Dad's Take
As has been clear in previous reviews, The Velvet Underground are not a personal favorite. That said, I might like their third album best of their records, even though it does not include John Cale, whose solo efforts are my favorite of any band member.
This album takes a somewhat more subdued approach than the two previous albums, beginning with the opening track, "Candy Says," which I really like. A lot, actually. I also like "Pale Blue Eyes" for its deceptive simplicity and confessional nature.It's not surprising that this is one of their most covered songs. This might be my favorite Lou Reed vocal. "Jesus" is another pretty little confession, performed softly and intimately, to draw the listener in.
In general, the album feels more mature than the two before it, and less self-indulgent. Even the more rocking tunes like "What Goes On" (which reminds me a little, strangely, of The Grateful Dead), have a more enjoyable sound, or at least more to my taste, whatever that's worth. On the first two albums, "What Goes On" might have become a ten-minute epic. Here, they keep it to a more enjoyable length, keeping it from becoming dull.
There's really not much here that I dislike, something I couldn't say of their first two albums. I'm not overly fond of songs like "Beginning To See The Light," but I actually kind of like the verses, although the choruses become a bit repetitive and uninteresting. "The Murder Mystery" might be my least favorite tune here, mostly because it's hard to follow what's being said, and because, at eight and a half minutes, it's too long, and features a kind of annoying attempt at self-indulgent poetry. Mostly, it just doesn't have the same vibe as the rest of the record. Still, I find it more listenable than many of their earlier avant garde pieces. I was glad when it ended, though. It left me feeling tired. But maybe that was the point, if there was one. On the other hand, the following track, the closer of the album, is the fun little ditty (and that's an appropriate word in this case) "After Hours." Fun little child-like tune that provides a nice recovery period following "The Murder Mystery." Nice sequencing choice.
This is still obviously a VU album. It's not like they completely changed their sound. But by taking a somewhat more restrained approach, they created an album that, if not more commercial, is more accessible to people who are not used to that particular type of East Coast precious experimentation that can quickly become annoying to people who have not spent significant time on the dark streets of New York City. This album feels almost like sitting in a coffee shop and listening to an artistic band in an intimate setting. I can't help but think that, by this time, they had been influenced by the sounds coming out of California. The ballads have a bit of an L.A. feel, while the faster songs remind me of San Francisco artists like The Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane ("I'm Set Free").
Of course, it's the New York-style experimentation of the early albums that appeals to many VU fans. But for me, not really a fan, this album is the one I'm most likely to return to of their first three. Fact is, I really kind of like it, enough to rethink my opinion of the band.
Brad's Take:
In the review that we wrote for The Velvet Underground's first record, The Velvet Underground & Nico (the Andy Warhol banana one), I stated that the band sounded immature and like they were just trying to replicate the folky rock stuff that was popular at the time, but that they fell short. It was a nice try, but it wasn't good. It sounds like they finally found a nice little comfy place on their third album though, The Velvet Underground.
The opening track "Candy Says" was a surprise right from the get go. Immediately, I noticed that this was a more mature band compared to who we heard on their first two albums. Like my dad said above, this doesn't sound like a completely new band or anything. They didn't change their sound necessarily, but they pulled back to a something more in their expertise and then tightened up what they needed to. Making those very necessary changes makes this album feel a lot more focused and mature.
As the album goes forward, we hear some more upbeat tracks that have obvious traces of some of their influences, like Bob Dylan ("Some Kind of Love") and The Beatles ("Beginning to See the Light"). Although those songs are great, they shine the most on the mellower more stripped down songs. "Pale Blue Eyes" is a great example of that. It's a very pretty song.
And now, as you see, I don't think I've said a bad thing about this album yet. And that's because the majority of the album is as great as VU has sounded up to this point in their discography. But then we get to "The Murder Mystery"... I don't want to talk about it, but let's just say that this less-than-casual Velvet Underground listener has a very disappointing headache now. Thankfully, the end of the record recovers with a bouncy bass driven jam called "After Hours."
Despite its very few flops, this album was a pleasant surprise. Especially compared to the other VU albums we've reviewed so far. It's not perfect, but I'm proud of them for making an album like this. I compared them to junior high school kids who just started a band to emulate their heroes on their first album, but on this one, I feel like they've matured and found their own little place that's a little more unique. Not bad, boys, not bad.
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