The Velvet Underground

With Lou Reed leading the VU with his elegant fascism, it's almost immaterial that John Cale is missing. A brilliant album with a downbeat vibe, this is one of the greatest guitar rock records ever. This contains many of Reed's most riveting songs, including "I'm Beginning to See the Light," "Pale Blue Eyes" and "Candy Says," which kicks off the album with the line "I've come to hate my body."

The Velvet Underground are alive and well (which in itself may surprise some people) and
ever-changing. How do you define a group like this, who moved from "Heroin" to "Jesus" in
two short-years? It is not enough to say that they have one of the broadest ranges of any
group extant; this should be apparent to anyone who has listened closely to their three
albums. The real question is what this music is about—smack, meth, deviate sex... More >

Contains another bummer experiment, some stereo mystery, but otherwise their best--melodic, literate, compellingly sung; Paul Williams loves it. (Grade - A)