1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 153. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969) (Third Album)

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die 153. The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969) (Third Album)

Label – MGM
Producer – The Velvet Underground
Art Direction – Dick Smith
Nationality – USA
Running Time – 43:59

Track Listing (standout tracks listed in bold)

1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning To See The Light
7. I'm Set Free
8. That's The Story Of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

I must admit, when I saw this record getting closer and closer I was really dreading listening to it. After all, the previous two Velvet Underground records are just dreadful, and I really expected the same with this one. I was VERY surprised. That said – it’s still not a very good record, it’s just not downright awful like the previous ones. Those records tested the boundaries of how much out of tune noise/music could be committed to tape in what has been described as a drug fueled speed party, where as this record – the third album by the group - is really pretty sparse and – well – quiet.
Most of this is likely due to the departure of John Cale who spearheaded the earlier records with Andy Warhol’s strong influence, and here Lou Reed takes over as the main band contributor. There are actually some SONGS on this record with melodies with "Pale Blue Eyes," and "That’s The Story Of My Life" standing out. There is still some really bad tracks here, "The Murder Mystery" - an 8 minute piece that mixes and matches four separate poetic narratives. Just dreadful and tedious listening.
In 2003, for reasons lost on me, the album was ranked number 314 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list.
Again – I didn’t loath this record as I did their others, which was very surprising, and compared to those records this is a masterpiece – but I do NOT recommend it.


You can purchase the CD here, 180 gram vinyl here