The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat

Nothing in their debut could really have prepared fans for the sonic assault the Velvets unleashed in White Light/White Heat. Freed from Andy Warhol's patronage (and Nico's vocals), Lou Reed and company strip production values to a minimum and turn out a primitive rock & roll masterpiece: everything on this record sounds distorted and abrasive. Depending on how you feel about these sorts of things, this makes it either their best or their worst record. Of course, underneath it all are some of Reed's greatest songs, from the title track to the wistful "Here She Comes Now." It all culminates on side 2 with the raucously joyous "I Heard Her Call My Name" ("And then my mind split open," Reed sings, and his guitar lets you know just about how that would feel) and the epic "Sister Ray"--10 minutes of transcendent, pounding fuzz as Reed searches for his "mainline." --Percy Keegan Amazon.com

Just don't get it

While I love all 3 other VU album, I simply don't get this one. After about 20 sometimes really painful listening, I give up.

This album has its moments with me with the title track, here she comes now and I heard her call my name. But the gift, what the hell? A narration of a story about somebody mailing himself and ultimately getting killed with background music from the band.

This isn't outright terrible like Playing With Fire or something, but man, this is not enjoyable.

White Light/White Heat 4/5
The Gift 1/5
Lady Godiva's Operation 3/5
Here She Comes Now 5/5
I Heard Her Call My Name 4/5
Sister Ray 3/5(can be 4/5, but too long) July 30, 2008

White Light / White Genius

I'm not the type to write reviews, but when I looked at several of the reviews bashing this album, I had to speak up. I own all the studio albums by The Velvet Underground, and this one is by far my favorite. That being said, as you probably already read, it is the least accessible. Don't let that discourage you. Easy come, easy go, right? I recommend starting with another Velvet album if this is your first exposure to them. Come back to this one, and give it some patience; You will be rewarded. March 18, 2008

A great album ... horrible value

I love this album. It features my favorite two Velvet Underground songs, the title track and "I heard her call my name". I also like "Here she comes now" and both "Lady Godiva's Operation" and "The gift" have a strange appeal, despite also being bizzare. ("The gift" is really a musical accompaniment to a short story read by John Cale, "Lady Godiva" is a song with sections that are just bizarre) "Sister Ray" is a good idea drawn out far too long. All in all, this is the Velvet Underground at their most experimental and most abrasive moment. It also only has six songs on it and, in terms of song per dollar, I feel cheated.

This album is also a bad choice as your first Velvet Underground album. All four Albums have a distinct personality.

The Velvet Underground and Nico : Mellow, Abrasives, Experimental, Conventional, Minimalistic, and extremely raw.

White Light/ White Heat; Very Expiremental and abrassive, mellow only during "here she comes now"

The Velvet Underground : Very mellow; almost a folk album.

Loaded : The Velvet Underground finally plays traditional rock & roll

If you think you might like VU's experimental, abrasive side then the first album is really the best choice, if you don't like abrasive, poorly produced music then there is some chance you might still like their third or fourth albums.

I think "White Light / White Heat" is an album mainly for people who loved "Murder Mystery" and the experimental side of "The Velvet Underground and Nice" so much that they are willing to over-pay for six more songs of that type. But that won't stop me from complaing about being over-charged. January 30, 2008

It doesn't get much heavier than this!

If you were around in 1968 then you remember the times, the vibe and the violence in the air. Drawn from such times the Velvets released this masterpiece. There is a reason they're in the Rock & Roll Hall of fame my friend. Even their "lesser records" (like this one) were masterpieces. They were light years ahead of their time. This is one HEAVY record. Definetely worth a listen to the younger generation. The Velvets did it first and sometimes better than some of the rest. December 15, 2007

White Light/White Heat - Velvet Underground

As a Velvet Underground/Lou Reed fan from the foggy sixties, I was very pleased to find this "album" still available. It is a perfect example of the raw, edgy, unsophisticated & repetitious rock that drew such a loyal base. I attended a VU concert in a small, popular venue that packed us in shoulder to shoulder. VU came out, played out of key, out of tune and seemingly totally stoned, for a very short set. About a third of the audience left disgusted, leaving room, and comfort, for the remaining devotees. Reed came back on stage, scanned the remaining audience, and proceeded to apologize for the bad performance - then said, 'we saw how packed and uncomfortable it was, and played crappy on purpose to make room for our true fans'. They proceeded to play a super long, incredibly tight set, that blew us all away. Superb! November 1, 2007

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