Velvet Underground and Nico - 180g with Original Sticker Cover

When the Velvets recorded this debut, they were best known as the protégés of Andy Warhol (who designed the sleeve), and as a grating, combustive live band. Fueled by drummer Moe Tucker's no-nonsense wham and John Cale's howling viola, some of the straight-up rock & roll and arty noise extravaganzas here bear that out. But before Lou Reed was singing about sadomasochism and drug deals and writing lyrics inspired by his favorite poets, he was a pop songwriter, and this album has some of his prettiest tunes, mostly sung by Nico, the German dark angel who left the band after this disc. Even the sordid rockers are underscored by graceful pop tricks, like the two-chord flutter at the center of the classic "Heroin." --Douglas Wolk

The Velvet Underground & Nico album, also referred to as "The Banana Album" designed by Andy Warhol (who also produced it) was released in March 1967. Most of the songs were recorded the previous year in a run-down studio before the band even had a record contract. Verve had decided to add alternative music to their label and picked up the group's recordings. It features the classic tracks "Heroin," "I'm Waiting For The Man," and "Sunday Morning."