#19 Velvet Underground & Nico by The Velvet Underground & Nico

The 100 Greatest Albums of All Time

2025 Album Rank

19

2011 Album Rank

19

Total Points

2077

Year Released

1967

Billboard 200 Chart Peak

171

Weeks at #1

N/A

RIAA Sales Certification

N/A (Sold under 500,00 copies)

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Velvet Underground & Nico Album Details

Released in March 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico was unlike anything else at the time, a raw, confrontational debut pairing Lou Reed's streetwise songwriting and John Cale's avant-garde sensibility with the chilly vocals of German chanteuse Nico. Produced by Andy Warhol (in name at least), the album delves into taboo subjects such as drug use, sadomasochism, prostitution, and existential detachment, all wrapped in minimalistic, droning instrumentation. Though ignored commercially at the time, the album became one of the most influential in rock history, cited as a foundation for punk, art rock, shoegaze, and alternative music.

The album's sound alternates between gentle and abrasive, from the hypnotic beauty of Sunday Morning to the noise squall of European Son. Heroin and I'm Waiting for the Man portray drug use with unsparing realism. Nico's performances on tracks like Femme Fatale and All Tomorrow's Parties lend a distant, otherworldly quality. Cale's use of electric viola and drone techniques, along with Moe Tucker's minimalist drumming, created an unprecedented sonic texture that defied 1960s pop and rock conventions.

Interesting Facts about Velvet Underground & Nico

• Although Andy Warhol was credited as producer, the actual production was mostly handled by Tom Wilson (who had previously worked with Bob Dylan and Simon & Garfunkel). Warhol's role was more that of sponsor and artistic guardian.
• The album was recorded at Scepter Studios in New York and later at TTG Studios in Los Angeles. Some of the Scepter sessions were rough and lo-fi, but several of those takes (like Heroin) made the final cut.
• Early acetate versions of the album differ significantly from the final release. These include alternate mixes and different takes of European Son, Heroin, and I'm Waiting for the Man. The so-called "Scepter Studios Acetate" was rediscovered in 2002 and officially released in later box sets.
• Nico was not originally intended to be a permanent member. Her involvement was insisted upon by Warhol, and her vocals were met with some resistance, especially from Lou Reed.
• The album's iconic banana cover was designed by Warhol and originally featured a peel-away sticker. Some early copies with the intact sticker are among the most valuable vinyl records today.
• During the album's recording, tensions were already growing between Reed and Cale, leading to Cale's eventual dismissal after the second album. The creative push-pull between them is part of what gives this record its volatile energy.
• The song Venus in Furs draws directly from the 19th-century novel of the same name by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, whose name inspired the term "masochism."
• The track The Black Angel's Death Song caused controversy with club owners due to its harsh sound and confrontational delivery. Some venues banned the band from performing it.
• The Velvet Underground rarely performed the album's songs live in the same arrangements heard on the LP. Early versions of Heroin were even more freeform and chaotic. Nico only performed a few dates with the band before going solo.
• Despite selling fewer than 30,000 copies in its first five years, The Velvet Underground & Nico became a cult phenomenon. Brian Eno famously remarked that while few people bought the album, "everyone who did started a band."
• In 2021, the album was the subject of a documentary by Todd Haynes, which helped renew interest in the band's experimental roots and contextualized their influence within the broader 1960s avant-garde art scene.
• Some box sets and reissues include previously unheard studio banter and a version of Miss Joanie Lee, an outtake from early sessions, featuring a much looser and bluesier feel than anything on the final record.
• The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008 for its cultural and historical significance.

Velvet Underground & Nico Track List

1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting for the Man
3. Femme Fatale
4. Venus in Furs
5. Run Run Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
7. Heroin
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel's Death Song
11. European Son

• Next Album: #18. Purple Rain by Prince
• Previous Album: #20. Rubber Soul by The Beatles