#272 The Velvet Underground, 'White Light/White Heat' (1968)

Previously #293

The second album by Velvet Underground and the last to feature multi-instrumentalist and co-founder, John Cale. Following the disappointing sales of their debut record (can you believe that album was a commercial disappointment on release?!), their relationship with Andy Warhol soured. The got rid of him and at the same time parted ways with Nico. This album was a major shift in sound from their debut and was recorded in just 2 days. Its lyrical content was very progressive for the time, dealing with drug use, transsexuals, orgys and blowjobs.

First up, the title track, deals with the sensations from injecting meth, and was often covered by David Bowie, who was massively influenced by The Velvet Underground. He later released a live recording of it on the ‘Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars’ soundtrack. ‘The Gift,’ is an unusual song on which Cale narrates a short story written by Loud Reed in the left speaker, while an instrumental rock track plays in the right speaker. A tragic 8 minute unrequited love story that is unusually soothing to listen to. ‘Lady Godiva’s Operation’ is about a transsexual woman’s bothed lobotomy. ‘Here She Comes Now’ was originally intended for Nico to sing, and I can absolutely imagine her vocals on this record. This song is about waiting for a high after ingesting drugs. Side B starts with the very noisy ‘I Heard Her Call My Name.’ Almost like a Jazz version of a rock song; a lot of atonal guitar solos. Finally, the album culminates with ‘Sister Ray,’ a seventeen-and-a-half-minute song that basically combines all the themes from the rest of the album; drug use, transvestite drug deals, blow jobs, murder and a lot of noisy solos. It’s easy to hear the influence of this record on music to come. TVU pushed boundaries musically and lyrically with this one and opened doors for artists like Prince and Bowie, amongst others, who would explore similar content.

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