The Velvet Underground (1969) - Review

      Much different from their "classical meets garage rock" 1967 debut album titled "The Velvet Underground & Nico" and their proto-punk sophomore 1968 album "White Light/White Heat", The Velvet Underground's 1969 self-titled album proved to be a turning point in their overall sound and career. Most of the tracks included on this album have more of a softer sound and Lou Reed's personal touch to the lyrical content provided an inside look into his life and thought process at the time. 

     The opening track, "Candy Says", is a soft, biographical song about Warhol Superstar, transsexual icon, and Velvet Underground muse Candy Darling. It features member Doug Yule on lead vocals and documents Darling's desire to escape her birth gender. The song also, according to Lou Reed, is about "something more profound and universal, a universal feeling I think all of us have at some point. We look in the mirror and we don't like what we see....I don't know a person alive who doesn't feel that way." Reed's new outlook on life dialed down the aggression and raunchiness in the lyrical content that The Velvet's were previously known for. The songs were more emotion based, where moments of spiritual reawakening ("Beginning to See the Light") are answered by blunt reality checks ("I'm Set Free"). 

The Velvet Underground circa 1969

                                                                               

     Perhaps the most popular and known song from the band, "Pale Blue Eyes" paints a pretty bleak picture of romance. Lou Reed, seemingly the main character of this sad love story, is in love with a woman who is married. As a result, he professes his feelings for her, but ultimately realizes he cannot act upon them. The following song, "Jesus", has the subject of spirituality. Featuring Lou Reed on lead vocals, he is again turning to religion for guidance in his life. This is the second song on the album where the subject of religion and spirituality is turned to for guidance. Even the fun, upbeat song "What Goes On" addresses Reed's battle with anxiety ("One minute born/One minute doomed"). The simultaneously spoken poetry/song "The Murder Mystery" features all four members voices and is an ode to The Velvet Underground's avant-garde roots. It begins with Lou Reed and Doug Yule seemingly having an overlapping, yet back & forth conversation with drummer Maureen Tucker and bassist Sterling Morrison. The track is the only song on the album that does not follow the laid-back sound provided through the previous tracks.

    The Velvet Underground proved to be a turning point in the band's overall sound. It also began to form the blueprint that many indie bands that were born in the 1980's followed. This could be largely attributed to the freedom the band gained by firing Andy Warhol as their manager or the absence of John Cale's touch of classical chaos. This transition allowed Lou Reed to face his personal and hard truths without the input or overbearing grip of authority figures. It allowed Reed to be himself....unapologetically.