Extra Deluxe record review #1:White dudes/Weird souls

Lighting my first cigarette

« Let’s listen to Pet sounds! » That sentence almost made me puke. Many albums released through that decade we now call the 60’s, are now considered revolutionary. Just google « sgt pepper’s lonely heart’s club band », « Let it bleed » or « Are you experienced » and you’ll get my point. Though i could have reviewed one of these loved-by-all album, and you’d have been thrilled reading about Strawberry fields or Good vibrations, it somehow didn’t make any sense to me. You know these songs, those guys in Japan, Canada and Russia do too, and we all know why billions of copies were sold.

But have you even heard about « Loaded » ? Of course, that banana rings a bell, but could you sing-a-long « european son » ? The Velevt Underground are, still today, an incredible source of inspiration, full of unsolved mysteries, beautiful songwriting and a musical approach that was rarely toped in more than 40 years. This is why i chose to review « White light/white heat », The Velvet Underground’s second album, realeased in June 1968.

I’m gonna start with a few reminders. The Velvet Underground was formed by Lou Reed, a young druged up new york songwriter stuck in some 2^nd hand record company forcing him to write catchy songs for made-up one hit wonders, and John Cale, an experimental musician who already had his share for enriching musical experiences (an 18-hour piano-playing marathon for Erik Sati for example). They were joined by Sterling Morrison on rythm guitar and Maureen « moe » Tucker on unorthodoxe drums. After two years finding their sound, in 1967, sponsored by Andy Warhol and all his genius and/or idiotic money sucking friends from the factory, the Velvets released their first album « The Velvet Underground & Nico ». A financial disaster. Though it gave the Velvets a great opportunity to ride upon new york’s chic avant garde scene, play in downtown halls filled with annoying artists, bohemians and sexually-disturbed junkies, Andy Warhol’s influence on the velvets probably was inadapted. Too restrictive and guided by a pretentious sense of creativity led by a smallish part of wealthy deviants and coked up New York artists. Lou, John, Sterling and Moe had to set free. Leaving the factory and the plastic inevitable, the four young fellas started working on some new tracks.

Lighting my second smoke, almost running out of coca-cola

Unbrided and looking for unexplored musical territories, the velvets recorded « White light/white heat » within two days. Unlike most of popular bands of the 60’s the velvets primary thought of their songs as a static picture, frozen in time. This may sound paradoxal considering the delayed impact of their songs on contemporary music, but it seems to me that the strenght of this album is it’s honesty. Four young musicians playing together. Experimental music indeed, but sincere feelings.

Let’s get serious people. Picture yourself buying this record at the store in 1968. Once home you get your turntable on, and you suddenly find yourself turning down your speakers’ volume. « White light/white Light » title song and opening of the album, finally struck you. An outrageously disturbing amount of overdrive, a strong rock’n’roll riff, a guy nonchalantly speaking about the effect of amphetamines in the sun and a couple of back up vocals insanely singing the song’s title. This is a a classic rock’n’roll song turned into a bearly audible piece of art. Fading into an incoherent distorted hubbub, this song is a great frightening introduction, conditioning your ears to an all new level.

The second song of the album is titled « the gift ». Probably the less interesting song for my kind of music lovers, but for sure the guttiest one. A prose and an overdriven blues jam. One of those paradoxes you hate at first. But think about it, it’s just like making a joke about Platon right after a stupid filthy one, just as funny, but so unexpected it finally makes you brain wake up. Let’s quickly overview the musical part of the song : A three chords blues progression, powerful bass guitar, a binary drums part and an amazingly graceful distorded lead guitar. If you wanna fully enjoy the song you’ll eventualy have to listen to it at least twice with attention, and god knows 8 minutes seem like a long time at first. But Lou Reed’s college prose is indeed an interesting piece of writing, including simultaneous long poetic descriptions and neutral facts of everyday life. The story itself is about a tortured lover and his long distance girlfriend ironically ending on a stupid, almost deus ex machina, death.

Lighting 3rd cigarette

« Lady Godiva’s operation », third song of the album, firstly represents the return of Cale’s viola, predominant on the Velvet’s first album, and here setting a disturbing background. Along with an acid guitar part, the unstoppable binary drums and the powerful bass lines, the vocals are intentionally badly cut. Reed and Cale’s intersected voices represent the poorly work of surgeon turning a regular sex change operation into a lobotomy. Weird, huh ?

At this point i hope you understood this album isn’t about harmonies, melodies or any usual musical customs. It’s about telling a story. More about art and expression then money making sounds and polished castrated songs for easy listeners, but let’s move on already.

The fourth song « Here she comes now » is probably the popiest song on the album. Though the mix still arranges the instruments in a bizarre way, it’s short length and softly sexual mood creates a real break in the album. Without any overdrive or explicit lyrics, the song gently describes a dark sexual tension. Another paradox. But what’s interesting here is the way the band makes it natural to leave all the distortion and aggressiveness behind to talk about what could be the 2nd most sinful song writing of the 60’s (wait for « Sister ray »).

4th smoke and having a pineapple juice

« I Heard her call my name » is a song the Velvets called « unsatisfying ». I disagree. It’s told the song was a poor attempt at recording the studio version of a clearly made-for-live song, but let’s face it live recordings of the Velvets ARE crappy, and with such surrounding distortion this could never have been good for anyone unstoned outside that filthy New York ’68 downtown bar. Yes it’s made upon three chords, yes this is a dirty theory free improvisation and the lyrics are almost inaudible, but could rock’n’roll be more characterised? The stooges, first students of the Velvet Underground, put aside I’m still waiting for a proof.

On the original « White light/whit heat » LP, the first five songs were side one, and side two was entirely dedicated to « Sister ray », a filthy 17-minutes-long rock jam. As I previously mentioned the song is sinful. Reed sings, most likely talks, about a depraved sadomasochistic orgy. The pieces finally fit, characters (junkies and sexual deviants), story(temptation, submission and filth), distortion(an organ coupled with a distorted guitar amp), mix, everything turned into an apocalyptic rock’n’roll song. It’s told the sound engineer decided to walk out the room once the recording started. 17 minutes, my friend. 17 minutes, one take and not one single second of silence. An entire Vinyl side turned into the noisiest rock song ever recorded until 1968. I hope you have the courage to listen to that song entirely, ‘cause then you might get a glimpse a what can really be called « revolutionary », the first peek at Punk’s mentality and Metal’s sounds.

Well, it makes sense you know, freaks often have fathers, and sons.

« I’m stoned, on my way to get drunk, going to see my girlfriend and the only fuckin music i can listen to is that VU’s sister ray »

Flo