It’s really amazing to me to think about the fact that after two of the most bat*** insane albums of all time, the first song on their next album was Candy Says. Like, seriously, just think about that. The last lyric on the last song of their previous album was aggressively stuttering the word “amphetamines” and then, boom, Candy Says. I guess it wasn't that simple, because this album came out over a year after their last one. Anyway, the Velvet Underground can’t seem to have any success, because not only did their first two albums pretty much flop critically and commercially, but their third album, the one where they went more accessible, also failed to set the world on fire. Commercially, that is. The Velvet Underground’s self-titled 3rd album, released in 1969, may have failed to chart, but contemporary reviews of it had a lot of praise to give, something the band hadn't seen too much of in the past. I love their first two albums quite a bit, but this album is still a really great calm-after-the-storm album. The lyrics are more about topics like religion, but mainly love. In fact, the entire album has kind of a love-y sound to it, if you know what I mean. Lou’s most famous love song, and possibly his most famous song in general, comes from this album, Pale Blue Eyes. It's easily the most famous song on the album and the most famous overall Velvet Underground song besides… What, Sweet Jane? I can see why it’s his most famous song, but I’ll talk more about Pale Blue Eyes later. This album’s reputation has not deteriorated over time; in fact, like their first two albums, it’s gotten even better. It was ranked the 143rd greatest album of all time by Rolling Stone magazine in their 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Let’s get into The Velvet Underground (the album) and why becoming a bit more accessible was a good thing.
Candy Says is an amazing album opener. It’s our introduction to not only the album, but to new band member Doug Yule, who replaced John Cale. I love Doug Yule, but John Cale is forever the GOAT. Doug sings on it and, my god, does his voice sound incredibly similar to Lou’s. I thought this was Lou when I first heard the song. I love the way Doug sings this song, but I don’t think the way he sang it was really intentional. Apparently, he didn’t know what the song was about, so he sang it like he didn’t know what the song was about. The lyrics don’t sound confident; they sound quieter and a bit introverted, which is very fitting for a song like this. It’s one of Lou’s songs that’s about someone who was associated with the scene at Andy Warhol’s Factory, and this song is about the actress Candy Darling talking about her desire to escape the gender she was born with. It’s a really powerful song with amazing lyrics that leave some things up to interpretation, which is amazing. On the lyrics page for this song on genius.com, the line “I’d like to know completely what others so discreetly talk about” has a really bad annotation. That’s a little harsh, but I don’t think that means she wants to commit suicide. I mean, she may want to, but I don’t think that’s really hinted at in the song. Candy feels insecure in her birth gender, and that line shows her insecurity about whether or not people are talking about her. But I could be very wrong. Candy Says is a really great opening track.
What Goes On is a song I always listen to after Candy Says, because after a quieter song like that one, a song like What Goes On sounds even more awesome. I love this song a lot. The opening organ riff was used in the Talking Heads’ Once in a Lifetime. That might be my favorite song of all time, so that’s cool to know. This was the only single released from this album, and I can’t really think of any song on the album that would make a better single. That doesn’t necessarily mean that this is my favorite song on the album, but it is anyway. The chorus, especially the line “Lady, be good, do what you should” is always in my head. And the guitar solo that begins about a minute and 7 seconds in is the stuff of dreams. This song often gets overlooked on lists of the greatest songs of all time, but it’s pretty much a perfect song.
Some Kinda Love is great and the fact that it’s not one of the standout songs on the album tells you how good this band is. It’s a super great song with some really chill guitar playing. I find myself humming that riff to myself quite a bit. I don’t have that much to say about this song, so just know that it’s a really great song that for me gets overshadowed by the song preceding it and the song succeeding it.
The most famous Velvet Underground song, and probably the centerpiece of this album, is the aforementioned Pale Blue Eyes, which could possibly be the best song on almost any other album in existence. What Goes On may be my personal favorite song on the album, but this might actually be the best. Saying that made me sound a little pretentious, but it’s true. This song is just… What's left to say about it? It’s a masterpiece, it’s beautiful, it’s got a great riff, it’s got great lyrics, it’s one of the finest songwriting moments in Lou’s entire career. One of the greatest songs ever made, it truly is a masterpiece. It was based on Lou Reed’s first love, a woman named Shelley Albin, who was married to another man at the time. He kept writing to her and chasing after her. Yeah, Lou Reed was chasing after a woman. She must’ve really been something. She didn’t actually have pale blue eyes, rather she had hazel eyes. This was a detail Lou changed to make the song sound as good as possible. I can’t emphasize enough how amazing the lyrics to this song are. The narrator thinks of the woman as the peak of his life, and it is revealed that the woman is cheating on her husband with the narrator. And at some point, they have sex. That’s a gripe that I’ve seen people have with this song, because apparently it's just too uncool to get someone to cheat on their spouse. I don't really think those people are getting it. The point isn't supposed to be that he's a hero for getting her to cheat on her husband, the point is that he just loves her too much, so he'll do anything to be with her. At least that's how I interpret it. I think the fact that they do end up having sex is an amazing touch and adds to the romance and intrigue and just the beauty of the song. So, yeah. Pale Blue Eyes is one of Lou Reed’s opuses.
Jesus is just an amazing song. It’s got a great riff and yeah, I hate to sound like a broken record, great lyrics. Some days, this can be one of my favorite songs ever and on those days, I just can’t describe the feeling it gives me. Putting it into words would be way too hard, so I’ll just say it gives me inner peace. And I’m an atheist. I’ve read the comments for this song on YouTube and it seems that people of a few different religions think this is beautiful. Christians, Hindus, and atheists like myself. Imagine if you were able to create a religious song so distinctly referencing a particular religion, and that songs unites people of a bunch of different creeds. Good job, Lou. Something odd about this song is that Lou was actually Jewish, but this song is about Jesus. This song’s guitar sound gives me hope and makes me feel understood when in reality, I don’t even have anything to be understood about. I’m just some guy reviewing Velvet Underground albums. But yeah, Jesus is a great song and one of my favorites ever.
Side 2 starts out on a bang with the truly awesome Beginning to See the Light. Cool story I have, I was at a Lou Reed exhibit once in New York, and they had the guitar he played on this song. I really wish I had that guitar right now. It was pretty sick-looking. Anyway, this song rocks. The outro where Lou sings “How does it feel to be loved?” is just amazing. And anybody who says the lyric “There are problems in these times but none of them are mine” isn’t awesome would be lying, because it’s awesome. A lot of people call this one of their favorite Velvet Underground songs, and I really don’t blame them because this song is awesome. Is it one of my favorite Velvet Underground songs? As of recently, I’m feeling like I might have to say it is.
I’m Set Free is just so beautiful and would be a great album closer, logically. But it’s only track 7 on a 10-song album. It’s around this point that I would have to recommend a YouTube documentary about this album, but I looked for it and I cannot find it anymore. But it was really interesting and said many interesting things about this song that I can’t remember. I think this song is about Lou getting off his heroin addiction, which is probably why this album feels more laid back than their previous two albums. This is a super amazing song.
That’s The Story of My Life… great, however there isn’t much to say about this song. This song isn’t bad, far from it, it’s just that it’s a 2-minute song that repeats the chorus throughout the entire song, and it’s not exactly the loudest thing in the world. But this song is great, it’s really nice. Whenever I listen to it, it makes me feel happy, which I think is enough for me to call it a great song.
The Murder Mystery is definitely more of a throwback to their previous two albums, as it is definitely the most experimental part of this record. That being said, those two records were some really great ones. If you don’t get chills whenever this song starts and you hear that riff, you’re a Madonna fan. And then the lyrics come in… quite a lot of lyrics. Not only are there, like, 15 verses, but there’s two verses happening at the same time, coming through different speakers, so it’s more like 30 verses. And let’s talk about those verses. They’re kind of insane, but that’s why they’re so great. They include a few references to other Velvet Underground songs. Some examples include the different things coming out of the two speakers, which could possibly be a reference to The Gift. The character Harry from verse 5 in the left speaker could be a reference to the character of Beardless Harry from Run Run Run. “Caroline, Caroline, Caroline!” from verse 9 in the left speaker is probably referencing Caroline Says. Some people think of this as one of the greatest psychedelic songs of all time, and while I do think there’s a huge difference both sonically and lyrically from a song like this and the song Lucy in The Sky with Diamonds. But in terms of the entire genre of psychedelic music, this is probably one of my very favorite songs from it, sure. I think it’s really great.
The album closes with After Hours, which yeah, you probably already know how great this song is. It features drummer Maureen “Moe” Tucker on lead vocals, and that’s because Lou felt that this song was too innocent for him to sing, and he didn’t know how to sing it, so he let Moe take over. Even though she’s not a singer, she does a pretty great job. This song is ridiculously ahead of its time. The fact that it wasn’t uploaded just yesterday to YouTube blows my mind. This song is over 50 years old. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that this clearly ukulele-emo-girl song from yesterday is from the 60s. Yeah, I know I keep saying this, but the lyrics are great. What do you want me to say? What do you even expect me to say about a song written by Lou Reed in one of his better moments? The man seriously could not be stopped sometimes. When he was good, he was the best ever. But yeah, After Hours is definitely a great song but sadly not one of my personal favorite Velvet Underground songs. I know, sacrilege. But it's still super great.
There’s a really great comment on a Velvet Underground ranking video on YouTube uploaded by the Waterloo Watermelon saying that while their previous album [White Light/White Heat] sounded like a cocaine overdose, their self-titled album just sounds like a plain cigarette. Nothing complicated, not even weed or marijuana, this is just a plain cigarette. It was the exact opposite of White Light/White Heat, and the band’s ability to offer such variety was impressive. And honestly, I agree 100% with everything said in that comment. I love both albums a lot, but I couldn’t really provide you with a clear answer as to which one I prefer. I think they're both great albums that deserve all the praise they get, and while the avant-garde insanity of White Light/White Heat is great from the afternoon and into the night, the much more laid-back nature of this album is great for a time like Sunday morning, yes, pun intended.
