Velvet Underground Best Lyrics description

Biography

The Velvet Underground was a pioneering experimental rock band from New York City first active from 1965 to 1973. Its best-known lineup consisted of vocalist/guitarist Lou Reed, bassist/violist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Maureen Tucker. The band also collaborated with Nico for their debut album in 1967, under the supervision of producer and pop artist Andy Warhol.

Some see The Velvet Underground as being a bridge between the pacifist themes of the late 60s and the sheer chaos and indifference of the mid-70s punk movement.

The Velvet Underground was one of the first rock music groups to experiment heavily with the form by incorporating avant-garde influences. The group's often raw, sometimes difficult sound would influence many later punk, noise rock, and alternative music performers, and singer Lou Reed's lyrics brought new levels of social realism and sleaze to rock. Critics Scott Isler and Ira Robbins argue that "The Velvet Underground marked a turning point in rock history. After the release of The Velvet Underground & Nico knowing the power of which it was capable, the music could never be as innocent, as unselfconscious as before."

Pre-history (1964-1965)

The foundations for what would become The Velvet Underground were laid in late 1964. Lou Reed had performed with a few short-lived garage bands and had worked as a songwriter for Pickwick Records, a job Reed described as "a poor man's Carole King". Reed met John Cale, a Welshman who had moved to the United States to study classical music. Cale had worked with John Cage and La Monte Young, but was also interested in rock music. (Young's use of extended drones would be a profound influence on the early Velvet's sound). The pair rehearsed and performed together, and their partnership and shared interests steered the early direction of what would become the Velvet Underground.

Reed's first group with Cale was the short-lived The Primitives, assembled to support a Reed-penned single, "The Ostrich". Reed and Cale recruited Sterling Morrison - a college classmate of Reed's who had already played with him a few times - to play guitar, and Angus MacLise to play percussion. This quartet was first called The Warlocks, then The Falling Spikes.

album: "The Velvet Underground & Nico" (1967)
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 Son
album: "White Light / White Heat" (1968)
White Light / White Heat
The Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray
album: "The Velvet Underground" (1969)
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
album: "Loaded" (1970)
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'
album: "Squeeze" (1973)
Little Jack
Caroline
Jack & Jane
Louise
compilation: "VU" (1985)
I Can't Stand It
Stephanie Says
She's My Best Friend
Lisa Says
The Ocean
Foggy Notion
Temptation Inside Your Heart
One Of These Days
Andy's Chest
I'm Sticking With You
compilation: "Another View" (1986)
We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
I'm Gonna Move Right In
Hey Mr. Rain
Ride Into The Sun
Coney Island Steeplechase
Ferryboat Bill
Rock And Roll (Original Version)
other songs:
Coyote
Velvet Nursery Rhyme