less

Probably the single most influential album of all time (in rock music); to be heard in mono. and on vinyl if at all possible.

1 Sunday Morning 2:54
2 I'm Waiting For The Man 4:37
3 Femme Fatale 2:37
4 Venus In Furs 5:10
5 Run Run Run 4:20
6 All Tomorrow's Parties 5:58
7 Heroin 7:10
8 There She Goes Again 2:38
9 I'll Be Your Mirror 2:12
10 The Black Angel's Death Song 3:12
11 European Son 7:46
Credits:

Lead Guitar, Guitar [Ostrich], Vocals [Vocal] – Lou Reed
Painting [Cover Painting Banana] – Andy Warhol
Percussion – Maureen Tucker*
Producer [Produced By] – Andy Warhol (tracks: 2 to 11), Tom Wilson (2) (tracks: 1)
Rhythm show more Guitar, Bass – Sterling Morrison
Supervised By [Edited And Remixed Under The Supervision Of] – Tom Wilson (2)
Viola [Electric], Piano, Bass – John Cale
Vocals [Chanteuse] – Nico (3)
Written-By – John Cale (tracks: 1, 10, 11), Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker* (tracks: 11), Sterling Morrison (tracks: 11) show less