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Co-Written and Edited by Alivia Stonier
In the beginning of their musical career, The Velvet Underground was perceived as a group of inappropriate misfits who could not find critical success. The band featured Nico, a singer songwriter from Germany, Lou Reed a guitarist and singer, along with John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Angus MacLise.
Their first studio album, released in 1967 entitled The Velvet Underground & Nico found very little traction with listeners. The little popularity was due to highly inappropriate lyrical content, which later led the album to be banned from many record stores. After being pulled from shelves, radio stations and magazines also refused to promote the album.
However, today modern critics give high praise and recognition to the album, acknowledging the impact that the release respectively had on the industry and listeners alike. The Chicago Tribune and Rolling Stone magazine went on to give The Velvet Underground & Nico five stars. Within The Encyclopedia of Popular Music, critic Colin Larkin stated, “ [the album] is a powerful collection [that] introduced Reed’s decidedly urban infatuations, a fascination for street culture, and amorality bordering on voyeurism.”
Given the previous skepticism, how could a band that was seen as so controversial for their time, that received little critical success with such a short run-time receive such high praise by contemporary critics? The short answer is because of who they were able to influence and the new territory they proved to explore as musicians.
It is difficult to determine a band’s legacy until either long after their prime has ended or when the band breaks up. The halt of a band typically provides a retrospective lens into their creative endeavors, with a nostalgic feeling to match. Bands such as The Rolling Stones or The Beatles were arguably destined for stardom, in part due to their wide promotion and sound that can appeal to a massive audience. The Velvet Underground did not mix well with the hippie culture and the “summer of love” popularized in the 1960’s which catapulted bands like The Beatles into stardom.
One of the founders of The Velvet Underground, John Cale, stated, “We hated the summer of love with a vengeance… Apart from all the flower children and everything else, it was just silly. Woodstock, we were happy they ended up in the mud. Serves them right.”
The band’s mentality was that of an underdog story coming to life in a record industry that was not going to be friendly to them. The lack of critical success eventually led to the breakup of the band, with the manager Andy Warhol, and band member Lou Reed bashing heads. The heated conflict even caused Warhol to be fired from the managerial position for the band. Nico, one of the main members, was also later kicked out of the group and started a solo career.
After their debut album, the band did not go on to outperform the previous release with their sophomore album in 1970 entitled Loaded. The Rolling Stones magazine even refused to review it. Their third album, White Light/White Heat released eight years later, did not go on to make the charts at all despite being more “listener friendly.” The story of failure reoccurred for the band time and time again, and went on to become a reputation for the career The Velvet Underground.
The impact of their art would not become apparent until decades later, Bands such as The Sex Pistols and Sonic Youth gave credit to The Velvet Underground for inspiring them. When the Rolling Stones made the 500 greatest albums list, their first four albums were even included on the list. But this is not the entire story of the Velvet Underground, their rich history and notable influence is quite expansive. However, this slice of rich history for The Velvet Underground is noteworthy.
References
Christgau, R: CG: The+velvet+underground. Robert Christgau: Dean of American Rock Critics. (2007). Retrieved August 31, 2022, from http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=The%2BVelvet%2BUnderground
Condon, D. (2020, June 25). ‘we were hated, pretty much’: The short, complex history of the Velvet Underground. Double J. Retrieved August 31, 2022, from https://www.abc.net.au/doublej/music-reads/features/velvet-underground-lou-reed-john-cale-andy-warhol/12388816
Crumbs, N. (2018, February 25). Trashed! The Velvet Underground & Nico. noisecrumbs.com. Retrieved August 31, 2022, from https://noisecrumbs.com/2018/02/25/trashed-the-velvet-underground-nico/
Kot, G. (2014, October 21). The Velvet Underground: As influential as the Beatles? BBC Culture. Retrieved August 31, 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20131125-do-the-velvets-beat-the-beatles#:~:text=Name%20just%20about%20any%20left,debt%20to%20the%20Velvet%20Underground.
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