The All-TIME 100 Albums: The Velvet Underground and Nico by The Velvet Underground

E-Mail This Article

The All-TIME 100 Albums

87 of 101

By Josh Tyrangiel Published: November 13, 2006

VIEW THE COMPLETE LIST

ALBUM: The Velvet Underground and Nico

YEAR RELEASED: 1967 LABEL: Polydor/Pgd ARTIST: The Velvet Underground

TIME 100 ALBUMS PODCASTS

PODCAST: Welcome to the All-TIME 100 Albums - the musical compilations of the last half-century that need no introduction. That said, listen in below as music critics Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light introduce the list and talk about the top albums of the 1950s and '60s.

PODCAST: We know. Twenty-nine of the 100 greatest albums of all time come in the 1970s, and Pink Floyd isn't there. Play this podcast to learn why we picked the titles we did, and if you have something to say, tell us about it using the talkback link below.

PODCAST: Maybe it's a Sign O' The Times that you're listening to critics' audio recordings about great music, but this podcast about how we chose the best albums of the 1980s really is a Thriller. Give it a listen below.

PODCAST: Here's music even the younger set will know by heart. Listen to selected clips from the 1990s through present day as music critic Josh Tyrangiel discusses his picks.

Download this to your iPod at iTunes
Or, copy and paste this URL into your favorite podcasting tool:

The band name came from a book about S&M while Nico, the possibly German, possibly Hungarian model turned actress turned singer, came courtesy of manager Andy Warhol. If all that weren't enough to make them the poster children of the avant-garde, there were also the songs. Lou Reed infused "Heroin" and "Venus in Furs" with lower east side realism and boho style. John Cale, an imposing Welshman tutored by ambient composer John Cage, introduced the rock world to feedback through his shrieking viola while Nico's vocals on "Femme Fatalle" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" were beamed in from an icy cabaret. It was hipness on vinyl, but with an abiding narcotic beauty.