A Short Column About Music 6.25.09: The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat Posted by Andrew Moll on 06.25.2009
Punk music, as well as other genres, wouldn't exist without the work of The Velvet Underground, still New York City's coolest band even forty years after the release of this classic.
I welcome everybody again to A Short Column About Music, hosted by yours truly. Taking a look around the Music zone these last few days I see a lot of new faces around here, and hopefully you'll afford the same courtesies you've afforded everyone else here at 411 Music. On a completely unrelated note, I hate rain. I mean, I really, really, really, really hate rain. It's June. It's supposed to be hot out, I shouldn't have to deal with torrential downpours for two straight weeks. Of course, once it's ninety degrees every day, I'll be praying for rain, but for now it's just do damn annoying.
The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat
Released: January 30, 1968
Tracklisting:
1. White Light/White Heat
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva's Operation
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray
When people begin listing the most influential bands in rock history, you usually hear the usual suspects: The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and similarly important artists. But there's a band that absolutely deserves to be mentioned, one that had as much, if not more, of an influence over scores of bands in the years following the releases of their classic albums. In fact, it's been said that not a lot of people heard the debut album from The Velvet Underground, but all the people that did went out and started a band. That's all the influence a band needs to be considered legendary.
Lou Reed started off his career as a songwriter for a record label and a singer in different bands and over the years, his interest in more avant-garde music and art grew. It also seemed to coincide with his meeting Welsh musician John Cale and their decision to form a band that combined pop and rock with art music. The band, which included Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker named themselves The Velvet Underground, taken from a sex book written earlier in the decade.
The band refined their unique sound in shows in New York City, as their songs also tackled subjects surrounding sex and drugs that most bands weren't interested in at the time. This work got the attention of the famous artist Andy Warhol, who became the band's manager in 1965. Warhol helped underline the band's art aesthetic and raised their profile significantly. He also made the band a part of his performance art show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable.
Warhol was the one that suggested the band have German singer Nico perform with the band, and her voice gave Reed and Cale's proto-punk a haunting quality that made their debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico such a classic. It's an iconic album due to the great songs and their unique sound, enhanced with Cale's strings and Reed's sing/speak voice. In addition, Nico's deep, emotive voice brought an evocative sense to the songs she sang on, like "I'll Be Your Mirror," and "All Tomorrow's Parties." The album is also famous for Warhol's album cover, a print of a banana that became synonymous with the band. This beautiful avant-pop album stands as one of the most important rock albums ever made.
By 1967, however, Nico was no longer part of the band, the association with Warhol was ended, and the members themselves were dealing with internal strife. The tension that was present around the band, in addition to the tension around the country at the time, influenced the sound of the band's second album, White Light/White Heat. Through touring, the band developed a new sound based on noise rock and improvisation, and the rougher quality of these songs is all over their next record.
The album's title track tackles a drug-inspired subject like many of the songs on Nico. But the difference here is that while a song like "Heroin" was a droning meditation on drug culture, "White Light/White Heat" is pure pop, a song with memorable harmonies and a sense of joy in Reed's monotone voice. He sings, "White light, white light goin' messin' up my mind/White light, and don't you know it's gonna make me go blind/White heat, aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes/White light, ooh have mercy white light have it goodness knows." This is Reed's ode to his fondness for amphetamines that works well as a piano-led jaunt from a band not known for that type of song.
"White Light/White Heat"
Next is Reed's "The Gift," an experimental track that broke new ground in not only lyrical content in rock music, but also recording technique. The lyrics are actually taken from a short story that Reed had written and were then used for this song, with Cale providing the spoken-word narration. Reed's story tells of a young man named Waldo Jeffers, a young man suffering through a long-distance relationship with Marsha Bronson. He becomes so lonely and paranoid about her and other men that he decides to mail himself to her in a large box as a surprise. When the box arrives, Marsha is talking to her friend Sheila about a one night stand she had had the previous night. Upon receiving the gift, the two women struggle to get it open while Waldo waits excitedly inside. Finally, the women grab a metal cutter and stab it through the middle of the box, killing Waldo in the process. Certainly lyrical territory not often explored by pop musicians. The instrumental track serves the words perfectly, as the band trudges along and provides sound effects when needed. As a bonus, the vocals and music were recorded separately, but also put in the audio mix in different channels, meaning the listener can choose to listen to one or the other if they like.
Things remain somewhat odd on "Lady Godiva's Operation." The music on the track is very dreamy and hypnotic, as Tucker's drums provide a consistent beat and the guitars help make the listener lose themselves in the song. Cale sings the first part of the song on his own, with lyrics about the famed Lady Godiva and her naked romps through England. As the song goes along, Reed joins him to sing selected words at first before taking over for the last few lines. When he and Cale alternate lyrics, the juxtaposition of their voices is prominent and effective. The lyrics themselves for the second half deal with a sex change operation gone wrong, with Cale and Morrison providing some sound effects of their own. The lyrics are funny, disturbing, and great while the backing music is mesmerizing, giving the perfect context for Reed's words.
"Here She Comes Now" stands in stark contrast to the other songs on the album. It's a light, sweet song, but one with a mysterious quality. The only words Reed songs for the most part are "If she ever comes now, now," and it's only added to by Reed singing, "Oh, she's made out of wood." The ambiguity of the words keeps the song from being a simple love song. In fact, the theme of the song seems to range from an orgasm to Reed's guitar. Whatever it's about, the song clearly is an important one on the record.
"Here She Comes Now"
The second side of the LP begins with "I Heard Her Call My Name." It's an abrasive, loud rocker featuring some blistering guitar work from Reed. Drummer Tucker keeps the song moving ahead full force while Reed goes off the rails with his solo work. His lyrics are also delivered with similar intensity, singing "When I wake up in the morning mama/I heard her call my name/I know that she's gone, gone, gone/I heard her call my name/And then my mind split open." That last line sets Reed off for a two minute guitar explosion, and he's the one that owns this song. His performance is incendiary, thrilling, and full of venom and feedback. Many punk rock and metal bands owe a big debt to Reed for showing them how to let loose on guitar and make the most out of ear-shattering distortion.
"I Heard Her Call My Name"
It took only one take for the band to record the album's last song, the seventeen minute "Sister Ray." Reed had always been a fan of improvisational jazz, and that influence is what drives this song, as he and Cale just go all out and create a wonderful cacophony of noise. Most of the sound is dominated by Cale, who was playing a vox organ through a distorted guitar amplifier, creating a stunning sound that almost swallowed all the other instruments. It's unclear exactly what the lyrics are about; they seem mostly to concern themselves with some of Reed's favorite topics, like drugs, transvestites, and violence. Ultimately, though, the lyrics don't really matter since the jam is what makes the song. The track is uncompromising and abrasive, never once pausing to make the listen more palatable. During the recording of the song, the engineer famously walked out of the study, telling the band to let him know when they were done. Very few songs since, and certainly no song before it, can match the intensity, craziness, musicianship and excitement that the Velvet Underground created with "Sister Ray." As the song reaches its end, Reed's guitar sounds more and more like a metal guitar just before it's over and the band has nothing left to give.
The band members were always frustrated with the lack of recognition for their work, but it should hardly be surprising that an album like this wasn't exactly embraced by the general public. Tensions also grew between Reed and Cale as they had differing opinions on the direction of the band. These tensions led to Cale leaving the band before the band's self-titled third album. That album abandoned all the abrasiveness of White Light/White Heat, instead featuring a lighter, acoustic sound. 1970 saw the release of Loaded, but Reed had left the band before it was even finished. Doug Yule, who had replaced Cale, continued the band for a couple years and released one album, Squeeze, that was poorly received. Some previously unheard records were released over the years before Cale and Reed got the band back together for a reunion tour in 1993, but it was short lived before the two fell out once again.
The Velvet Underground and Nico is almost universally considered to be the group's best album, but in my opinion that title is designated for White Light/White Heat. It's an uncompromising album where the band refused to simply make the same album twice. Reed's guitar is an instrument of destruction, taking out everything in its path while his band mates played their parts to perfection. The songwriting is impeccable, and you can hear the sounds of countless bands in each song on the album. These songs hold up today as they're more intense and rough than most albums you'll hear today, and the band's image is still one of undeniable and everlasting cool. It's a well-deserved image, and hopefully they'll continue to be recognized as one of rock's great acts along with their higher selling peers.
