The Velvet Underground Loaded

The Velvet Underground: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best

The Velvet Underground began as a collaboration between frustrated songwriter Lou Reed and classically trained John Cale. Cale had worked with experimental composers John Cage and LaMonte Young, and Reed’s interest in alternative guitar tunings and drone notes provided common ground. The pair recruited guitarist Sterling Morrison and drummer Moe Tucker and The Velvet Underground was formed.

The band were introduced to artist Andy Warhol, who negotiated a recording contract and showcased them in his multimedia road shows, which combined his films with the band’s music. He also introduced the band to German vocalist Nico, who sang three songs on their debut record.

The Velvet Underground are famous for their influence – despite a lack of commercial success during their tenure, they’re now critically revered. Brian Eno is often quoted as saying – “the first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies, but everyone who bought it formed a band.”

The band gradually lost key members – John Cale left after their second record, forced out of the band by Reed, who wanted to make the band more accessible. Reed and Morrison left after 1970’s Loaded, leaving replacement bassist Doug Yule in charge for their final record. The Velvet Underground only made five studio albums, although a couple of 1980s compilations (Another View and VU) mopped up outtakes, including a scrapped fourth album.

The Velvet Underground: Albums Ranked from Worst to Best

#5 Squeeze

1973
Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground in 1970, followed by Sterling Morrison. This left Doug Yule as the band’s focal point. Yule had contributed heavily to Loaded, but Reed wrote all the songs. It’s tough to expect Doug Yule to measure up to creative giants Lou Reed and John Cale – Squeeze is a likeable album but it’s clearly lightweight compared to the band’s earlier work. It has pleasant songs like ‘Friends’, later covered by Luna, and inspired the name of Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford’s new wave band.


The Velvet Underground Loaded

#4 Loaded

1970
Atlantic demanded an album loaded with hits – an odd request for an avant harde band. But Loaded is a valiant attempt at a more accessible and radio-friendly Velvet Underground record. Loaded starts with three of Lou Reed’s most accessible and memorable songs; the sunshine pop of ‘Who Loves the Sun’, the indelibly simple riff of ‘Sweet Jane’ , and ‘Rock & Roll’. The rest of the album is surprisingly bland – it lacks the experimentation of The Velvet Underground’s previous releases. With Mo Tucker on maternity leave, Doug Yule is highly involved – as well as playing bass, he sings lead vocals on four tracks and plays drums, keyboards, and guitar.


White Light White Heat The Velvet Underground

#3 White Light/White Heat

1968
The Velvet Underground’s second album is their noisiest and most extreme. John Cale stated that White Light/White Heat was “consciously anti-beauty”. It’s a six track record with punchy garage-rockers like ‘I Heard Her Call My Name’ and the title track, and two longer experimental pieces. John Cale takes the lead vocal on ‘The Gift’, reciting a Lou Reed short story over feedback – it’s distinctive but doesn’t hold up to repeated listens well. The focal point is ‘Sister Ray’, which dominates the second side – a 17 minute tale of debauchery. White Light/White Heat is the band’s most out there album, but it’s not always enjoyable listening.


The Velvet Underground 1969 album

#2 The Velvet Underground

1969
If the band’s most abrasive material featured on White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground’s third album features their mellowest work. With John Cale forced out of the band, The Velvet Underground is more conventional than before – Doug Yule’s sweeter voice is used on the opening ‘Candy Says’. There are some vestiges of experimentation on ‘The Murder Mystery’, with a raga rhythm and all four band members contributing vocals, but the heart of the record are Reed’s mellow and confessional ballads like ‘Pale Blue Eyes’ and ‘Jesus’.


The Velvet Underground and Nico

#1 The Velvet Underground & Nico

1967
The Velvet Underground’s debut, The Velvet Underground & Nico, was largely recorded in the spring of 1966 – it’s amazing, given how groundbreaking and influential it was when it was finally released in 1967. The band tackled taboo subjects like drug dealing and S&M, and brought ideas from the avant-garde onto a rock album. It still sounds fresh and daring, especially key tracks like ‘Venus In Furs’ and ‘Heroin’. Despite the band’s avant-garde credentials, they still have great melodies like the gentle opener ‘Sunday Morning’ and the gentle folk-rock of ‘Femme Fatale’. The final tracks, ‘The Black Angel’s Death Song’ and ‘European Son’, are more impenetrable, only recommended for adventurous listeners. Andy Warhol provided the famous cover – early editions of the LP offered a peelable banana.


What’s your favourite Velvet Underground album? Do you prefer Lou Reed and John Cale solo?

What Is Your Favourite Album by The Velvet Underground
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34 Comments

  1. 100% agree. Your ranking is perfect. Only to add, the #1 album is in my opinion the only esencial. Groundbreaking and totally enjoyable. The rest is good but unlistenable (WLWH) or standard (Loaded) or very good but not memorable (The VU). No mean to be rude with fans but Lou Reed is not as good as Lennon, McCartney, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Jagger, Richards, Roger McGuinn, Hendrix or Page. No Olympic medal for him as the best from the 60s. Super creativity, coolness, innovation, but not such a great composer, musician or singer. Just a humble opinion from a 60s mad guy.

    • Yeah, I’m sure someone will disagree (maybe with regards to Loaded?) but it seems pretty clearcut to me. I didn’t pick up the debut until after a few of the others, but it took that one to really know what the fuss is about.

      I love a lot of Cale’s solo 1970s stuff – albums like Fear and Paris 1919 are top shelf IMO. Also his live album Fragments of a Rainy Season.

      • Yeah, respectfully Enrique, I have to disagree with you on most of your points. I do agree that “Loaded” is somewhat “standard” (at least for the Velvets). Reed walked out midway through, and Yule & manager Sesnick wanted more of a pop sound.

  2. The one I heard the most is Loaded…because I had a friend who owned it…so as a teen I knew that one best. Rock and Roll and Sweet Jane was probably my first exposure.
    I know some about their albums…I’ve never given Squeeze much of a listen but I’ve touched on the others. I agree with your rankings but like I said…I’ll take your word for the last album.

    They do have surprisingly good melodies for such an underground band.

    • Yup, they have a lot of good tunes, which is why they hold up well, I think. Songs like ‘Pale Blue Eyes’, ‘Sweet Jane’, and ‘Femme Fatale’ are clearly good songs that should have mass appeal.

      Squeeze was better than I expected – it’s just that Doug Yule isn’t as groundbreaking as Cale and Reed, just a musically talented journeyman.

  3. My list switches your numbers 2 and 3. Never heard “Squeeze,” as I don’t consider a VU record without Lou to be legit. And if live records are permitted, “1969 Live” is pretty special, with several unreleased songs, different (and better) versions of others, and unbelievable rhythm and lead guitar.

    • I’ve never heard 1969 live, but sounds like I should check it out. Good tracklist – I like ‘Ocean’ a lot.

  4. I really only know a handful of Velvet Underground songs, so couldn’t possibly rank their albums in an informed manner. I really like “Sunday Morning”. I also dig “Sweet Jane” and “Rock & Roll”.

    I should probably listen to each of their albums. Unlike say, Dylan, at least tackling Velvet Underground’s catalog looks feasible! 🙂

    • As Max says, they have a lot of good tunes – there are a lot more tuneful, well-written songs in their catalogue than the really experimental stuff (mainly a couple of tracks on each of the first two records).

    • I only listened to Squeeze for the purposes of making this list – it’s better than its reputation suggests. Just very lightweight for a VU album.

  5. I don’t know if it’s the best or not, but Loaded is my favorite one. Probably because it’s got my favorite Velvets songs on it like New Age and Sweet Jane. I always liked Lou Reed’s albums more, but only a few from the early 70s and really nothing after that.

    • I’ve never really got into Lou Reed’s solo stuff – I like Transformer OK, but the albums I owned on CD were from the late 1980s and early 1990s (New York and Magic & Loss), and they were worthy but just not that exciting.

      • I don’t much like anything he did after about 1976. Mostly I just like Berlin, Transformer and two live albums from 1974, and the next couple studio albums after that.

        • Yeah, I think I liked Berlin last time I heard. I’m interested to hear the debut with Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman on it, but seems pretty clear the early stuff is best.

          • His debut album isn’t terrible or anything but it could have used a few more good songs. But I have a couple favorites on it like Lisa Says and Wild Child.
            Now I really want to hear Squeeze cuz I never heard it before and I actually really like Doug Yule’s singing on Loaded. He sings a couple of my favorite tracks. I like his guitar solos too. Who knows, maybe I’ll think it’s a really good album. Ya never know.

          • I can see you enjoying Squeeze – it’s certainly not terrible. From a similar time frame, the other CCR guys stepping up on Mardi Gras is worse.

  6. Some great covers came after. U2s Satellite and cowboy Junkies Jane (their biggest hit actually).

    And I like the Lou Reed solo stuff like “red joystick “ that came after

    • I don’t think I’ve heard that – I’ve heard their covers of There She Goes Again and Femme Fatale.

  7. A list of five shows just how influential they were with such a small catalogue. I’d echo all of what greenpete58 said, preferring White Light over the Third album, and adding 1969 at maybe 3 (as I love live albums). The Max’s Kansas City LP is pretty good too, though I prefer the ramshackle, stoned atmosphere of 1969.

    • I have a bootlegged reconstruction of their abandoned fourth album that I’d probably bump up to third place. I’m not huge of live albums, but probably worth pursuing for the VU since their catalogue is so small.

  8. Number 5 is an easy choice, isn’t it? The only change I’d made is putting Loaded ahead of White Light/White Heat, but they are all either 4.5 or 5-star albums as far as I am concerned, with the exception of Squeeze, of course.

    • I only Iistened to Squeeze for the purposes of making the list. Yule is likeable but pretty lightweight next to Cale and Reed.

  9. I think that the other guys in CCR each came up with one or two good songs on Mardi Gras. Which really surprised me after hearing how bad it was supposed to be. In fact a couple of them are excellent.

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