Velvet [CD-single] [Import]

Velvet [CD-single] [Import]

Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Hit with International DJ'S; Pete Tong, Seb Fontaine and Nick Warren (Way Out West). Features Remixes by Mike Monday and Van Bellen. Produced by Laurent Veronnez from Belgium.

Tracks:

Let It Roll
She Mine
Get Out The Door
She Builds Quick Machines
The Last Fight
Pills, Demons & Etc.
American Man
Mary Mary
Just Sixteen
Can't Get It Out Of My Head
For A Brother
Spay
Gravedancer
Re-Evolution

Amazon.com

When they exploded out of the gates on their 2004 debut, Contraband, Velvet Revolver were met with as much diffidence as appreciation. After all, supergroups have tended to detonate as often as succeed, and with vocalist Scott Weiland, bassist Duff McKagan, and guitarist Slash all vying to keep the lit match away from the fuse, the odds against this band ever seeing album #2 were even money at best. Surprise! Not only have Velvet Revolver survived three years with unreckless abandon, this album blows the doors off its predecessor. Save a pair of disinfected ballads ("The Last Fight," "Gravedancer"), Libertad is all about hand-grenade chords, drag-racing riffs, and circus-tent choruses. The ageless McKagan and Slash continually gun for the disorderliness of their former band (most notably on the punkish opener "Let It Roll" and its lewd brother "Spay"), while Weiland sounds--knock on wood--positively clean and like a voice of boisterous renewal on tracks like "Mary Mary," "She Builds Quick Machines," and the melt-in-your-mouth cover of ELO's "Can't Get It Out of My Head." Obviously egos have been checked at the studio door, as Velvet Revolver have already exceeded their anticipated existence. And now that existence goes back on the clock, trying to outshine a second album that's head-and-shoulders better than the first. --Scott Holter

Customer Reviews:

Libertad -- An Awesome Achievement In Modern Rock.......2007-08-01

Before Velvet Revolver's sophomore album, Libertad, was released, there was much to say of the band--the "super group" of five members consisted of three from Guns N' Roses, one from the Stone Temple Pilots, and one that had never been in an official band before. Their debut effort, 2004's Contraband, was packed with hard-rocking GN'R style hits like "Sucker Train Blues," "Do It for the Kids," "Fall to Pieces," and of course the unforgettable "Slither". Libertad, which is the band's powerful second album, is no disappointment and has everything a Velvet Revolver fan could want. The band start off this legendary recording with a Use Your Illusion era GN'R-esque song called "Let It Roll," which contains very catchy guitar riffs by Slash and an excellent vocal performance by Scott Weiland. This is followed by the hypnotic "She Mine," which also has perfect chords by Slash. "Get Out the Door," the third track, is also an excellent addition to the album and is the one of the many ideal songs in Velvet Revolver's catalog. The fourth track, which undoubtedly by now the band's most popular song to date, could be called the "Welcome to the Jungle" of Velvet Revolver. This megahit, called "She Builds Quick Machines," is some of Slash's best work to date--not just Slash, but the entire band. Filled to the brim with awesome lyrics and stellar drumming, this song was surely a definitive make for the album. After the listener gets a taste of how hard Velvet Revolver can rock, the band settle down a bit with "The Last Fight," a beatiful ballad with more awesome work by Weiland and Slash. This four-minute piece is also already a fan favorite, and if you've heard it I think you'll agree. The next track is what I like to call the "Voodoo Child" of the 21st century. This song, appropriately called "Pills, Demons and Etc." features crazy wah-wah pedal guitar licks by Slash and fast-paced bass and vocals by Duff McKagan and Scott Weiland. Along with the latter five, the listener can also tell that much effort was put forth in this song. Another hit would have to be the ninth track, "Just Sixteen". Quite similar to the style of "She Builds Quick Machines," it also shows how the band can be very heavy at times. "Gravedancer," which is the second-to-last song on the original album, is songwriting at its best. An awesome wah influenced guitar solo by Slash and soft, efficient vocals by Weiland make this song surpass even "November Rain," a song which was Guns N' Roses' biggest ballad in their day. The country side of Velvet Revolver can be heard on the fourteenth and final track of the album, "Re-Evolution". What can be considered as the band's take on blues influenced country, it is probably the oddest standout from any album I've ever heard; it's sort of funny, in a way. There was also a deluxe edition of this album made, containing two bonus tracks: "Messages," a powerful ballad which is a strong reminder of "The Last Fight," and "Psycho Killer," which, in my opinion, serves as an excellent alternate close-up for an already awesome album. The overall impression of Velvet Revolver's sophomore album is strong and spellbinding, and has something that every rock fan can enjoy. This is something you won't want to miss out on.

Disappointment of the year........2007-07-31

This album just doesn't deliver. I've listened through the entire thing 3 times now, and it is a labor to not hit skip about halfway through any of the tracks. On Contraband, I disliked most of the singles but found several killer tracks that made the album very worthwhile. Tracks like "do it for the kids", "sucker train blues", "big machine", "headspace" and "you got no right" brought together the best elements of the contributing members' former bands and had terrific, driving melodies.
Libertad by contrast has nothing. It's as homogenized as radio rock can possibly be. I've yet to find a single memorable guitar riff - a first for any record slash has signed his name to. The melodies are muddy and flat, and the high treble studio polish kills any emotion that might be buried in there somewhere. By far the biggest disappointment of records released this year.I wish everyone would hurry up and get over their respective grudges and rejoin their previous bands. STP was getting washed up towards the end as well, but still nothing this bland had come from Weiland yet.

Awful.......2007-07-31

What can I say? THIS IS THE EXACT SAME ALBUM AS CONTRABAND! Instead of buying this album, you may as well just buy the FIRST one again! Could this music be anymore STOCK?

Just play any random Velvet Revolver song on a loop, and you'll have heard the first two albums.

Still Waiting for some killer Revolver?! .......2007-07-30

Ever since the stars aligned and this lineup came together. The expectations have been high for something really spectacular to come out. After listening to Libertad a few times I'm still waiting. Libertad follows a more focused direction in it's musically styling's than the debut. Many tunes have more of a punk vibe to them. Which doesn't do much for me. It's disappointing to me that nothing on Libertad really blows you away? Yes, nothing, not one tune! I think as each tune came on I was waiting for Slash to tear it up and it hasn't happened. Some aggressive in your face guitars, something with an edge to it. Something that will rock your socks off as you crank it up to 11! Something that will make you say, "GNR & STP who are they"? Libertad definitely doesn't do that. If "Contraband" left you hopping for something better. This will just leave you disappointed. With Audioslave dismantling and leaving a big "Supergroup" whole to fill. Velvet Revolver just can't put the pieces together to fill it. I'm sure this won't be a popular review here. That's why we all have our own opinions......

Great Album from a Great Band.......2007-07-30

This album is extremely well produced and has a great sound. Their first Album has nothing on this album, Libertad is very capable of satisfying those who have heard most of their previous album, Contraband. The single released before the whole album is not the best on the album. I find myself enjoying the whole album instead of released singles getting all the play time.

Overall, Great Album from a great Band

Average customer rating:

Class of Their Own
Good music.
Rock from the other side.
The record that happened
Brilliant debut, one of the most perfect in rock history...

The Velvet Underground & Nico
The Velvet Underground , and Nico
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat
London Calling
Loaded
Never Mind the Bollocks Here's the Sex Pistols

ASIN: B000002G7C
Release Date: 1996-05-07

Tracks:

Sunday Morning
I'm Waiting For The Man
Femme Fatale
Venus in Furs
Run Run Run
All Tomorrow's Parties
Heroin
There She Goes Again
I'll Be Your Mirror
The Black Angel's Death Song
European Sun

Amazon.com essential recording

When the Velvets recorded this debut, they were best known as the protégés of Andy Warhol (who designed the sleeve), and as a grating, combustive live band. Fueled by drummer Moe Tucker's no-nonsense wham and John Cale's howling viola, some of the straight-up rock & roll and arty noise extravaganzas here bear that out. But before Lou Reed was singing about sadomasochism and drug deals and writing lyrics inspired by his favorite poets, he was a pop songwriter, and this album has some of his prettiest tunes, mostly sung by Nico, the German dark angel who left the band after this disc. Even the sordid rockers are underscored by graceful pop tricks, like the two-chord flutter at the center of the classic "Heroin." --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Class of Their Own.......2007-05-26

The first time I heard The Velvet Underground, I thought and still do think their style is so distinctive, like no other.

Lou Reed has great versatility in his voice,and can be quite commanding as in Heroin and Run,Run,Run.

There up there with Nico, just wow !!!!!

Thankfully through Andy Warhol artist on canvas film and music, we have The Velvet Underground.

Good music. .......2007-05-14

Not so fond of Nico's voice, but Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground are awesome!

Rock from the other side........2007-05-10

The Velvets had always been different. In the mid sixties, when just about every band in business was trying to be the Beatles, the Stones, Bob Dylan, or somewhere in between, the Velvet Underground were doing their own thing. And what a thing it was! Led by swaggering, snarling hipster-junky Lou Reed, this was a band of cultured weirdos and playful freaks. Their music was different from just about everyone else's: It was miles beyond any of the mainstream music of the times- even the height of the Beatles' experimental phase doesn't come close to the otherworldly insanity found here. The band's alien sound is all over the place: Multi-instrumentalist John Cale is a one-man noise factory, drenching songs in his wailing electric viola, pulverizing bass lines, and droning keyboard playing. On drums, Maureen Tucker reduces rock n roll's signiature rhythm to its bare essentials, pounding primal, sensual pulses of pure musical incantation. The partnership of Lou Reed and Sterling Morrisson on guitars is equally jarring- the two play their instruments like a pair of disgruntled folkies, jumping back and fourth between clean lines and ugly distortion, hyperactive rhythms and sky-scraping melodies, crazed strumming and whiplashing fingerpicking. Reed's lyrics and singing are, as you've probably guessed, just as out-of-this-world: He kicks aside the typical boy-meets-girl fare for grimy drug anthems, dark surrealism, back-alley sexuality, and tense paranoia. He delivers these distinctive musings in a choppy, throaty chant that epitomizes detatched cool. Joining the band for this album only is Nico, the icy-voiced German model who lends her distinctive voice to three of the songs on the record. Now, experimentation is all fine and good, but it would be totally worthless if the songs weren't great. After all, there's nothing more pretentious or unpleasent (musically, anyway) than a mess of unlistinable noise that tries to pass itself off as "experimental." Not to worry! The Velvets may be weird, but they've got an impeccable knack for creating great music. It may take a few listens to get used to, but once you've pushed your way past the initial surprise and confusion, you'll find that this is a set of highly original, fantastically listenable, outta-this world rock 'n' roll.

"Heroin" sums this up quite succinctly: The song builds from a pretty, delicate, yet slightly unsettling guitar strum. Lou plays the deranged folk singer, intoning his emotionally ambiguous lyric over the song's glowing chords. From there, the tune builds in intensity, morving into a galloping nightmare ballad, while Reed's lyric slips back and forth between dreamy self-reflection and nightmarish chaos. Soon, John Cale joins in, pummeling his viola into screeching submission, building the whole thing into a screaming, violent catharsis. "Venus in Furs" is a gloomy, doom-laden death drone, built around a disquieting, stomping rhythm section and a creepy ascending guitar line, over which Lou, chanting like a man in a deep trance, celebrates the joys of masochism. "All Tomorrow's Parties," one of the songs that feature Nico as vocalist, is a regal, decadent epic that features some wonderfully sinewey guitar lines. Nico's voice fits in with the proceedings nicely, arcing over the strange melody with clipped Teutonic precision. Other highlights include "The Black Angel's Death Song," in which Lou spits out a slippery, surreal, stream-of-conciousness ramble over a rumbling, dizzy guitar line and a flailing viola line, as well as the outta hand group improvisation "European Son." "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "There She Goes Again" reveal the band's debt to traditional rock and R&B- the former is a pummeling, piano driven blues-rock churner, while the latter is a souring slice of greasy proto-blue-eyed soul that kicks off with a musical allusion to Marvin Gaye (listen to his "Hitch Hike"). But even those two songs are plenty subversive- Lou Reed's lyrics are unsentimental evocations of the seedier aspects of urban life, relating tales of back-street drug deals and the kind of girl your mother warned you about. Reed is particularly good on "Waiting for the Man," as he moans, chants, and struts his way through a set of lyrics that casually narrates the joys and bitter pains of drug addiction with equal parts foolish optimism and complete self-loathing. Similarly, "Run Run Run" builds off of a pummeling rock backbeat, mixing in bursts of jagged guitar noise and violent lyricl poetry. "Femme Fatalle" and "I'll Be Your Mirror," Nico's other two contributions to the album, prove that the Velvets could make beautiful music if they wanted to- along with the eerily gorgeous album oppener "Sunday Morning," these songs are airy, otherworldly ballads that still manage to convey an amazing ammount of tension and discomfort.

As a whole, the Velvet Underground's debut is a brilliant album, a set of pop songs the likes of which you've never heard. It may have flown over the heads of listeners back in 1967, but its still managed to inspire countless musicians and musical movements. Influence aside, it's still a fantastic listen, a rock n roll album that'll blow your mind with every spin. Get it now.

The record that happened .......2007-04-14

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO is longer running than most records of its era and loaded with interesting, exciting, and beautiful yet strange songs. Also the content is odd for its time, or any time, but I think the "homosexual" perception was grafted on post-facto ("I'm Waiting For The Man" is of course actually sung "I'm waiting for MY man. . .") and though long perceived as "gay" because of certain references, such as the narrator's lack of interest in black girls instead of his purpose in being up town ("Oh no sir!") It sounded "queer," but it's queer only in the sense that Lou Reed is waiting for his drug dealer "...he's always late" who gives him "sweet taste." Our narrator then swiftly exits, presumably to consume his drugs. I think Reed's later admissions of juvenile homosexuality, drug use, and a kind of artistic bisexuality lead to over-interpretation of the lyrics on this most challenging of VELVET UNDERGROUND records. That being said, this record, a low-seller in its day, is unique, endlessly listenable, and tuneful. The long stated commentary about "drone" and "buzz" is fair, particularly on tracks "Heroin," "European Son" and my own favorite, "The Black Angel's Death Song." But, this record is much more than a Punk predecessor, Andy Warhol bank rolled project, or Art Rock oddity. THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO remains one of the most important, intriguing, and unusual of records in the Rock catalog and a must for students of modern music.

Brilliant debut, one of the most perfect in rock history..........2007-04-13

The Velvet Underground only put out 4 albums (5 if you include the Doug Yule only Squeeze album, which most of us Velvet fans don't), but everyone was a masterpiece, and the journey commenced right here. This is my favorite VU album. It is adventurous, eclectic, tuneful, scary, moving, and assaulting, a true work of art. There isn't one throwaway track (in fact, the Velvets never wasted a track on any album). Sunday Morning begins the album beautifully. I love the drug songs Waiting for the Man and Heroin. Venus in Furs is sad and powerful, and All Tomorrow's Parties is scary and hypnotic (with Nico's best vocal). The Black Angel's Death Song is pure, avant garde Cale, and European Son predates the sonic assault we were going to get on White Light/White Heat. You think that the Velvet Underground would have choked after making such a fine debut album, but they followed it up with 3 masterpieces. How many bands only made a handful of albums and yet have had such a lasting impact? The MC5 is the only other band that comes to mind. This is one of my favorite albums of all time, and I listen to it once a week. Lou, John, Mo, Sterling, and Nico rule.

Average customer rating:

Contrafan
Super Group Super Great
Great first effort from the supergroup, now polished this year with a new album
4- Content 1- Disc
Almost Every Song Is A Hit !!!

Contraband
Velvet Revolver
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Libertad
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ASIN: B00020NPZA
Release Date: 2004-06-08

Tracks:

Sucker Train Blues
Do It For The Kids
Big Machine
Illegal i Song
Spectacle
Fall To Pieces
Headspace
Superhuman
Set Me Free
You Got No Right
Slither
Dirty Little Thing
Loving The Alien

Amazon.com

Scott Weiland. Slash. Duff McKagen. Matt Sorum. It doesn't seem like a good idea to put these people in a room together, let alone a band. But it was the same exact explosive element of danger and low I.Q. scores that made both of these players' former groups--Stone Temple Pilots and Guns N' Roses--sell billions, so why stand in their way? The music on Contraband sounds appropriately monumental, all window-quivering riffs, and ticker-tape parade choruses. "Do It For the Kids" and "Set Me Free" take direct inspiration from Nirvana, meaning they are brilliantly raw, raucous, and indecent. It's great stuff. The power-ballads like "Fall to Pieces" and "You Got No Right," however, are more heartburn than heartbreak when compared to past achievements like, oh, let's say "Sweet Child O' Mine." --Aidin Vaziri

Album Description

The debut release from VELVET REVOLVER features Guns N' Roses founding members Slash and Duff, as well as Stone Temple Pilots vocalist Scott Weiland. The complete line-up is below...

SCOTT WEILAND - Stone Temple Pilots SLASH - Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit DUFF - Guns N' Roses MATT SORUM - Guns N' Roses, Slash's Snakepit, The Cult DAVE KUSHNER - Infectious Grooves

Customer Reviews:

Contrafan.......2007-07-27

Come on...we BUY the CD and can't put it on our ipod!!

Sure install software to create security breaches in your system.

AND only 2 good songs...what a rip.

1 star for the music.

-1 star for greed. THIS IS A HUGE ZERO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Group Super Great.......2007-07-05

It was predicted that this band would save rock n' roll, and for me that's what they did. The combination of ex-Gunners with former STP frontman Scott Weiland is fantastic to say the least. If you like Rock n' Roll pick this album up immediatly.

Great first effort from the supergroup, now polished this year with a new album.......2007-07-05

I come back to review this album in the wake of VR second album release "liberated". Contraband is the orginal first effort of this group, made up of ex-Guns and roses members Duff, Slash and Matt Sorum (second drummer for guns After Steve), Stone temple pilots frontman Scott Weiland, and Dave Kushner, former guitarist for Wasted youth. Originally known as "the Project" and filmed for a VH1 documentary while rehersing and serching for a frontman, Weiland fell into their laps and they hit it off right away. Set me free was their fisrt song and released on the Hulk soundtrack. Next release was SLither. These first two has the old STP sound to them, with a kick of GNR guitar from slash. Final big release off the album was Fall to pieces, A great ballad and very GNR sounding. Overall, a great mix of sound on the album from both groups. I agree that the mixing was a bit rough, but still good. With their second album out now, the band has really come into their own sound, and comparing it to this album, Contraband was definitly a start, and seems a mix of their root groups sounds, but awesome anyway. Hopefully these guys will keep going and not fall apart like audioslave recently did, another supergoup of this decade. Check this album out. Unfortunately, this edition was a copy protected album, so making taking it to I pod, mp3 is not really possible. Oh well, still worth it.

4- Content 1- Disc.......2007-07-03

Bought this years ago.. When i switched to strictly using my PC for music, i went to rip and cant... Read other reviewers about their issues as well. I dont own an I-Pod but cant use the disc for that either... So i guess i wont be hearing this again until i hook my stereo back up.. Absolutely insane and RCA should be ashamed... I am sure there will be many used editions because of this.
Musically its great. I do like the cd itself. Solid Rock record.

Almost Every Song Is A Hit !!!.......2007-06-28

I love Guns N Roses and when I heard that Slash and Duff were going to make a superband I was hyped about it. It took me a few weeks to pick this up after it came out but when I did I fell in love with it :) Some of the best songs on it are Slither (the single), Big Machine, Headspace, Superhuman, and basically all of the others except for 1.

I'm really looking forward to the sequel to this and it's coming out in less than 7 days - so it's already a must buy for me :)

Average customer rating:

Pure VU Bliss, turned down to a Softer Volume
Wow....Strange but Cool!
very good
The Velvet Underground
A quiet little masterpiece.

The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Similar Items:

The Velvet Underground & Nico
White Light/White Heat
Loaded
VU
Transformer

ASIN: B000002G7G
Release Date: 1996-05-07

Tracks:

Candy Says
What Goes On
Some Kinda Love
Pale Blue Eyes
Jesus
Beginning To See The Light
I'm Set Free
That's The Story Of My Life
The Murder Mystery
After Hours

Amazon.com essential recording

Released in 1969 to an almost total lack of critical acclaim or consumer interest, the Velvet Underground's third album may well be the finest record of the band's career. Without the sonic terrorism of The Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light/White Heat or the ill-conceived commercial concessions that marred Loaded, the album's songs are free to stand on their own merit. And stand they do: "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" may be the finest flat-out rockers in the band's catalog, while "Pale Blue Eyes," "Jesus," and "Candy Says" are some of the most delicately gorgeous songs Lou Reed has ever penned. There's no evidence here of any of the psychedelic effects and hippie sloganeering that marked most late-1960s rock releases, which is probably why the record still holds up today. --Dan Epstein

Customer Reviews:

Pure VU Bliss, turned down to a Softer Volume.......2007-06-28

The Velvet Underground truly were ahead of their time and became inventors of being the first New York noise band; a sound that soon became punk.
This album, their self titled third is far from the sound heard on the Velvets earlier albums -The Velvet Underground w/ Nico- & 1968's White Light/White Heat which is a release that turned the guitar fuzz up a couple notches and contains one of the band's best songs with "Sister Ray"-

Their third Lp released in 1969, however is all sweetness. A more relaxed type of atmosphere, but the songs, all classic are some of their best ever. Lou Reed by now has upgraded to become an articulate songcrafter.
This is especially evident on songs like "Pale Blue Eyes" and "The Murder Mystery"
By now with this album the Velvet Underground became folky balladeers after John Cale's departure, changing the shape of their "alt" noise to gorgeous tunes.
I do think Lou Reed's vocals sound best on this one, my personal favorite by The Velvet Underground. I like it more then the three main other studio releases and better then their next "Loaded"
Like I said earlier this album is filled with classics, but my favorites are "Candy Says" - "What Goes On" - "Pale Blue Eyes" - "Beginning to See the Light" and the closer Maureen Tucker (drummer) sings "After Hours"
Simply Remarkable and a well worth it five stars.

Wow....Strange but Cool!.......2007-06-08

Funny that I found out barely that Maureen Tucker was a female playing drums in this controversial band. She could have told Nico to stick around but I guess Nico went her own ways, detesting the noise that the Velvets created. Is this album any different from those hard-to-listen-to albums they had previously released? Well, it is. The Velvets took it soft this time with the inclusion of Doug Yule, in which his presence and orientation to the band softened the Velvet's noisy background and set a warm environment. This one is easy to listen to. John Cale was gone. And Lou Reed has just the power to make good tunes. Such that reflect this are "Jesus", "Candy Says", and "After Hours", which was featured in the trailer for "The Science of Sleep". "The Murder Mystery" is a gem. It's great and thought-provoking listening to the ping-pong vocals in stereo. One vocalist is in the right side saying things and the other saying things also in the opposite side. Listen to it with headphones and immerse yourself in an ethereal experience with this song. The album delivers genuinely.

very good.......2007-05-24

I don't drool over the Velvet Underground and their important influences in rock like many people do, but not giving their few album releases a chance would be missing something big. Well, somewhat big.

This album is a giant change compared to White Light/White Heat. THAT was one insane listening experience. This album however, is MUCH more laid back and easier for casual music fans to accept. While I have to be in a certain mood to appreciate the quiet tone throughout the album, I can't ignore the fact that, when I AM in that mood, this is really good stuff.

Not the best album they ever did, but probably worth owning.

The Velvet Underground.......2007-05-15

I started listening to The VU almost a year ago when I bought The Velvet Underground & Nico for no particular reason - I liked the album art, I liked the era, and I was intrigued of its supposed influence. It is a great album, but I never really got into it. I downloaded the rest of The VU's back catalogue and instantly became addicted to this self-titled album, so much so that I went out and bought it not 24 hours later.

The Velvet Underground is very cool and laid back, even in its rowdier moments. "What Goes On" is an amazing song with a jamming acoustic guitar, full and groovy bass line, warm psychadelic electric guitar solo, and soaring organ. "Some Kinda Love" is a cool bluesy song with hypnotic drums and Lou Reed's finest lyrics and vocals. "Pale Blue Eyes" and "I'm Set Free" are beautiful and personal songs full of emotion. "I'm Beginning To See The Light" is a cool, upbeat song full of energetic vocals. The best song on the album may be "The Murder Mystery," with its insane overlapping lyrics and psychadelic guitars and keyboard. "After Hours" is perhaps the best closing track of all time.

If there's one imperfection on this album it is "Jesus". The song in and of itself is beautiful, emotional, and certainly meaningful, but it feels out of place on this album - or any VU album for that matter. It is a strange feeling to hear Lou Reed sing about Jesus and grace when on the previous track he was singing about how good it was to have an affair, and that he would "do it once again." But overlooking this one misstep, I dare say this is one of the best albums of all time. It's hard to say whether or not The VU were genius or just plain crazy, but one thing's for sure - I like it.

A quiet little masterpiece........2007-05-14

By 1969, the Velvets had abandoned most of the art-rock stylings of their earlier work, broken their ties with po-art icon Andy Warhol and experimental multi-instrumentalist John Cale, and settled into a quieter, simpler musical style. This sound is exemplified here, on the group's self-titled third album. Where where earlier efforts derived their power from unprecidented ammounts of noise, energy, and lyrical dimentia, these songs are based on emotional honesty, atmospheric compositions, and weird, subtle tension. In short, the album is proof of Lou Reed's unique songwriting skill, and his band's awesome musical power.

It really is all in the songs: The brilliant "Candy Says" oppens the album with a quiet rush of ringing guitars and creeping drums, both of which shimmer beneath some of Reed's most poignant, introspective lyrics. "Pale Blue Eyes" is equally otherworldly, and unashamedly gorgeous ballad that smacks of painful love and bitter regret. "Some Kinda Love" is a playful, funny, jazzy little ditty that shows off Lou's love of offbeat character studies. "I'm Set Free" and "That's the Story of My Life" are both hidden gems, tucked away on the second half of the album and built on some of the Velvet Underground's greatest melodies. In light of the group's previous albums (which contained songs that described sex, drugs, and violence with a seemingly amoral abandon), "Jesus" is just plain weird: It's an earnest, completely unsarcastic (to my ears, anyway) appeal for redemption that comes off sounding every bit as unflinchingly real as "Heroin" or "Sister Ray." The album has its more ubeat moments, as well: "What Goes On" and "Beginning to See the Light" are two of the band's best rockers. The former is a rhythmic, hypnotic churn that derives its power from a few brilliant insturmental breaks and some fantastic lyrical paranoia, while the later is an ecstatic burst of manic energy that can get just about anyone caught up in a frenzy of manic excitement. "The Murder Mystery" is the most overt remnant of the band's experimental side on this album. At nearly nine minutes in length, the song features two vocal lines being played simultaneously, each one rattling off a surreal (and at times violent) poetic ramble over a dense, churning musical score. It's every bit is agood as some of the record's most conventional moments, thanks to a taut, ominous melody and the dizzyingly cool way that the voices have of playing off of one another. The proceedings close out with "After Hours," a wonderful vaudville-tinged ballad performed with total earnestness by group drummer Maureen Tucker. It's a fantastic, playful summation of an equally fantastic album. No rock fan should be without this.

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Melody and the Tyranny EP
Velvet Revolver
Manufacturer: Sony / Bmg Import
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Libertad
Libertad-Deluxe Edition
Libertad
Live at the Gorge 05/06
Contraband

ASIN: B000QEINVI
Release Date: 2007-06-25

Tracks:

She Builds Quick Machines
Just Sixteen
Psycho Killer
Making Of Libertad (Video)
Do It For The Kids (Live Performance From Houston) (Video)

Album Details

Velvet Revolver is the Union of Two Celebrated and Respected Bands in Rock History - Guns N Roses and Stone Temple Pilots. Their First Album 'contraband' Received Critical Acclaim and Debuted at #1 in the Us (Best Ever Debut for a New Rock Artist in the Soundscan Era). This Enhanced CD EP Includes the First Single 'she Builds Quick Machines', a Cover of the Talking Heads Classic 'psycho Killer', Exclusive Video Content and More.

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Seriously Wonderful and Not Half as Scary as Some Would Suggest.
Violent, bitter, and brilliant.
An Intro to the Art of Noise-making
Even today, one of the weirdest records ever made
At least they cared enough to write...

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Polydor / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico
Loaded
VU
Loaded (2-CD Fully Loaded Edition)

ASIN: B000002G7E
Release Date: 1996-05-07

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
The Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Amazon.com

Nothing in their debut could really have prepared fans for the sonic assault the Velvets unleashed in White Light/White Heat. Freed from Andy Warhol's patronage (and Nico's vocals), Lou Reed and company strip production values to a minimum and turn out a primitive rock & roll masterpiece: everything on this record sounds distorted and abrasive. Depending on how you feel about these sorts of things, this makes it either their best or their worst record. Of course, underneath it all are some of Reed's greatest songs, from the title track to the wistful "Here She Comes Now." It all culminates on side 2 with the raucously joyous "I Heard Her Call My Name" ("And then my mind split open," Reed sings, and his guitar lets you know just about how that would feel) and the epic "Sister Ray"--10 minutes of transcendent, pounding fuzz as Reed searches for his "mainline." --Percy Keegan

Customer Reviews:

Seriously Wonderful and Not Half as Scary as Some Would Suggest. .......2007-05-23

Most of the comments I've read about the Velvets on this site are surprisingly smart and well done, so check 'em out, particularly with reference to this album of the Velvet's, but I wanted to add a few things.

When I first listened to this record about 16 years ago (at the age of 16) it freaked me out and I put it aside in favor of Loaded and ESPECIALLY the s/t record (their best, by far). Those records are comforting and oddly familiar (even on the first listen)... they're just plain brilliant and they are pretty easy to dig, and to get. But over the years I've come back to WL/WH again and again and it honestly keeps getting better and better and better.

This is the most interesting and the most challenging record in the Velvet's catalog (not Lou Reed's--see Metal Machine Music) and for that reason I beseech you (if you have any interest in music that colors outside of the lines) to really listen to this, hard. It's not a perfect record, not sure it's even a "masterpiece", but it's remarkably f#&@%^%G cool and it's fun to get lost in. I think of it as a document regarding a particular time in American musical history, one that gets ever more relevant as bands like Comets on Fire, Wolf Eyes, The Warlocks and so on and so on, head off deeper into the forest that the Velvets, I'd argue, seeded.

And honestly, The Gift alone makes this record worthwhile--that you get Sister Ray and Lady Godiva's Operation as well makes it a no-brainer.

Violent, bitter, and brilliant........2007-05-23

Recorded in 1967 (and released early the next year), while Lou Reed and John Cale were constantly at each other's throats, White Light/White Heat is a loud, angry, uncompromising record, full of anti-social dismay and cathartic rage. And since this is a Velvets album, its also sarcastic, smart, drug-addled, and brilliant. If you're here after being floored by the group's astounding debut, be warned: this is a much less accessable, much more hostile album than its predecessor. Where the debut used feedback and unusual song structures to augment what were essentially offbeat pop songs, White Light/White Heat seeks noise as an end in itself- the songs brutal whirlwinds of of distortion and dissonance, messes of pure volume and screaming amplifiers. This stuff makes heavy metal sound like "Ring Around the Rosy." Needless to say, you probably won't like it the first time you hear it. When I bought this on CD (way back when I was all of sixteen years old), my dad actually threw it out the window during the car ride home. It's not the most accessable thing around. But give it a few more listens and you'll discover that the Velvets rarely make artless noise: these songs are hotbeds of raw, negative emotion and boundry-pushing experimentation. They bristle with nervous energy and uncontrolled fury. It really is something that should be heard.

The title track and and "I Heard Her Call My Name" are hypercative, rugged, and speedy (and when I say "speed," think "amphetamene"), racing along on rockin' rhythm sections and stinging lead guitar lines. The lyrics to the former are pure sleaze-obsessed Lou Reed-isms, full of references to shooting up and spending time with seedy characters, while the latter (the one that made my dad throw out the CD, by the way. If only he'd made it to the track after that!) is a shuddering, broken-down blues rocker with instrumental breaks that approximat pure white noise. "The Gift" is a two-headed monster: It consists of John Cale reading an increasingly bizarre (and darkly funny) short story in one stereo channel, while the band pounds out a hypnotic, greasy instrumental jam in the other, full of pinwheeling guitar solos and leering rhythms. Equally unhinged is "Lady Godiva's Operation," which starts out as a somewhat pretty (but undeniably odd) surrealist ballad, but soon transmogrifies into a quiet freakout, complete with startling lyrical interruptions and jabs of nasty guitar. The short, sweet, "Here She Comes Now" is the closest thing on the album to legitimatly beautiful song, complete with haunting vocal harmonies, delicate verses, and ethereal, playful guitar lines. It's proof that Reed could write a gorgeous song when he wanted to (for further evidence of that, see their third album).

And then there's "Sister Ray." To this day, there really are few experiences in this world that are as twistedly wonderful as "Sister Ray." It's the epitome of difficult brilliance: at over seventeen minutes in length, the track is a monster, an endless tornado of tooth-gnashing keybords, shattered guitar chords, and jurassic rhythms. It may not be easy to listen to, but get used to it, and you'll discover that its a masterpiece of ecstatically enraged white noise shattered-mirror psychedelia, a sociopathic rock 'n' roll classic that'll stay with you for the rest of your life. Whenever you're in a bad mood, rank it up. It's better than antidepressents.

White Light/White Heat may be a difficult album to appreciate, but don't give up: If its harshly noisy nature turns you off the first time around, give it a few more listens. You just might discover one of your favorite rock albums ever.

An Intro to the Art of Noise-making.......2007-04-18

The VU is a hipster dream band. Now it has become fashionable to simply adore the Velvet Underground, especially the debut (yeah the one with the banana). I do not doubt how important the VU's debut was but now I rarely seem to listen to it. It seems the VU has become a name-dropping device for pseudo-artsy hipster kiddies while sporting his/her new Warhol made-in-China banana peel shoulder bag. However, true lovers of the VU will always turn to the still little-known soundscape. This album- White Light/White Heat- distilled the VU to its pure core (aka without the annoying Warhol and odd Nico) with John Cale and Lou Reed.

There will always be a fight over which member of the VU was the most important but this noise masterpiece seemed to be guided by the genius of John Cale with his avant-garde inclinations and willingness to challenge the listener's perception of music. Cale would later make far more tuneful, pretty, and (better?) recordings such as his stunning Paris 1919 album but this is the one and only White Light/ White Heat.

As for Lou Reed, well, he is being plain ole Lou Reed. He plays a nasty guitar on "I Heard Her Call My Name". The best VU album that displays his folky pop talents would be the album after White Light/White Heat- the self titled album.

If you like this album get Wire's Chairs Missing, Sonic Youth's EVOL, My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, PiL's Metal Box, and (if you want to go all the way with this noisy stuff...) Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting.

This album will scare all the poseurs away.

Even today, one of the weirdest records ever made.......2007-02-05

The Velvet Underground were always something different and special. The first album, even by today's standards, was pretty innovative and artistic, and the second album is the more shocking and more avant-garde of the two. It's also the least digestible VU album, as it's not as catchy as "Loaded," melodic as the self-titled record, or as song-for-song standout-ish as the debut. Even today, this record is menacing and scary, and still pretty unique. It may take some time for you to appreciate, as it is certainly an acquired taste.

The tracks get even more detailed into drugs, particularly the likes of cocaine, in the first track. That's one of the greatest songs on this album, and while there's six songs, there is so much that's accomplished on here. I wish John Cale had sung on more VU songs. I thought he was a great vocalist, particularly on "Lady Godiva's Operation." It is brilliant and worth owning "White Light" for this alone. It is such a beautiful song.

Although, on the other side of the spectrum is the infamous seventeen-minute jam-out track "Sister Ray," which is kinda scary, and totally dark and sinister. This track can be seen as one that paved the way for goth and noise rock. It is actually pretty well done and even at its incredibly long length, I think it's just fine. Well performed.

As for the other three songs, they're a little bit interesting, even if not as noteworthy. The only one I'm not a really big fan of out of those is "The Gift," which goes the entire time through a poetic spoken word verses. I guess it's not bad, but not my type of thing.

This record is interesting, and if you're in for it, I totally would suggest getting this sophomore album from the Velvet Underground.

At least they cared enough to write..........2007-01-10

White Light/White Heat is what happens when a group of talented and original artists are given free reign to create whatever they want in an atmosphere that encourages experimentation. I have a massive music collection covering everything from traditional Egyptian folk music to gangsta rap, and I have never encountered another album like this one. It can be so rocking and groovy at times, yet so chaotic and dense at others. It is also one of the few albums I own that I never find boring.

I'm not going to break the album down song-by-song because there is already plenty of that here on Amazon. I will simply say that this album is not easy listening. It is loud, chaotic, wild, rough, raw, and sometimes just downright weird. Nonetheless, it is among my favorite albums ever. (I usually prefer much more mainstream fare.) It features what has got to be one of the earliest recorded versions of what would eventually become known as punk, "I Heard Her Call My Name." It also features one of the craziest and hardest rocking songs I know of in the exhausting "Sister Ray." Heck, I'd be willing to bet even a lot of the people who say they don't like this song in other reviews still think the first five minutes of "Sister Ray" are killer. And I do want to defend "The Gift." This is my favorite song on the album and among my favorite Velvet Underground songs period. I don't think I could ever get sick of the way John Cale reads the story or the jam the band plays in the other channel.

This is not an album for casual music fans, or even casual fans of the Velvet Underground. I have a lot of friends who love music and cannot stand anything on this album after the first track. But if you are open-minded and willing to throw out your previous ideas about what a rock album can and should be, then White Light/White Heat could prove to be one of those rare albums that you enjoy more with each successive listen, just as it is for me. Highly, highly recommended... but not to everyone.

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an r&b classic
do yourself a favour kids
fabulous masterpiece
I was also down
Not her worst by a long shot, but she's starting to lose it a little here

The Velvet Rope
Janet Jackson
Manufacturer: Virgin Records Us
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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janet.
Rhythm Nation 1814
Damita Jo
All for You [Extra Track]
Design of a Decade 1986/1996

ASIN: B000000WEX
Release Date: 1997-10-07

Tracks:

Interlude-Twisted Elegance
Velvet Rope
You
Got 'Til It's Gone
Interlude-Speaker Phone
My Need
Interlude-Fasten Your Seatbelts
Go Deep
Free Xone
Interlude-Memory
Together Again
Interlude-Online
Empty
Interlude-Full
What About
Every Time
Tonight's The Night
I Get Lonely
Rope Burn
Anything
Interlude-Sad
Special

Amazon.com

Teaming with her most accomplished collaborators, producer-songwriters Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Janet Jackson delivers what is easily her finest record since Rhythm Nation--and arguably her best ever. Highlights include jams like "You" and "Got 'Til It's Gone," which recontextualizes samples from War and Joni Mitchell, respectively; the funky memorial to a dear departed, "Together Again"; and a slinky cover of Rod Stewart's "Tonight's the Night." Best of all, though, is "What About." An accusatory throwdown for a lover who beats and cheats even as he professes his love, it swings angrily between tender quiet and raging bitter funk. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

an r&b classic.......2007-02-06

I love playing this back to back with mariah carey's butterfly and madonna's ray of light. All 3 albums from the biggest divas of our time showcased them at their creative peak.

do yourself a favour kids.......2007-01-22

forget about the janet that's dating jermaine dupri and posing naked in ridiculous headdresses and BUY THIS ALBUM! Her new music might be garbage but that's no reason to ignore this masterpiece of an album and whatever came before it. Hear this and you'll know who inspired ciara and the like, and did it better than her.

fabulous masterpiece.......2007-01-02

This album got a lot of good reviews when it was released and critics hailed it as janet's best work ever and hailed it a masterpiece of her career. Although the sales for this were pale in comparison to the precedor janet. , with time it has gone on to become a cult classic. Notice that people who criticize janet today are the same ones who hailed this album a classic and masterpiece. She definitely reached her creative peak on this album and it has stood the test of time. I can't believe it's been 10 years since this wonderful album was released. I think timing also had to do with slow sales from the start too. Had this album been released in 1996, it would have reached 5-6 million then instead of taking almost 10 years to reach that total, which I'm sure it has already.

I was also down.......2006-12-31

I was also down in 9th grade, when this album came out. I feel like it spoke to me and helped me get over a loss in the family. A lot of questions that were going through my mind as an adolesecent were also addressed on this album. Stuff about self-worth, sexuality, loss, ups and downs, lonliness etc. And janet had much more spice than the spice girls ever did. She was real, she was raw and she put it all out there on this CD. People at that time liked together again and i get lonely but didnt' care for the CD like they did for the janet. album. Almost 10 years later, I see people who are lovers of r&b music calling it a classic record, which it always was.

Not her worst by a long shot, but she's starting to lose it a little here.......2006-11-24

Though The Velvet Rope did spawn a couple of bona fide Janet essentials with "I Get Lonely" and "Together Again", it also marked the artistic downturn of what was once one of the hottest careers in music. The aforementioned songs and a couple of others are pretty good, but only the most astute Janet Jackson scholars should find any JJ album after this one necessary.
2004's Damita Jo is OK at best, and 2001's All For You is the most woefully mediocre thing she's done since Dream Street.

Average customer rating:

Loaded : Completing the Velvet Underground's Legacy
not as groundbreaking - but a personal favorite
The Last, and A Heck of a Least
"All the poets studied rules of verse/and the ladies, they rolled their eyes"
Their worst album but still not bad (3.5 stars)

Loaded
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Warner Strat. Mkt.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Velvet Underground
White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground & Nico
VU
1969: Velvet Underground Live, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000002LVB
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Who Loves The Sun
Sweet Jane
Rock And Roll
Cool It Down
New Age
Head Held High
Lonesome Cowboy Bill
I Found A Reason
Train Round The Bend
Oh! Sweet Nuthin'

Amazon.com essential recording

While John Cale certainly gave the first couple of Velvet Underground albums a signature sound, his departure enabled Lou Reed to do exactly what he does best: write kick-ass, stripped-down rock songs. On Loaded his talent comes to full fruition. Who can imagine a world without "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll," arguably two of the greatest rock tunes ever penned? The brilliance of those songs is so bright, it's easy to overlook a couple of other Reed masterpieces: the tender, epic discourse of "New Age" (which highlights his assured sense of poetic wordplay: "And when you kissed Robert Mitchum / Gee, but I thought you'd never catch him!") and the extended sweet blues romp of "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'." On Loaded the Velvet Underground--who before had hit the sonic ceiling experimenting with shattered chords, feedback, screeching violas, and what Reed once claimed was "the fastest guitar playing ever"--eschew the dark side of noise for clarity. Check out the ringing chime that begins "Who Loves the Sun" and the sterling (no pun intended) guitar riff that drives "Rock & Roll." This is not to say that the old ragged punch of the original Velvets is completely gone. Moe Tucker still beats a mean set of skins; there's no stopping Sterling Morrison's train-wreck rhythm guitar on "Train Round the Bend"; and "Head Held High" achieves near-"Sister Ray" moments of madness. --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews:

Loaded : Completing the Velvet Underground's Legacy.......2007-06-28

Loaded, is the Velvet Underground's fourth and final studio recording.
Released in September 1970, one month after Lou Reed calls it quits and begans solo work. Maureen Tucker is absent from 'Loaded' out on maternity leave. "Oh Mo, where did you go?" - The VU really should have waited.
By now, new bassist Doug Yule took over as lead vocalist on far too many tracks. Yes, the band was on the edge of breaking up.
Despite all of this, as always The Velvets still produce a fantastic album.
'Loaded' is the VU's most commercially accessible and the band finally signed onto a major label. Although like their earlier lps - 'Loaded' didn't sell very well.
This last album does contain some really wonderful tunes. Includes : the fun, rollicking track "Rock & Roll" and "Sweet Jane" - the guitar bursts on "Head Held High" although it may sound like a repetitive generic rock song by many. My personal favorite track, the opener : "Who Loves the Sun"-
Although much more direct and different then earlier outputs, which of course can be a good thing. This album features one of the VU's biggest stinkers = "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" a country hillbilly type of Rock sound that Lou Reed never should have attempted.
-Loaded- does complete the Velvet Underground's Rock legacy. An end to a highly influential rock band as Reed and Morrison experimented with alternate tunings and fuzzy noise later copied by future bands. -
Such followers (many are favorites of mine) who were influenced by the Velvet Underground include CAN, Television, The Fall, the Dream Syndicate, Pavement, R.E.M. and continuing the New York no-wave tradition: Sonic Youth.

not as groundbreaking - but a personal favorite.......2007-06-02

post john cale velvet underground tends to get rated a little lower - which makes sense Cale was one of the great innovators of the time.. but i actually listen to this more than the other albums... It may not explore uncharted territories but it is perfect in its own way.. not a bad track on this album!

The Last, and A Heck of a Least.......2006-11-01

The Velvet Underground followed up their mellow third record with the more rocking Loaded. Doug Yule, who first appeared on the previous release, sang lead on four tracks. Drummer Moe Tucker was pregnant and unable to play, so Doug's brother Billy sat in on drums. John Cale was long gone. Lou Reed left the band shortly before the album's release, and claimed that it had not been mastered to his satisfaction. Obviously, this was a different kind of Velvet Underground record.

The same two songs are always the first to be mentioned in every review of the Velvets' last album. "Sweet Jane" is rightfully one of the band's best-known numbers, as it is a jubilant pop song with sturdy guitar riffs and self-assured vocals by Lou Reed. It is also a tune about the joy of domestic bliss, which wasn't exactly Reed's signature topic. The other well-known track on Loaded is "Rock And Roll". Now, I hate to expose the naked emperor, but this is not that great of a song. It is very pedestrian, not very inspired, and frankly quite trite. Their is no reason for it to be praised as one of the songs that best displays Reed's songwriting talent, especially when there are several other songs on this album that more rightly qualify. Among these are the Mamas and Papas-esque "Who Loves the Sun?", which opens the record. Initially, this may strike the listener as the type of song that represents everything that the Velvets were against on their first two albums. But let us not forget that the first track on their debut was the hazzy, sunny pop song "Sunday Morning". (And as I said in another review, the opening track of their eponymous third album - "Candy Says" - must have been quite a shock to first-time listeners as well.) In general, Reed eschews songs of sex and drugs for more down-to-earth subjects. The lyrics are more pensive if not profoundly philosophical, such as on the eloquent "New Age" (which contains the cringe-inducing rhyme of "Mitchum" and "catch him"), the tuneful "I Found A Reason", and the closing track "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'". "Cool It Down" has an old-fashioned quality to it, and is another highlight on Loaded. However, although "Head Held High" and "Train Round the Bend" recall some of the manic moments of the band's first two records, they are lyrically repetitive and uninteresting, as is "Lonesome Cowboy Bill".

These soft spots are not enough to drag the album down too much, but like the ones on The Velvet Undergroud, they are enough to lose it a few points. The fact that their last two albums were different does not by itself cause them to be the slightly lesser records that they are. Rather, it is the fact that Lou Reed - who was the lone leader of the band now - simply sounds uninspired some (but certainly not all) of the time. But please don't let me be misunderstood - the positive is absolutely worth accentuating on Loaded. Lou Reed's pop songs were among the best he's ever written, and his thoughtful side shone brightly in tracks that were of slower tempo but impenetrable vitality. While more accessible in the conventional sense, it is not the place to begin a Velvet Underground collection. It is still best to start with The Velvet Underground & Nico or The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed. (Loaded was the second of VU's studio albums that I heard.) It's too bad that the original release does not include the full-length version of "Sweet Jane", which can be only found on the Fully Loaded edition or the box set. Although I wouldn't recommend buying Fully Loaded just to have that version of the song, it does have some first-rate stuff like "Ride Into the Sun", "Ocean", and "I'm Sticking With You", the latter two of which can also be found on the very worthwhile collection simply titled VU. (And you can't really go wrong with the box set, if you are willing to take that plunge. It contains what is probably the bravest and most influential body of work in American rock.)

To many fans of popular music, the end of an era occurred in April 1970, when The Beatles broke up. To fans of altermative rock, an era ended a few months later, when Lou Reed left The Velvet Underground. Loaded was the last of their proper albums, and to some, the least. But if this is the weakest link, then The Velvet Underground's chain will remain forever unbroken.

"All the poets studied rules of verse/and the ladies, they rolled their eyes".......2006-08-29

Okay, after hearing all this [...] about new albums by Paris Hilton, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Simpson, I did what I always do: Escaped into that happy little land known as Music Made Before I Was Born. To be more specific, I listened to Sweet Jane, by far VU's greatest song, for the billionth time. It never gets old. The same can be said about Loaded... well, most of it.
Every VU album has a cliche around it - VU & Nico is the one from left field, White Light/White Heat is the speed-fueled party, VU is the quiet morning after, and Loaded is the pop album, minus the sex, the drugs, the murder (kind of ironic when you think about how being "loaded" can refer to being drunk or having a loaded gun). And the group pulls it off, though sometimes it seems they're trying too hard (I Found a Reason, Cool It Down). But there's a lot to like about Loaded: Who Loves the Sun, the aforementioned Sweet Jane, ode to Man's Greatest Invention Rock and Roll - like Ginny and Lou Reed, my life was also saved by rock 'n' roll. Not to mention album-closer Oh! Sweet Nuthin', New Age, Head Held High and Train 'Round the Bend. Loaded isn't perfect - subtract Lonesome Cowboy Bill, I Found a Reason, and Cool It Down, then we'll talk - but it's a good one!

Their worst album but still not bad (3.5 stars).......2006-08-07

Released in 1970, Loaded would be the final Velvet Underground release to feature their leader and chief songwriter Lou Reed. Like their previous albums, Loaded would sound different from its predecessor, this time sporting more of a hard rock sound. The performances sound almost professional compared to their looseness of their previous works. Also worth noting is that while all the songs are good, they're not quite as memorable or as exciting as before. The now classic tracks "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll" are the best tracks as well as the only ones that really capture the spirit of their previous output. Another great song is "New Age", a track that not only has some great chord changes but also recalls the beauty of "I'm Set Free" and "I'll Be Your Mirror." The opening "Who Loves The Sun" is psychedelic pop similar to "Sunday Morning" and "Femme Fatale" from their first album, Velvet Underground and Nico. While rockers like "Cool It Down", "Head Held High", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", and "Train Round the Bend" are all decent, they don't touch anything off their previous albums. The same goes for the mellower "I Found a Reason" and "Oh! Sweet Nothin"; both are okay but they've done better. All told, while Loaded is still a good album and the band certainly don't embarrass themselves like many do on their last albums, it's not on par with their previous classic material.

Velvet Goldmine: A film by Todd Haynes: Music From The Original Motion Picture

Average customer rating:

A Cosmic Aural Orgasm!
a wondrous album
The best soundtrack album EVER - even if Bowie wasn't involved
Wow! I mean just wow!
Very uneven

Velvet Goldmine: A film by Todd Haynes: Music From The Original Motion Picture
Carter Burwell , Brian Eno , Shudder to Think , Placebo , The Venus in Fur , Wylde Ratttz , Grant Lee Buffalo , Pulp , Roxy Music , and Teenage Fanclub & Donna Matthews
Manufacturer: Fontana London
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Movie Soundtracks | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

General | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

1990s | By Decade | Soundtracks | Styles | Music

Glam | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
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Velvet Goldmine
Trainspotting: Music From The Motion Picture
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Hedwig And The Angry Inch: Original Cast Recording

ASIN: B00000DLV3
Release Date: 1998-11-03

Tracks:

Needle In The Camel's Eye - Brian Eno
Hot One - Shudder To Think
20th Century Boy - Placebo
2HB - The Venus In Furs
T.V. Eye - Wylde Rattz
Ballad of Maxwell Demon - Shudder To Think
The Whole Shebang - Grant Lee Buffalo
Ladytron - The Venus In Furs
We Are The Boys - Pulp
Virginia Plain - Roxy Music
Personality Crisis - Teenage Fanclub & Donna Matthews
Satelite Of Love - Lou Reed
Diamond Meadows - T. Rex
Bitter's End - Paul Kimble & Andy Mackay
Baby's On Fire - The Venus In Furs
Bitter-Sweet - The Venus In Furs
Velvet Spacetime - Carter Burwell
Tumbling Down - The Venus In Furs
Make Me Smile (Come Up And See Me) - Steve Harley

Amazon.com essential recording

Director Todd Haynes's celebration of the sex, drugs, and rock & roll of the British glam era of the early '70s, Velvet Goldmine, would be nothing without the music that inspired it. A few unusual absentees (no Bowie, Iggy Pop, or New York Dolls?), but folks such as Brian Eno, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, and T-Rex are represented. Several covers from the glam era are performed without much deviation by two supergroups: the Venus in Furs, featuring members of England's elite--Bernard Butler, and Thom Yorke of Radiohead; and Wylde Ratz, featuring Mark Arm of Mudhoney, Ron Asheton of the original Stooges, and Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth. Strongest are the originals submitted to the film: Shudder to Think tame their own experimental excesses to put forth two glam-worthy originals with "Hot One" and "Ballad of Maxwell Demon." Pulp deliver "We Are the Boys," which runs amuck with the dramatic stagepower of the finest glam. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews:

A Cosmic Aural Orgasm!.......2007-04-17

I fell in love with Velvet Goldmine the very first time I saw it - in large part thanks to this soundtrack. But when you look at the roster of names involved with this project - Michael Stipe, Brian Eno, Thurston Moore, Placebo, Thom Yorke of Radiohead - it should come as no surprise -greatness begets greatness!

There are really no weak songs on this soundtrack. Needle in the Camel's Eye is simply infectious - this song - which opens the movie - was as subtle as a slap in the face and immediately grabbed my attention. The closing song - Steve Harley's Make Me Smile - conveys the sheer joy and passion music can provide. And all of the songs in between are even better.

We are treated to some of the biggest names from the era including Roxy Music (the exuberance of Virginia Plain), T-Rex (a dreamy Diamond Meadows) and the genius that is Lou Reed (Satellite Of Love) - a song that even my six year old niece adores singing. She knows this whole soundtrack by heart!

I grew up listening to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, Iggy and the Stooges and Bowie thanks to my older cousins. But I might have never listened to Roxy Music or T-Rex if it wasn't for this album. If you like the songs on this album - you'll probably love a lot of their music.

However, in my opinion, the two best songs on this album - hands down - are Ladytron - performed by The Venus in Furs - a sort of supergroup fronted by Thom Yorke and 20th Century Boy - covered by the brilliant juggernaut that is Placebo.

Ladytron is just a gorgeous number - a swoony almost psychedlic tune and Thom Yorke's voice is incredible as always as he sings - I use you, and I confuse you...

As for 20th Century Boy - this song isn't just the highlight of the soundtrack - it's also one of the highlights of the whole movie. Brian Molko's stage presence is phenomenal and whether you are listening to this song on CD or watching him perform it live in the movie - he sells this song completely with a sexy swagger to his singing.

Molko has frequently been called a ladyboy - and he possesses a physique that can only be described as petite - but believe me - listen to him perform this song once - watch him live in the movie - this ladyboy has got more cajones than most singers twice his size! And if you like this song - you should definitely check out the rest of Placebo's music. They are one of the most under appreciated and under rated bands in the world today.

Rounding out the soundtrack, Ewan McGregor channels Iggy Pop in T.V. Eye, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers proves that being a world class wanker doesn't prevent him from also being a fantastic singer. Rhys Meyers has a lovely voice and range which he utilizes briliantly in the songs Tumbling Down and Baby's On Fire.

The rest of the songs including Hot One, Ballad of Maxwell Demon, The Whole Shebang, 2HB, Personality Crisis, Bitter-Sweet, and We Are The Boys by Pulp are all solid numbers, sonically capturing the whole mood of that era in music. As I said, there are really NO weak songs on this soundtrack.

The only thing I was disappointed about was that they left out a couple other really good songs - Rhys Meyers lovely rendition of Sebastian - which is a shame - because he sings it beautifully - and Gary Glitter's uber cheezy/sleazy number Do You Wanna Touch Me?

This album is definitely worth every cent and it's one you will never grow tired of listening too. A must have for any person who has a genuine passion and appreciation for good music!

a wondrous album.......2006-08-20

this is the soundtrack that led me into the wonderful world of glam rock! it is outstanding and i could just play it again and again.... it is certainly one of the most brilliant albums out there and probably my favourite soundtrack of all time.

The best soundtrack album EVER - even if Bowie wasn't involved.......2006-08-12

Simply, this is the BEST soundtrack CD ever recorded, bar none, hands down, no contest. Why? On first...or millionth...listen, the entire album captures the film, the world, the era, the style, and the sound expertly, effortlessly - but it's not just an empty gesture or a slick impersonation, VG amplifies and expands the authentic glam vision to create something somehow more glam, deeper, more intense, more addictive, sexy, heartbreaking, uplifting, even dangerous - once you see the movie, and once you hear these songs, you'll play them over & over, come back to them year after year, and they'll become the fabric of your own life - or your imagined life, past, present, future, or even a fond, faded memory of what never was. The most jaw-dropping achievement of the album, aside from impeccable taste (Eno, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, T Rex, anyone?) is that since Todd Haynes didn't get permission from Bowie to use his own music, he went out and recruited the coolest rock icons and upstars to create songs that amazingly feel like they are long-lost nuggets circa 72/73, but were really made in 99 - it's not just playing dress up, it's redefining a whole musical and cultural era. This is Haynes' BEST film, and this is the BEST soundtrack. Sadly, as usual, the movie was a flop upon its original theatrical release - I recall going to see if on a rainy Saturday matinee on its first-weekend release, and there were only two people in the theater, me and the usher. No matter, this album is a real achievement, never to be repeated again, so savor it now.

Wow! I mean just wow!.......2005-12-18

Even if you don't want to watch the movie (and why wouldn't you) you have to buy this soundtrack. This is the soundtrack that proves that other soundtracks are merely prepackaged garbage. No soundtrack so captures an era and a mood as completely as this one (ok there's also the 24 Hour Party People soundtrack but that's IT!)

These songs are riveting, amazing, great. Twentieth Century Boy is worth the price alone. I want to find every version of this song (I heard a version in the Truman Show as well - a 50s rockabilly version) and play them on repeat. The movie did such a great job of capturing the 70s versions of Bowie and Iggy Pop, it'd almost be blasphemous for the soundtrack to fizzle. It doesn't fizzle. This is the CD that you wish Bowie would have put out (he's done great songs but he's also done mediocre ones) and this is the CD that you can play loud and play on repeat.

There's really not much more to say about it but the gushing joy of a fan.

Very uneven.......2005-10-16

I got this cd becasue one i am a fan of glam rock, it was a good price and i am a fan or radioehead. How can you have soundtrack that is about the glam rock scene of the 70s and not include bowie. All of the covers are not nearly as good as the originals. The only good songs are Virgina Plain and Satelite of Love and Camel in the eye but those are the original songs and i have those songs allready. The songs of Venus and Furs dispointed me it seem Thom was trying to sound like Bryan Ferry on them it would have been better if he just used his own voice. If you want a good glam rock soundtrack may i suggest Hedwig and The Angry inch most of the songs are sung by one singer who has a better voice then most of the rock singers out today. That soundtrack acutally does not sound like a soundtrack which i think is best i am not a big fan of various artist cds. I ended up selling it for more then i paid for it.

Average customer rating:

Under the covers
A breeze from the past.
A Boast for the Bygone
beautiful melodies and uplifting lyrics
Not a lot of new cd's worth buying these days. This one is!!!

Under the Covers, Vol. 1
Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs , Matthew Sweet , and Susanna Hoffs
Manufacturer: Shout Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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Power Pop | Rock | Styles | Music
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All the Roadrunning
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ASIN: B000EQ5QFE
Release Date: 2006-04-18

Tracks:

I See The Rain (The Marmalade)
And Your Bird Can Sing (The Beatles)
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue (Bob Dylan)
Who Knows Where The Time Goes? (Fairport Convention)
Cinnamon Girl (Neil Young And Crazy Horse)
Alone Again Or (Love)
Warmth Of The Sun (The Beach Boys)
Different Drum (The Stone Poneys, featuring Linda Ronstadt)
The Kids Are Alright (The Who)
Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground)
Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere (Neil Young And Crazy Horse)
Care Of Cell #44 (The Zombies)
Monday Monday (The Mamas And The Papas)
She May Call You Up Tonight (The Left Banke)
Run To Me (The Bee Gees)

Amazon.com

Sid (Matthew Sweet, after his character's name in the Austin Powers band Ming Tea) and Susie (Susanna Hoffs, who joined him and Mike Myers in belting out "BBC" on the soundtrack) are in as fine voice as ever on Under the Covers, Vol. 1, a 15-song collection of tunes first made famous by the likes of the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Mamas and the Papas, and the Who. And man, were they born to sing this stuff. Both the Bangles and Sweet discographies are derivative--in the best possible sense--of late-'60s pop-rock, and who didn't love the Merry-Go-Round, Grass Roots, Simon & Garfunkel, and Big Star covers Hoffs and company scattered among their originals? Recorded at Sweet's home studio in the Hollywood Hills, the album opens strong with "I See the Rain," a Marmalade song from 1967 that Jimi Hendrix called the year's best British single but was a hit only in the Netherlands. Maybe Sweet's stinging, ringing fretwork (he plays most of the non-percussion instruments on this disc) and Hoffs's throwback vocals will rectify that, nearly 40 years later. The two proceed to nail the Beatles' "And Your Bird Can Sing," one of the high points on Revolver, and score similarly with Fairport Convention's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes?" (Hoffs in full ballad mode), the Stone Poneys' "Different Drum," the Who's "The Kids Are Alright," Love's "Alone Again Or," and a pair of Neil Young numbers, "Cinnamon Girl" and "Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere." Some of the selections do miss the mark--Hoffs's smoky-sweet backing vocals seem a little misplaced on Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," and "The Warmth of the Sun" was probably the wrong Beach Boys track for Sweet to attempt (Brian Wilson himself strains at those high notes nowadays). But by and large this is a delightful power-pop excursion. Van Dyke Parks's liner notes, keyboards, and string arrangements make it that much better, as do Sweet collaborator Ric Menck's drums, Ed Fotheringham's illustrations, and Henry Diltz's photographs (Hoffs looks as stunning today as she did when laying down All Over the Place). --Benjamin Lukoff

More Sid & Susie

Different Light
The Bangles
Doll Revolution
The Bangles
Austin Powers
Original Soundtrack

Greatest Hits
The Bangles
Girlfriend
Matthew Sweet
Time Capsule: The Best Of
Matthew Sweet

Album Description

What do alt-rock/power pop heroes like Susanna Hoffs (The Bangles) and Matthew Sweet do on their time off? They get together in Matthew's comfy home studio and record a stunning album of their favorite '60s pop hits and rarities, of course!

The two first worked together in conjunction with Mike Myers as members of the band Ming Tea, appearing in all three Austin Powers movies and soundtracks. Now they've struck out on their own with Under The Covers Vol. 1, a tribute to their favorite '60s acts, including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Neil Young,The Who, and cult favorites like The Velvet Underground,The Zombies,The Left Banke, and Love. Leaving the songwriting to others lets Matthew and Susanna focus on singing, and the results are breathtaking. For extra authenticity, they even asked Van Dyke Parks (most famous for his work with the Beach Boys)to play keyboards and write string arrangements. It all adds up to a rock fan's dream come true.

Customer Reviews:

Under the covers.......2007-07-28

I have to admit I am a big fan of The Bangles. Matthew Sweet I was never really a fan of. I came across UNDER THE COVERS VOL. 1 by the pair at my local library earlier this week. I had heard about this cd when it first came out. I decided to check it out to hear Matthew and Susanna's versions of a various mix of popular retro pop songs. Matthew and Susanna are fictional couple named Sid and Susie. I guess the record label wasn't too big on the concept behind the cover album therefore put a kibosh on the famous pair going by their fictional names for this project.

Surprisingly I liked this album, or most of it anyways. There were some songs that I wasn't familiar with but it didn't stop me from enjoying the catchy power pop from Matthew and Susanna. I didn't care much for the duo's cover of "Cinnamon Girl". Their vocals didn't match well with the distorted guitars, plus I never liked the song to begin with. I also didn't care much for their version of The Who's "The Kids are Alright". I don't care for the melodies. My personal favorite song is "Sunday Morning". This song perfectly suits Susanna's vocals.

Despite the few songs I didn't care for, I thought Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs put together a well crafted power pop album. Their vocals harmonized well together but I do prefer it when Susanna is harmonizing with her fellow Bangles. All in all this is a good, fun album.

A breeze from the past........2007-06-23

No, not a blast, just a refreshing breeze. Was any new ground in pop music broken here? Nope. But it's fun and well done all the way through, and some of the great classics of the '60 get tweaked a bit, with great reverence, so that they are both old and new at the same time.

My one criticism is based on my purpose for buying it. I am in desperate need of music that my two young boys can enjoy and that won't drive me stark raving mad with boredom. I was hoping this would fit the bill, but the psychodelic first track "I See The Rain" is about the least accessible of the entire recording and my kids immediately decided they didn't like this CD.

Of course, I can always try again with the CD player on random play mode, but it got me thinking that with a little tweakage here and there this could have been a real breakthrough into the child's music market, since it seems to be a trend to record covers of classics and market them to kids.

Be that as it may, Susanna Hoff's voice is as distinctive as it was in the heyday of the Bangles, and since this CD says "Vol 1" on it I can only hope that there will be additional volumes to follow. I get it, even if my kids don't.

A Boast for the Bygone.......2007-03-18

Apparently, Matthew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs were going to bill themselves as "Sid & Susie." Glad the Shout label has their names on the release, because it made me look twice & eventually get this disc. There really aren't weak tracks on this CD. Cover versions can add to an original or well-known track, simply be a carbon copy or sometimes make you want to go back to the original disc. Two of these tracks have spent a great deal of time in my personal top ten rotation. I think my very favorite, which is a favorite because I kept playing it off the Left Banke record repeatedly back in its day and haven't heard it elsewhere, is "She May Call You Up Tonight." Ian Matthews did record a version of it, but the Left Banke's baroque pop was a unique sound. Sid & Susie give it a hard edge complete with soaring harmonies and jangling guitars, "I've been telling lines I never knew, all to keep that girl away from you." It's a luscious cover, not an obvious choice. Also a wonderful cover is "And Your Bird Can Sing" that pumps energy into what was a minor recording for the Beatles, but gleams with Sweet & Hoffs, "When your prize possessions start to wear you down, look in my direction, I'll be round." "Monday Monday" which will be one of the more familiar tracks is also given an excellent rendition with Hoffs proudly singing the "ba-da, ba-da's" like a boast for the bygone. The track has a stunning energy and is pure delight. I particularly like how the reverb flows into the break before the final chorus resumes. Fairport Convention & Judy Collins are closely identified with the Sandy Denny classic "Who Knows Where the Time Goes." Susan Cowsill recorded a cover of it on her recent "Just Believe It" set that went to the top of my favorite tracks of the year, as did the entire CD. Sid & Susie do a great version here, although I still go back to Collins' crystal Colorado voice and Susan's wonderful reading. I also enjoy their version of the Bee Gees' "Run to Me." The Bee Gees are kind of like the musical equivalent of Woody Allen -- it's hard not to sound like them, much as its hard for other actors not to sound like Woody Allen when doing his dialogue. Their rhythms and sound are so distinctive. This track is a contemplative gem that closes the disc. There are no weak tracks on this set, which makes me hope that a volume two does arrive! Enjoy!

beautiful melodies and uplifting lyrics.......2007-02-15

The Good
A catchy guitar hook and a blending of Hoffs and Sweet's vocals command "I See the Rain" (The Marmalade). On "And Your Bird Can Sing" (The Beatles), Sweet and Hoffs trade harmonic melodies back and forth. Matthew also lays down a great surf-rock guitar solo. The duo expresses their rocking side on Neil Young's "Cinnamon Girl." The tempo is slightly faster than the original, but it still has all of the edgy guitar fuzz. With just one note you will instantly recognize the mark of Brian Wilson on "The Warmth of the Sun" (The Beach Boys). This down-tempo number is lead mostly by Matthew's high-pitched vocals. Susana backs him up on the choruses.

Hoffs has such a sweet voice on The Stone Poneys classic "Different Drum." This is definitely one of the songs I think of when I think of that decade. I had no idea it was written by Mike Nesmith (Monkees). Sweet and Hoffs unleash their rocking side again on "The Kids are Alright" (The Who) and "Everybody Knows This is Nowhere" (Neil Young & Crazy Horse). As the duo states in their liner notes, Who doesn't like The Mammas and the Papas? Songs like Monday, Monday were the epitome of the music scene in the sixties.

The Bad
Nothing notable

The Verdict
Not that I lived it, but what I've gathered in my lifetime; this album recreates the sounds of the sixties with beautiful melodies and uplifting lyrics.

Not a lot of new cd's worth buying these days. This one is!!!.......2007-01-29

And all covers- who would have thought? I had long forgotten about the Austin Powers connection but I had to listen to this after a highly critical/skeptical musician friend of mine told me how good it was. Then I met Susanna Hoffs at a Bangles show and was reminded how GREAT her voice is and how HOT she looks- she is like 47 and could put most 21 year old women to shame. Anyway I had better stop talking about that or that will be the whole review. Highlites? Your Bird Can Sing- man Susanna makes this her own- I would say it is the best Beatle cover EVER. Warmth of the Sun- I worship Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys and they did a great job with this one too. Cinnamon Girl- Incredible. The Kids Are Alright- again phenominal. The only one I could have lived without was "Different Drum". I don't buy the hype about Michael Nesmith being a musical genius. I think Hoffs sounds much better than Linda Rondstat but I found it impossible to forget Linda's whining while listening to it. One of the nice things about the album is that it is full of Susanna Hoffs. No jealous bandmates hogging the mic. And Matthew Sweet really compliments her. I have a lot more respect for the guy after hearing his voice and guitar work here.

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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