General Article name: Velvet Underground
Genre: Rock englischsprachig Product type: LP (Vinyl) Label: Universal US Number of tracks: 10 Tracklist LP - 1 1. The Velvet Underground - Candy Stays 2. The Velvet Underground - What Goes On 3. The Velvet Underground - Some Kinda Love 4. The Velvet Underground - Pale Blue Eyes 5. The Velvet Underground - Jesus 6. The Velvet Underground - Beginning to See the Light 7. The Velvet Underground - I'm Set Free 8. The Velvet Underground - That's the Story of My Life 9. The Velvet Underground - Murder Mystery 10. The Velvet Underground - After Hours   Description Description

Upon first release, the Velvet Underground's self-titled third album must have surprised their fans nearly as much as their first two albums shocked the few mainstream music fans who heard them. After testing the limits of how musically and thematically challenging rock could be on Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light/White Heat, this 1969 release sounded spare, quiet, and contemplative, as if the previous albums documented some manic, speed-fueled party and this was the subdued morning after. (The album's relative calm has often been attributed to the departure of the band's most committed avant-gardist, John Cale, in the fall of 1968; the arrival of new bassist Doug Yule; and the theft of the band's amplifiers shortly before they began recording.) But Lou Reed's lyrical exploration of the demimonde is as keen here as on any album he ever made, while displaying a warmth and compassion he sometimes denied his characters. "Candy Says," "Pale Blue Eyes," and "I'm Set Free" may be more muted in approach than what the band had done in the past, but "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" made it clear the VU still loved rock & roll, and "The Murder Mystery" (which mixes and matches four separate poetic narratives) is as brave and uncompromising as anything on White Light/White Heat. This album sounds less like the Velvet Underground than any of their studio albums, but it's as personal, honest, and moving as anything Lou Reed ever committed to tape. [The album was remastered for its 45th Anniversary Edition and released on LP in 2015.] ~ Mark Deming

Mark Deming

Contributors Artist: The Velvet Underground Artist: VELVET UNDERGROUND THE Record Label: Polydor