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Download the velvet underground5/28/2023 ![]() By the 1980s, they were acknowledged not just as one of the most important rock bands of the '60s, but one of the best of all time, and one whose immense significance cannot be measured by their relatively modest sales. The Velvets' music was too important to languish in obscurity, though their cult only grew larger and larger in the years following their demise, and continued to mushroom through the years. During their time, the group experienced little commercial success though they were hugely appreciated by a cult audience and some critics, the larger public treated them with indifference or, occasionally, scorn. The mid- to late '60s was an era of explosive growth and experimentation in rock, but the Velvets' innovations - which blended the energy of rock with the sonic adventurism of the avant-garde, and introduced a new degree of social realism and sexual kinkiness into rock lyrics - were too abrasive for the mainstream to handle. It was the group's lot to be ahead of, or at least out of step with, their time. Album DescriptionFew rock groups can claim to have broken so much new territory, and maintain such consistent brilliance on record, as the Velvet Underground during their brief lifespan. ![]() See More Your browser does not support the audio element. ![]() Few rock albums are as important as The Velvet Underground & Nico, and fewer still have lost so little of their power to surprise and intrigue more 50 years after first hitting the racks. While the significance of Nico's contributions have been debated over the years, she meshes with the band's outlook in that she hardly sounds like a typical rock vocalist, and if Andy Warhol's presence as producer was primarily a matter of signing the checks, his notoriety allowed The Velvet Underground to record their material without compromise, which would have been impossible under most other circumstances. The bracing discord of "European Son," the troubling beauty of "All Tomorrow's Parties," and the expressive dynamics of "Heroin" all remain as compelling as the day they were recorded. Lou Reed's lyrical exploration of drugs and kinky sex (then risky stuff in film and literature, let alone "teen music") always received the most press attention, but the music Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker played was as radical as the words they accompanied. Here, the Velvets dipped their toes into dreamy pop ("Sunday Morning"), tough garage rock ("Waiting for the Man"), stripped-down R&B ("There She Goes Again"), and understated love songs ("I'll Be Your Mirror") when they weren't busy creating sounds without pop precedent. While The Velvet Underground had as distinctive a sound as any band, what's most surprising about this album is its diversity. While it reportedly took over a decade for the album's sales to crack six figures, glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise, and nearly every other left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt to this set. ![]() One would be hard-pressed to name a rock album whose influence has been as broad and pervasive as The Velvet Underground & Nico. Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs. ![]()
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