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Loaded

The Velvet Underground - Loaded Audio CD

A fair review of the The Velvet Underground "Loaded" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Velvet Underground reviews here, or go back to the The Velvet Underground tabs.

Band: The Velvet Underground
Title: Loaded
Rating:

Release Date: 1990-10-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Who Loves the Sun 2: Sweet Jane 3: Rock & Roll 4: Cool It Down 5: New Age 6: Head Held High 7: Lonesome Cowboy Bill 8: I Found a Reason 9: Train Round the Bend 10: Oh! Sweet Nuthin'

Easy listening, again, but with a country flavour. c 70+/100
It's hard to see why this might have been thought by the relevant people.
From what I've read, randomly, this album was meant to be 'loaded' with hits and commercial fodder, hence the title. Guessing here, but I think that maybe this album was released at a time in the US when country flavoured pop/rock was doing well, hence the band felt that this was a way to get some mainstream success. Like their best two album - their first and third - their fourth album is easy listening and soothing to the ears. I'd call it 'light country rock' but some of the songs are bit rockier than most on the album. The guitar has a subtle sound in this album, for the most part.

The best songs:

Train round the bend - (I'm assuming I've marked this track down as one of the best. . . otherwise I'm looking at a blotch on my notes) an interesting, experimental sounding country folk-rock type song. Bassy, piano, Dylan-esque vocals (with that man's ticks as well), also features a throbbing synthesiser sound. . . like electric crickets.

Head held high - notable for the element of drums, which are good. The intro reminded me of Enya. A rock song with thumping drums later. Has a country flavoured lead guitar. Catchy chorus, hand-claps and has backing vocals. There is a keyboard and the vibe of the song is quite catchy.

The best of the rest:

Sweet Jane - has a quirky intro, perhaps Oriental in style. . . John Lennon's classic "Beautiful boy" is brought to mind. Not a bad riff on the accoustic guitar. . . simple, yet catchy. Bernard Fanning's "Wish you well" is evoked by the strumming of the guitar on this track. Lou Reed sings on this track. Again, some Bob Dylan type mannerisms are demonstrated. . . Lou chuckles to himself during this song. . . just like The Bob does. In my opinion, The Velvet Underground nailed the kind of style Bob Dylan attempted with his album "Blood on the tracks". Dylan could not match The Velvet Underground's first and third albums though. I'd go so far to say that Reed was a consistently more engaging poet and artist than Dylan. . . Dylan could often outstay his welcome on some songs, especially a couple of tracks on "Blood on the tracks" (see my review of that album here for more).

I found a reason - a pleasant, soothing, mellow country flavoured song. At times there are nice harmonies to this song. One guitar has a "Zombie" type vibe to it (the classic Cranberries' song), which is pretty. There's a 1950s style 'rap' bit to this song too. This song is sort of like a lullaby. . . with a touch of "People get ready" to it.

Oh! Sweet nuthin' - pleasant, light country rock. Later on in the song there are waves of machine gun fire like drumming. The drums are on the left hand speaker. The drumming and lead guitar work stand out on this song. A little bit of the guitar lick on this track reminds me of "Romeo's tune". Has backing vocals and a guy with a light voice sings. . . not Lou Reed, in other words. 7:23 long.

The rest:

Who loves the sun - the intro has unintentional distortion, I think. Whimsical lyrics. . . sort of a George Harrison/Beatles type song. Drums are again on the L. H. S. Backing vocals bring to mind The Mamas & The Papas. Breezy song, with accoustic guitar.

Rock & roll - Lou sings. Ironic title. Has some backing vocals. Light, breezy accoustic guitar with a strumming riff.

Cool it down - dual lead vocals. It's sort of like hearing Lou and the lead singer of Pixies together. Country flavour, with an accoustic guitar coupled with an electric guitar. Piano features. The Pixies type bits are a little catchy.

New age - has vaguely Pink Floyd guitars (a la "Wish you were here") - slow, laid back, but country style. There is an odd, ethereal sounding piano. . . sort of sounds like it is playing in a distant tank or something! Has backing vocals.

Lonesome cowboy Bill - country flavoured rock song. Sort of sounds like something which could have featured on The Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper" album (or their 'White' album). Has backing vocals and piano.

Recommendations:

The Velvet Underground's self-titled 3rd album (has their only masterpiece song, I think, in "Murder mystery") or their debut album, with Nico. Both albums are easy listening classics, but aren't country at all. Their second album is more experimental and I don't rate it that highly.

Bob Dylan: Blood on the tracks. Two annoying tracks prevents this from being a 5 star album, but I get the impression that Dylan was a big influence on the band, perhaps especially to Lou Reed. And maybe The Velvet Underground were an influence on this album too.

A final farewell to Lou Reed's group
Reed finally had enough of being in a group as he wanted to sow his wild oats. Although the group would go on for another 2 years at least enough to release an album named "Squeeze", and a rock group from England to use that name for their band. This would be the first of 3 albums on the Atlantic label. It's definitely the best of them too. The album came together after being kicked out of Verve. The group was all set to release the material that would eventually end up on "V. U. ", and "Another Veiw", but then Reed came up with this album. "Who Loves The Sun?" is without a doubt a weird love song, or at least it has the sound of one, but it's really a break-up song, and then there's "Sweet Jane" my first introduction to Lou Reed, and the Velvet Underground. I've heard the live version of this, and it's even better than this, but this is still no slouch. Reed was disgusted however as this was carelessly mixed and edited. Then there's "Rock and Roll" which is alright!!! "Cool It Down" is another nice little slice, and the first side ends with "New Age" this is another song that Reed was upset with being mixed recklessly. I have to agree with Reed here as the live version of this song is better. Side 2 kicks off with "Head Held High" a nice little rocker, "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" is a bit hokey I mean a New York group writing about cowboys it's unheard of, but not as off base as you think as some of the first cowboys came from New York State. "I've Found A Reason" is a rather weak song here, and it doesn't get any better with "Train Round The Bend", but makes up for it with the song "Oh Sweet Nuthin". This is a slow number that shows the group was starting to break up, and after a month long stay at Max's Kansas City they would. .

Is this Really the Velvet Underground Playing?
It sounds like a pretty pop song. If you are familiar with the Velvet's earlier albums your jaw will drop to the floor when you hear the first song; I know mine did. The harmonies remind me of the Beach Boys or even the Mammas and the Pappas. Overall though this is one killer album. Now I know some rip on this record cause it doesn't sound like the Velvet Underground but in my book that is a plus.

Really do any two Velvet albums sound the same? Their first sounds like folk mixed with punk, their second is straiight up avant-garde, their third sounds like a minimalist folk album and this one sounds almost like a Beales album. This is one of the reason why I love the band so much they could do anything they wanted.

Listen to the record not expecting to hear whatever you think the Velvets should sound and you will enjoy it.

Slightly less then spectacular farwell in a short and tremendous run
. 3 1/2

Almost as brilliant as anything they released, there are just a few semi-lazy songs which derail Loaded from achieving full classic status, despite some of Reeds most classic songwriting on display.

Not quite weak but not quite strong.
Upon it's release, Lou Reed followed John Cale and split, leaving the band without it's two most important members. By the time Loaded came out, The Velvet Underground were essentially out of commission. The story behind Loaded is one that fans know all too well. Asked to make an album "loaded with hits," they did just that and candy-coated their last real album for mass consumption. It worked, to some extent, but Loaded always felt kind of dull, and really didn't come anywhere close to the other albums.

The Velvets follow through with their promise with the first three songs, arguably their three most popular and likeable songs ever. Who Loves The Sun is a personal favorite VU track, a really nice, longing love song. The little sparkly interlude at the beginning of Sweet Jane is just as memorable and momentous as the brilliant hook itself. Rock and Roll is also an easy winner. But then things crash, really fast.

The album gets more flak than it deserves, that much I will admit. It is still, in retrospect, a really solid album, but it's pretty obvious that for VU fans, it is sort of a broken blessing. It has some of the bands most traditional, popular songs, but it also lacks any real contour or interesting twists or anything, which was essentially what the band had been known to do at that point. After making The Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light / White Heat, two of the most progressive and unique albums of their generation, it would be unreasonable to expect the trailblazing to continue. You can't win them all. By the time Loaded was released, it is pretty obvious that everyone is just tired and wants to crank out a record. Bassist Doug Yule was given some significant songwriting and vocal duties here, and to be honest, he was pretty disposable. The album dips dangerously low around the middle with the trifecta of mediocrity that is Cool Down, New Age, and Head Held High, three of the Velvets most forgettable songs ever.

There is a bounceback. I'll admit to liking Lonesome Cowboy Bill, even though I know it's cheesy. The same goes for I Found A Reason. It falls into the much sought after It's So Cheesy It's Good category. At the very least, it's fairly unique. I'll also give it to them, they made one hell of a last song, Oh! Sweet Nuthin'. It has a really classic, tired, conclusive, slow groove to it that is really fitting. Both Sweet Nuthin' and Who Loves The Sun were included on the High Fidelity soundtrack, and rightfully so, because they are both classic VU.

It's alright. I'll give it one thing. I have never seen an album more shockingly broken than this. It's high points are sheer brilliance and it's low points are almost embarassing. What is in between feels like it should be leaning towards one direction but can't convince the listener either way. It's definitely a good album. But there is not much here that is challenging or pushes any of the bands limits like the other albums did. My favorite thing about the Velvets, and what makes VU&N one of my absolute favorites, is how individual all of their songs are, but this album has a style that is easy to pin and rather forgettable. For a last album, it's respectable, though.

You can see a complete list of all The Velvet Underground discography, or go back to the The Velvet Underground tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.