The Velvet Underground was an American rock and roll band of the late 1960s.
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2 The Velvet Underground and Nico 3 White Light/White Heat 4 The Velvet Underground 5 Loaded 6 Discography |
Although never commercially successful, the Velvet Underground remain one of the most influential bands of their time: Brian Eno is purported to have said that, "Only five thousand people ever bought a Velvet Underground album, but every single one of them started a band." The group's often raw sound would influence punk rock, and singer Lou Reed's lyrics brought new levels of poetic sophistication and social realism to rock. Bands heavily influenced by the Velvets include the Modern Lovers and Galaxie 500.
The Velvet Underground formed in late 1964. Lou Reed was a rock and rhythm and blues fan, and had recorded a doo wop style single as a member of The Shades. He attended Syracuse University and studied poetry with Delmore Schwartz. Reed grew to love free jazz and other experimental musics.
Reed worked as a songwriter for Pickwick records, where he met John Cale, a Welshman who had moved to the United States to study classical music. Cale had worked with John Cage and LaMonte Young, but was also interested in rock music. (Young's use of extended drones would be profound influence on the early Velvet Underground's sound). The pair rehearsed and performed together, and their partnership and shared interests steered the early direction of what would become the Velvet Underground.
Reed and Cale recruited Sterling Morrison to play guitar and Angus MacLise on percussion. This quartet performed in New York City. Their music was generally much more relaxed thean it would later become: Cale described this era as reminiscent of beatnik poetry, with MacLise playing gentle "pitter and patter rhythms behind the drone." MacLise left the group in protest of what he considered commercialisation of their sound. He was replaced by Maureen "Mo" Tucker, whose driving rhythms became an essential part of the group's music
While American West coast was undergoing the Summer of Love, psychedelia and flower power, the typically East coast Velvets concerned themselves with darker subject matter: transvestites, heroin addiction and sadomasochism. Also setting them apart from their contemporaries was their use of feedback and amplifier noise in a musical context, exemplified by the 17 minute "Sister Ray" from their second album.
Andy Warhol became the band's manager after seeing them play in 1965, and it was at his instigation that they featured German chanteuse Nico on their debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. The album showcased their stylistic range, veering from the poudnding attacks of "I'm Waiting For The Man" and "Run Run Run," the droning "Venus In Furs" and "Heroin" to the quiet "Femme Fatale" and the tender "I'll Be Your Mirror". The sound was propelled by the strong deadpan vocals of Reed, the viola drones of Cale, the country-style licks of Morrison, and the hypnotically simple but steady beat of Tucker, who played on an upturned bass drum with mallets. The album cover was famous for its simple, suggestive Warhol design: A bright yellow banana with Peel Slowly and See printed near a perforated tab. Those who did peel found a pink, phallic banana beneath.
Nico had been jettisoned by the second album, which emphasized a feedback-laced fuzzy sound. The recording was raw and oversaturated, and an inspiration to later musicians of the lo-fi movement. But despite the dominance of noisefests like "Sister Ray", the title track (later covered by David Bowie), and "I Heard Her Call My Name", there was room for the darkly comic "The Gift", a Reed short story narrated in Cale's deadpan Welsh accent and the meditative "Here She Comes Now", later covered by Nirvana. The second album cover was a subtle black on black picture of the tattoo of one of Warhol's Factory members.
Before the release of their third album Reed fired the classically trained Cale, who was replaced by Doug Yule. This, and the theft of the band's equipment, resulted in gentler, more folk music influenced sound for the record which showcased the songwriting styles that would inform Reed's later solo career and Morrison's ringing guitar parts, Yule's melodic bass and harmonies.
They recorded a fourth album which was never officially released due to disputes with their record label. Most of it was released many years later as VU. This album had a transitional sound between the whisper soft third album and the pop-rock anthems of their final record, Loaded. After Reed's departure, he later raided and reworked a number of these songs for his solo records ("Stephanie Says", "Ocean", "I Can't Stand It", "Lisa Says").
They switched labels for their final studio album, Loaded, which contained "Sweet Jane", one of Reed's best known songs and the most accessible poppy songs they could manage. The album was remixed after Reed's departure, much to his bitterness. He was particularly bitter about the truncation of "Sweet Jane". The record was recorded with Doug Yule's brother Billy on drums, as Mo Tucker was pregnant. Soon afterward, the band broke up, with Yule appropriating the band's name for a solo album.
In 1988, Nico died of a brain hemorrhage on the island of Ibiza. There was a brief reunion of the original lineup in 1993, resulting in a live album, Live MCMXCIII. Sterling Morrison died of cancer in 1995.
Members for the first two albums were:
Overview
The Velvet Underground and Nico
White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Loaded
Discography
Later releases of archive material:
