Velvet Underground & Nico Entry

The Velvet Underground & Nico was the Velvet Undergrounds debut album which was released in 1967. This album was not very popular when it was released but since then has been critically acclaimed and has ended up at number thirteen on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Some of the songs on the album dealt with controversial subject matter. The lyrics contained references to drug abuse, sexual content, and even prostitution. Despite the crude content on some of the songs, other songs were about love and relationships. The music itself throughout the album was very diverse and could be described as experimental or art rock. Velvet Underground & Nico was basically a controversial album that explored different genres and had dark subject matter. John Cale and Lou Reed both played a big part in the making of this album. John Cale handled most of the musical arrangements on the album. He also played a big part in the experimental sound of the album. John Cale played piano, bass guitar, sung backing vocals, and also played the electric viola. Lou Reed was responsible for most of the lyrics written on the album. He also sang vocals and played lead guitar. Although Andy Warhol is listed as the producer for the album the truth is that he really didn't have much to do with the album. All he really did was pay for the studio time and create the albums artwork.  A characteristic I would give this album is originality. This album was very original for its time because of its experimental sound and its controversial subject matter. Another characteristic I would give this album is diversity. This album explored many different genres and many different sounds. My favorite song on this album was All Tomorrow's Parties because of how catchy it's pop sound. Although this is not the music i would normally listen to, I am glad that i did because i enjoyed listening to this album. I enjoyed the vivid imagery some of the tracks created as well as the different moods it makes you feel. This album was truly groundbreaking for its time.