Editing The Velvet Underground & Nico

{{Distinguish|The Velvet Underground (album){{!}}''The Velvet Underground'' (album)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox album
| name         = The Velvet Underground & Nico
| type         = studio
| artist       = [[the Velvet Underground]] and [[Nico]]
| cover        = Velvet Underground and Nico.jpg
| border       = yes
| alt          = On white, a painted banana in the style of Andy Warhol, signed by the artist, with directions (in small text) to "peel slowly and see"
| released     = {{Start date|1967|03}}{{efn|Some sources date the release to March{{nbsp}}12, a Sunday,<ref>{{harvnb|Strodder|2007|p=58}}; {{harvnb|Schinder|2007|p=325}}; {{harvnb|Wall|2013|p=25}}; {{harvnb|Blush|2016|p=70}}.</ref>
but others do not specify beyond March{{nbsp}}1967.{{sfn|Hogan|1997|p=1}}{{sfn|Harvard|2004|p=138}} [[Richie Unterberger]] writes, "The exact date remains uncertain, but the appearance in the March{{nbsp}}9 edition of the ''Village Voice'' of a notorious advert{{nbsp}}... suggests that the album [was] on sale by that date at the latest".{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=135}}}}
| recorded     = April, May and November 1966
| studio       = * [[Scepter Studios|Scepter]] and Mayfair, New York City
* [[TTG Studios|TTG]], Hollywood
| genre        = * [[Art rock]]
* [[experimental rock]]
* [[proto-punk]]
* [[psychedelic rock]]
* {{nowrap|[[avant-pop]]}}
* [[garage rock]]
| length       = {{Duration|m=47|s=51}}
| label        = [[Verve Records|Verve]]
| producer     = * [[Andy Warhol]]
* [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]]
| chronology   = [[The Velvet Underground]]
| prev_title   = 
| prev_year    = 
| next_title   = [[White Light/White Heat]]
| next_year    = 1968
| misc         = {{Extra chronology
 | artist     = [[Nico]]
 | type       = studio
 | prev_title = 
 | prev_year  = 
 | title      = The Velvet Underground & Nico
 | year       = 1967
 | next_title = [[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]
 | next_year  = 1967
}}{{Singles
 | name        = The Velvet Underground & Nico
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" / "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]
 | single1date = July 1966<ref>{{cite web|url=http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/singles/singles.html|title=Singles&EPs}}</ref>
 | single2     = [[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]" / "[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]
 | single2date = December 1966
}}{{Extra album cover
 | header  = Alternative cover
 | type    = studio
 | cover   = Velvet underground album cover 2.png
 | border  = yes
 | alt     =
 | caption = The early LP edition with the banana-skin sticker peeled off
}}
}}
'''''The Velvet Underground & Nico''''' is the debut studio album by the American rock band [[the Velvet Underground]] and the German singer [[Nico]]. Released by [[Verve Records]] in March 1967, the album underperformed in sales and polarized critics upon release due to its abrasive, unconventional sound and controversial lyrical content. It later became regarded as one of the most influential albums in [[Rock music|rock]] and [[pop music]] and one of the greatest albums of all time.

''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on [[Andy Warhol]]'s [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]] tour. Warhol, who designed the album's [[record sleeve]], served as co-producer alongside [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]]. The album features elements of [[avant-garde music]] incorporated into brash, [[Minimal music|minimal]] and groove-driven [[rock music]]. Lead singer and songwriter [[Lou Reed]] delivers explicit lyrics spanning themes of [[drug abuse]], [[prostitution]], [[sadomasochism]] and urban life. Characterized as "the original [[Art rock|art-rock]] record",<ref name="Clash" /> it was a major influence on many subgenres of rock and [[Alternative rock|alternative music]], including [[Punk rock|punk]], [[garage rock]], [[krautrock]], [[post-punk]], [[post-rock]],<ref name="reynolds">{{cite book| isbn=978-0-8264-1615-5|editor=Cox, Christoph and Daniel Warner|last=Reynolds|first=Simon|publisher=Continuum International|page=359|title=Audio Culture: Readings in Modern Music|chapter=Post-rock|year=2007|quote=Post-rock has its own sporadic but extensive history [...] In terms of electric guitar, the key lineage runs from the Velvet Underground [...] The Velvets melded folkadelic songcraft with a wall-of-noise aesthetic that was half Phil Spector, half La Monte Young—and thereby invented dronology, a term that loosely describes 50 per cent of today's post-rock activity.}}</ref> [[noise rock]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Media |first=ACRN |date=2020-03-02 |title=Punk'd: The Velvet Underground – The Velvet Underground & Nico |url=https://acrn.com/2020/03/02/punkd-the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-underground-nico/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=ACRN.com |language=en}}</ref> [[shoegaze]], [[gothic rock]], and [[indie rock]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-revolution-rocks-on-8210230.html |title=The Velvet Underground: The velvet revolution rocks on |last=Richman |first=Simmy |newspaper=The Independent |access-date=February 12, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213003013/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/the-velvet-underground-the-velvet-revolution-rocks-on-8210230.html |archive-date=February 13, 2017}} "On that first album alone, the Velvets invented—or at the very least inspired—art rock, punk, garage, grunge, shoegaze, goth, indie and any other alternative music you care to mention."</ref> In 1982, the English musician [[Brian Eno]] quipped that while the album only sold approximately 30,000 copies in its first five years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band".<ref name="eno">Sources discussing the quote:

* {{harvnb|Schinder|2007|p=308}}
* {{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/5770584/lou-reed-rip-what-if-everyone-who-bought-the-first|title=Lou Reed RIP: What If Everyone Who Bought The First Velvet Underground Album Did Start A Band?|last=Gensler|first=Andy|date=October 28, 2013|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|location=New York|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405031412/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/5770584/lou-reed-rip-what-if-everyone-who-bought-the-first|archive-date=April 5, 2016|url-status=live}}
* {{cite web |title=Everyone Who Bought One of Those 30,000 Copies Started a Band |url=https://quoteinvestigator.com/2016/03/01/velvet/?amp=1#google_vignette |website=Quote Investigator |access-date=20 December 2023 |date=March 1, 2016}}
The quote referenced:

* {{cite web|url=http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/musn82.htm|title=Eno: Voyages in Time & Perception|last=McKenna|first=Kristine|author-link=Kristine McKenna|date=October 1982|website=[[Musician (magazine)|Musician]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120805002211/http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/interviews/musn82.htm|archive-date=August 5, 2012|url-status=live|access-date=November 8, 2012|quote=I was talking to Lou Reed the other day and he said that the first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. The sales have picked up in the past few years, but I mean, that record was such an important record for so many people. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!}}</ref>

''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' has been included on several all-time lists, including that of [[Apple Music 100 Best Albums|Apple Music]] and [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|''Rolling Stone'']].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Apple Music 100 Best Albums |url=https://100best.music.apple.com/us |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Apple |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="RS500">{{cite magazine |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |issue=937 |date=December 11, 2003 |title=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time |access-date=July 18, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090104131142/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/ |archive-date=January 4, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/the-notorious-b-i-g-ready-to-die-3-1063211/ | title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=December 31, 2023 }}</ref> In 2006, it was inducted into the [[National Recording Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-039.html March 6, 2007&nbsp;– Recordings by Historical Figures and Musical Legends Added to the 2006 National Recording Registry] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029210655/http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2007/07-039.html |date=October 29, 2013 }}, News from the Library of Congress, 2006 National Recording Registry&nbsp;– The Library Today (Library of Congress).</ref>

==Recording==
[[File:Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable with Nico.png|thumb|left|200x200px|[[Nico]] sang lead vocals on three tracks, including the [[single (music)|single]] "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]".]]

''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was recorded with the first professional line-up of the Velvet Underground: [[Lou Reed]], [[John Cale]], [[Sterling Morrison]] and [[Moe Tucker|Maureen Tucker]]. At the instigation of their [[mentor]] and manager Andy Warhol, and his collaborator [[Paul Morrissey]], [[People of Germany|German]] singer [[Nico]] was also featured; she had occasionally performed lead vocals for the band.<ref name="wilcox">{{cite web |title=The Unlikely Making of ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' |url=http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1463-the-unlikely-making-of-the-velvet-underground-nico |website=The Pitch |publisher=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |last=Wilcox |first=Tyler |date=March 13, 2017 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819061048/http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/1463-the-unlikely-making-of-the-velvet-underground-nico/ |archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref> She sang lead on three of the album's tracks—"[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]", "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" and "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]"—and back-up on "[[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]". In 1966, as the album was being recorded, this was also the line-up for their live performances as a part of Warhol's [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Velvet Underground Bio |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-velvet-underground/biography |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170923080701/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/the-velvet-underground/biography |archive-date=September 23, 2017}}</ref>

The bulk of the songs that would become ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' were recorded in four days in mid-April 1966 at [[Scepter Records|Scepter Studios]], a [[recording studio]] in [[Manhattan]]. This was financed by Warhol and [[Columbia Records]]' sales executive [[Norman Dolph]], who also acted as an [[audio engineering|engineer]] with John Licata. The cost of the project is unknown. Estimates vary from [[United States dollar|$]]1,500 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1500|1966}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US}} to $3,000 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|3000|1966}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars).{{inflation-fn|US}}{{sfn|Harvard|2004}}

Soon after, Dolph sent an [[acetate disc]] of the recordings to [[Columbia Records]] in an attempt to interest them in distributing the album, but they declined, as did [[Atlantic Records]] and [[Elektra Records]]—according to Morrison, Atlantic objected to the references to drugs in Reed's songs, while Elektra disliked Cale's viola.<ref>{{harvnb|Irvin|McLear|2007|p=80}}</ref> Finally, the [[MGM Records]]-owned [[Verve Records]] accepted the recordings, with the help of Verve staff producer [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] who had recently moved from a job at Columbia.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Remembering Bob Dylan and Velvet Underground's Pioneering Producer |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/remembering-bob-dylan-velvet-undergrounds-pioneering-producer-20151104 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |last=Browne |first=David |date=November 4, 2015 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819021115/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/remembering-bob-dylan-velvet-undergrounds-pioneering-producer-20151104 |archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref>

With the backing of a label, one month later in May 1966 three of the songs, "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]", "[[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]" and "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]", were re-recorded in two days at [[TTG Studios]] during a stay in [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]]. When the record's release date was postponed, Wilson brought the band into [[Atlantic Studios#Technical Engineers|Mayfair Recording Studios]] in [[Manhattan]] in November 1966, to add a final song to the album: the single "[[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]".<ref name="Bockris1994"/>
{{clear|left}}

==Production==
[[File:Andy Warhol by Jack Mitchell.jpg|200x200px|alt=|thumb|Artist [[Andy Warhol]] designed the album's cover.]]

Although [[Andy Warhol]] is the only formally credited [[record producer|producer]], he had little influence beyond paying for the recording sessions.<ref name="Graves">{{cite web |title=The Velvet Underground: How Andy Warhol Was Fired by His Own Art Project |url=https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/the-velvet-underground-how-andy-warhol-was-fired-by-his-own-art-project |website=Dusting 'Em Off |publisher=[[Consequence of Sound]] |date=March 10, 2017 |access-date=September 12, 2017 |last=Graves |first=Wren |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170408044024/https://consequenceofsound.net/2017/03/the-velvet-underground-how-andy-warhol-was-fired-by-his-own-art-project/ |archive-date=April 8, 2017}}</ref> Several others who worked on the album are often mentioned as the technical producer.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}}<ref name="Bockris-Malanga">{{harvnb|Bockris|Malanga|1996}}</ref>

Norman Dolph and John Licata are sometimes attributed to producing the Scepter Studios sessions, as they were responsible for recording and engineering, though neither is credited.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} Dolph said Cale was the creative producer, as he handled the majority of the [[arrangement]]s.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} However Cale recalled that Tom Wilson produced nearly all the tracks, and said that Warhol "didn't do anything".<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/> Reed also said the "real producer" of the album was Wilson.<ref name="Graves"/> Reed claimed it was MGM who decided to bring in Wilson, and credited him for producing songs such as "Sunday Morning": "Andy absorbed all the flak. Then MGM said they wanted to bring in a real producer, Tom Wilson. So that's how you got 'Sunday Morning', with all those overdubs—the viola in the back, Nico chanting. But he couldn't undo what had already been done."<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lou-reed-the-rolling-stone-interview-2-174015/|title=Lou Reed: The Rolling Stone Interview|first=David|last=Fricke|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=May 4, 1989|access-date=November 20, 2018|archive-date=November 20, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120221330/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/lou-reed-the-rolling-stone-interview-2-174015/|url-status=live}}</ref>

However [[Sterling Morrison]] and Lou Reed both cited Warhol's lack of manipulation as a legitimate method of production.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} Morrison described Warhol as the producer "in the sense of producing a film".<ref>"An Interview with Sterling Morrison", ''Fusion'', March 6, 1970. Reproduced in {{harvnb|Heylin|2009}}</ref> Reed said:

{{blockquote|He just made it possible for us to be ourselves and go right ahead with it because he was Andy Warhol. In a sense, he really did produce it, because he was this umbrella that absorbed all the attacks when we weren't large enough to be attacked{{nbsp}}... and as a consequence of him being the producer, we'd just walk in and set up and do what we always did and no one would stop it because Andy was the producer. Of course he didn't know anything about record production—but he didn't have to. He just sat there and said "Oooh, that's fantastic," and the engineer would say, "Oh yeah! Right! It is fantastic, isn't it?"<ref>{{cite journal |last = Flanagan |first = Bill |date=April 1989 |title = White Light White Heat: Lou Reed and John Cale remember Andy Warhol |journal = Musician Magazine}}</ref>}}

==Music and lyrics==
{{listen
| filename    = TheVelvetUndergroundI'mWaitingForTheMan.ogg
| title       = "I'm Waiting for the Man"
| description = The second track of ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The percussive, "[[Boogie-woogie|barrelhouse]]"-style piano is heard behind Lou Reed's descriptive lyrics. This sample contains the first verse.
| format      = [[Ogg]]}}
{{listen
| filename    = TheVelvetUndergroundVenusInFurs.ogg|
| title       = "Venus in Furs"|
| description = The fourth track from ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The [[drone music|droning]] electric viola accompanies the "[[ostrich guitar|ostrich"-tuned guitar]]. This sample contains the second verse.
| format      = [[Ogg]]}}

===Themes===
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was notable for its overt descriptions of topics such as [[drug abuse]], [[prostitution]], [[Sadomasochism|sadism and masochism]] and [[paraphilia|sexual deviancy]]. "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]" describes a protagonist's efforts to obtain [[heroin]],<ref name="waiting">{{cite magazine |title=The Velvet Underground, 'I'm Waiting for the Man' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-velvet-underground-im-waiting-for-the-man-20110526 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=April 7, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011446/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-velvet-underground-im-waiting-for-the-man-20110526|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sounes|2015|pp=40–41}}</ref> while "[[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]" is a nearly literal interpretation of [[Venus in Furs|the 19th century novel of the same name]] (which itself prominently features accounts of [[BDSM]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Sounes|2015|pp=41–43}}</ref> "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]" details an individual's use of the drug and the experience of feeling its effects.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/heroin-mt0009688252 |title=Heroin&nbsp;- The Velvet Underground {{!}} Song Info |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819024156/http://www.allmusic.com/song/heroin-mt0009688252 |archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref>

[[Lou Reed]], who wrote the majority of the album's lyrics, never intended to write about such topics for shock value. Reed, a fan of poets and authors such as [[Raymond Chandler]], [[Nelson Algren]], [[William S. Burroughs]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], and [[Hubert Selby, Jr.]], saw no reason the content in their works could not translate well to [[rock and roll]] music. An English major who studied for a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] at [[Syracuse University]], Reed said in an interview that he thought joining the two (gritty subject matter and music) was "obvious".<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/> "That's the kind of stuff you might read. Why wouldn't you listen to it? You have the fun of reading that, and you get the fun of rock on top of it."<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/>

Though the album's dark subject matter is today considered revolutionary,<ref name="Heylin"/> several of the album's songs are centered on themes more typical of popular music. Certain songs were written by Reed as observations of the members of Andy Warhol's "[[The Factory|Factory]] [[Warhol superstars|superstars]]". "[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]" in particular was written about [[Edie Sedgwick]] at Warhol's request. "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]", inspired by [[Nico]],<ref name="Bockris1994">{{harvnb|Bockris|1994|pp=106, 135}}</ref> is a tender and affectionate song; in stark contrast to a song like "Heroin". A common misperception is that "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" was written by Reed at Warhol's request (as stated in [[Victor Bockris]] and [[Gerard Malanga]]'s Velvet Underground biography ''Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story''). While the song does seem to be another observation of Factory denizens, Reed wrote the song before meeting Warhol, having recorded a demo in July 1965 at Ludlow Street.<ref name="wilcox"/>

===Instrumentation and performance===
{{listen
| filename    = TheVelvetUndergroundHeroin.ogg
| title       = "Heroin"
| pos         = left
| description = The seventh track from ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. As the song nears its final crescendo, the percussion quickens and the electric viola produces feedback.
| format      = [[Ogg]]}}
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' has generally been described by writers as [[art rock]],<ref name="Clash">{{cite news |date=December 11, 2009 |url=http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/classic-albums-the-velvet-undergrond-and-nico |title=Classic Albums: The Velvet Underground&nbsp;– The Velvet Underground & Nico |newspaper=[[Clash Music]] |quote=...{{nbsp}}the original art-rock record{{nbsp}}...|access-date=March 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402112235/http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/classic-albums-the-velvet-undergrond-and-nico |archive-date=April 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=DeRogatis |first=Jim |author-link=Jim DeRogatis |date=February 14, 2003a |title=Gettin' Your Groove On |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |page=26 |url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F947E0EE045091C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |quote=...{{nbsp}}this enduring art-rock masterpiece{{nbsp}}... |access-date=August 1, 2013 |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006155610/http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=CSTB&p_theme=cstb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F947E0EE045091C&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |url-status=live }}</ref> [[experimental rock]],<ref name="Magnet">{{cite web |last=Amorisi |first=A.D. |date=May 15, 2018 |title=ESSENTIAL NEW MUSIC: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND'S "THE VELVET UNDERGROUND" |url=http://magnetmagazine.com/2018/05/15/essential-new-music-velvet-undergrounds-velvet-underground/ |website=[[Magnet (magazine)|Magnet]] |access-date=20 April 2019 |quote=Lou Reed and John Cale's now-canonical, dry-icy, holy-terror take on then-experimental rock |archive-date=April 20, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420144949/http://magnetmagazine.com/2018/05/15/essential-new-music-velvet-undergrounds-velvet-underground/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[proto-punk]],<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.spin.com/2011/08/listen-feist-friends-cover-velvet-underground/ |title=Listen: Feist & Friends Cover Velvet Underground |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=August 16, 2011 |access-date=October 6, 2013 |author=Goodman, William |url-status=live |archive-date=October 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029191322/https://www.spin.com/2011/08/listen-feist-friends-cover-velvet-underground/}}</ref> [[psychedelic rock]],<ref>{{harvnb|DeRogatis|2003|p=79}}</ref> [[avant-pop]], <ref>{{cite magazine |last=Hermes |first=Will |title=The Complete Matrix Tapes |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-complete-matrix-tapes-204441/ |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=December 8, 2015 |access-date=31 July 2020 |archive-date=October 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201026125904/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-complete-matrix-tapes-204441/ |url-status=live }}</ref> and [[garage rock]]<ref>{{Citation |title=The Velvet Underground & Nico - The Velvet Und... {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-velvet-underground-nico-mw0001955423 |access-date=2025-05-19 |language=en}}</ref>. Much of the album's sound was conceived by [[John Cale]], who stressed the experimental qualities of the band. He was influenced greatly by his work with [[Minimal music|minimalist]] composer [[La Monte Young]], [[John Cage]] and the early [[Fluxus]] movement, and encouraged the use of alternative ways of producing sound in music. Cale thought his sensibilities meshed well with Lou Reed's, who was already experimenting with alternate tunings. For instance, Reed had "invented" the [[ostrich guitar]] tuning for a song he wrote called "The Ostrich" for the short-lived band the Primitives. Ostrich guitar tuning consists of all strings being tuned to the same note. This method was utilized on the songs "Venus in Furs" and "All Tomorrow's Parties". Often, the guitars were also tuned down a whole step, which produced a lower, fuller sound that Cale considered "sexy".{{sfn|Harvard|2004}}

Cale performed on the viola on several of the album's songs, notably "Venus in Furs" and "The Black Angel's Death Song". The viola used guitar and mandolin strings, and when played loudly, Cale would liken its brash sound to that of an airplane engine.<ref name="Heylin"/> Cale's technique usually involved minimalist [[Drone music|drones]], [[Musical tuning|detuning]] for an eerie, surreal effect, and [[Distortion (music)|distortion]] to highlight harmonics and transform the instrument's sound.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=John Cale on The Velvet Underground & Nico |url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-30063 |magazine=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]] |first=Tom |last=Pinnock |date=September 28, 2012 |access-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-date=August 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170814145221/http://www.uncut.co.uk/news/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-30063}}</ref> According to [[Robert Christgau]], the "narcotic drone" not only sustains the [[sadomasochism]]-themed "Venus in Furs", but it also "identifies and unifies the [album] musically". Of the vocal performances, he believed "Nico's contained [[wikt:chanteuse|chantoozy]] sexuality" complemented "the dispassionate abandon of Reed's chant singing".<ref name="Christgau"/>  In 1966, [[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] described Nico's vocal as "something like a cello getting up in the morning".<ref>Ulf Lindberg et al. ''Rock Criticism from the Beginning: Amusers, Bruisers, and Cool-headed Cruisers.'' Peter Lang, 2005. p. 115. {{ISBN|9780820474908}}</ref>

Tucker's style of drumming on the album involved her playing standing up rather than sitting down, playing bass drums and tambourines on their sides with a drumstick in her left hand and a mallet in her right hand, resulting in "a mix of [[Rhythm in Sub-Saharan Africa|African trance rhythms]] and [[Ringo Starr|Ringo]]-like arrangement genius" according to Adam Budofsky of ''[[Modern Drummer]]''.<ref name="moderndrummer">{{cite magazine |title=Drumming With the Velvet Underground, Part 2: Maureen Tucker |url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/2005/07/maureen-tucker/ |magazine=[[Modern Drummer]] |first=Adam |last=Budofsky |date=October 28, 2013}}</ref> The band's initial percussionist and ex-member, [[Angus MacLise]], had informed Tucker's style and influenced her into playing "pounding" rhythms that fit with, in her words, "the ominous mood" of several of the album's songs.<ref name="moderndrummer" />

==Artwork==
The [[album cover]] for ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' is recognizable for featuring a Warhol print of a [[banana]]. Early copies of the album invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see", and peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album's delayed release), but [[MGM Records|MGM]] paid for costs figuring that any ties to Warhol would boost sales of the album.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}}<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/> Most reissued vinyl editions of the album do not feature the peel-off sticker; original copies of the album with the peel-sticker feature are now rare collector's items. A Japanese re-issue LP in the early 1980s was the only re-issue version to include the banana sticker for many years. On the 1996 [[compact disc|CD]] reissue, the banana image is on the front cover while the image of the peeled banana is on the inside of the [[jewel case]], beneath the CD itself. The album was re-pressed onto heavyweight vinyl in 2008, featuring a banana sticker.<ref>{{cite web |title = Copyright Portion of Velvet Underground Banana Lawsuit Dismissed, Trademark Part Goes Forward|url = http://pitchfork.com/news/47806-copyright-portion-of-velvet-underground-banana-lawsuit-dismissed-trademark-part-goes-forward/ |website = Pitchfork |date = September 11, 2012 |access-date = January 10, 2016 |url-status = live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160203080955/http://pitchfork.com/news/47806-copyright-portion-of-velvet-underground-banana-lawsuit-dismissed-trademark-part-goes-forward/ |archive-date = February 3, 2016}}</ref> <!--The original British release was a single sleeve and did not have a banana on the front but featured the reverse of the American issue.{{citation needed|date=January 2016}} -->

===Back cover lawsuit===
[[File:The Velvet Underground and Nico back cover.jpg|thumb|Reproduction of original back cover|200x200px]]

When the album was first issued, the main back cover photo (taken at a performance of Warhol's event [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]]) contained an image of actor [[Eric Emerson]] projected upside-down on the wall behind the band. Having recently been arrested for [[drug possession]] and desperate for money, Emerson threatened to sue over this unauthorized use of his image, unless he was paid.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} Rather than complying, MGM recalled copies of the album and halted its distribution until Emerson's image could be airbrushed from the photo on subsequent pressings.<ref name="10things">{{cite magazine|title='The Velvet Underground and Nico': 10 Things You Didn't Know|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-velvet-underground-and-nico-10-things-you-didnt-know-w471441|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=Jordan|last=Runtagh|date=March 12, 2017|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819061121/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-velvet-underground-and-nico-10-things-you-didnt-know-w471441|archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref> Copies that had already been printed were sold with a large black sticker covering the actor's image.<ref name="10things"/> <!--The image was restored for the 1996 CD reissue.{{citation needed|date=August 2017}} More recently, a reissue of the vinyl via Newbury Comics features both the peelable banana as well as the original back cover featuring Eric Emerson's image.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}-->

===Front cover lawsuit===
In January 2012, the "Velvet Underground" business partnership (of which John Cale and Lou Reed were [[General Partner|general partners]]) sued [[Andy Warhol#Warhol Foundation|the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.]] in the [[United States District Court for the Southern District of New York]] after the Foundation licensed the cover's banana design to Incase Designs for use on a line of [[iPhone]] and [[iPad]] cases. The complaint involved [[copyright infringement]], [[trademark infringement]] and [[unfair competition]].<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Velvet Underground Sue Andy Warhol Foundation For Copyright Infringement|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/velvet-underground-sue-andy-warhol-foundation-for-copyright-infringement-20120111|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=Matthew|last=Perpetua|date=January 11, 2012|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819020712/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/velvet-underground-sue-andy-warhol-foundation-for-copyright-infringement-20120111|archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref> <!--The partnership's complaint contained four claims: one involving [[copyright law]], and three relating to [[trademark law]].{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}-->

Alleging that the Foundation had earlier claimed it "may" own the design's copyright, the partnership asked the court for a [[declaratory judgment]] that the Foundation did not have such rights.<ref name="court">{{cite web|title=Opinion & Order|url=http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/cases/show.php?db=special&id=219|publisher=Velvet Underground v. Andy Warhol Found. for the Visual Arts, Inc., 12 Civ. 00201 (AJN) (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 7, 2012)|access-date=September 7, 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130408141320/http://www.nysd.uscourts.gov/cases/show.php?db=special&id=219|archive-date=April 8, 2013}}</ref> In response, the Foundation gave the partnership a "Covenant Not to Sue"—a written and binding promise that, even if the partnership and certain other parties continued to use the design commercially, the Foundation would never invoke its professed copyright ownership against them in court.

On the Foundation's motion, [[Alison J. Nathan|Judge Alison J. Nathan]] severed and dismissed from the lawsuit the partnership's copyright claim. According to Judge Nathan, the [[Constitution]] allows [[United States federal courts|federal courts]] to decide only [[Case or Controversy Clause|"Cases" or "Controversies"]], which means ongoing or imminent disputes over legal rights, involving concrete facts and specific acts, that require court intervention in order to shield the [[plaintiff]] from harm or interference with its rights. The judge held that the partnership's complaint fell short of that standard because even if the Foundation continued to claim ownership of the design's copyright—and even if its claim was invalid—that claim would not legally harm the partnership or prevent it from making its own lawful uses of the design. The partnership did not claim that ''it'' owned the design's copyright, only that the Foundation did ''not''. Since, according to the court, the Foundation promised not to sue the partnership for any "potentially copyright-infringing uses of the Banana Design", the partnership could continue using the design and there would be no legal action that the Foundation could take (under ''copyright'' law){{efn|Note, however, that the language of the covenant covers only ''copyright'' lawsuits and claims; it does not cover trademark or [[unfair competition]] claims, which, as noted below, the Foundation has indeed filed against the Partnership.}} to stop it. And if, the court concluded, the partnership could continue with business as usual (as far as ''copyright'' was concerned) regardless of whether the Foundation actually owned the design's copyright, a court decision would have no practical consequences for the partnership; it would be a purely academic (or "[[Advisory opinion|advisory]]") opinion, which federal courts may not issue. The court therefore "dismissed without prejudice" the partnership's request that it resolve whether the Foundation owned the design's copyright.<ref name="court"/> The remaining trademark claims were settled out of court with a confidential agreement, and the partnership's suit was dismissed in late May 2013.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mervis|first=Scott|title=Andy Warhol Foundation, Velvet Underground settle lawsuit over iconic banana|url=http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/music/andy-warhol-foundation-velvet-underground-settle-lawsuit-over-iconic-banana-689728/|access-date=30 May 2013|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=30 May 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605173233/http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/ae/music/andy-warhol-foundation-velvet-underground-settle-lawsuit-over-iconic-banana-689728/|archive-date=June 5, 2013}}</ref>

==Reception and sales==
===Chart history and sales figures===
Upon release, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was a commercial flop.{{sfn|Ross|2014}} The album's controversial content led to its almost instantaneous ban from various record stores, many radio stations refused to play it, and magazines refused to carry advertisements for it.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} Its lack of success can also be attributed to [[Verve Records|Verve]], who failed to promote or distribute the album with anything but modest attention.{{sfn|Harvard|2004}}<ref name="Heylin"/> However, [[Richie Unterberger]] of [[AllMusic]] also notes that:

{{Blockquote|...{{nbsp}}the music was simply too daring to fit onto commercial radio; "underground" rock radio was barely getting started at this point, and in any case may well have overlooked the record at a time when psychedelic music was approaching its peak.<ref>{{cite web|last=Unterberger|first=Richie|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-mn0000840402/biography|title=The Velvet Underground|website=[[AllMusic]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170318031311/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-velvet-underground-mn0000840402/biography|archive-date=March 18, 2017}}</ref>}}

The album first entered the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' album charts on May 13, 1967, at number 199 and left the charts on June 10, 1967, at number 195. When Verve recalled the album in June due to Eric Emerson's lawsuit, it disappeared from the charts for five months. It then re-entered the charts on November 18, 1967, at number 182, peaked at number 171 on December 16, 1967, and finally left the charts on January 6, 1968, at number 193.<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/>

The English musician [[Brian Eno]] said in 1982 that while the album only sold approximately 30,000 copies in its first five years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band".<ref name="eno"/> Writers often use this quotation as a definitive figure for how many copies of ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' were sold in the first several years. While it indeed sold less than Warhol and the band had hoped, according to a [[MGM Records|MGM]] royalty statement presented to Jeff Gold, a former [[Warner Bros. Records]] executive, 58,476 copies of the album sold through February 1969—a respectable figure for a late-1960s  LP.{{sfn|Unterberger|2009|p=138}}<ref name="baker-2017">{{cite journal | last=Baker | first=R. C. | date=August 22, 2017 | url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/08/22/addicted-to-lou/ | title=Addicted to Lou | journal=The Village Voice | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170822225557/https://www.villagevoice.com/2017/08/22/addicted-to-lou/ | archive-date=August 22, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Lipez | first=Zachary | date=November 19, 2014 | url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-velvet-underground-reissue-doug-yule-lou-reed-photos-live-footage/ | title=Doug Yule Gives Rare Interview About the Velvet Underground's Third, Self-Titled Album, Shares Alternate Version of 'Foggy Notion' | website=Noisey | publisher=Vice Media | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108130703/https://www.vice.com/en/article/rq4d8m/the-velvet-underground-reissue-doug-yule-lou-reed-photos-live-footage | archive-date=November 8, 2020}}</ref> Grant McPhee, a filmmaker and music writer, later conducted a 2021 investigation into Eno's famous claim and concluded that it may have sold as many as 200,000 copies by 1971 alone.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Velvet Underground Myth? - Grant McPhee |url=https://intocreative.co.uk/the-velvet-underground-myth-grant-mcphee/ |access-date=2023-01-03 |website=Into Creative}}</ref>

===Contemporary reception===
A capsule review from ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' published ahead of the album's release praised the "haunting" vocals of Nico and the "powerful" lyrics of the band, calling it a collection of "sophisticated folk-rock" and a "left-fielder which could click in a big way."<ref name="billboard-review">{{cite magazine |title=Album reviews |magazine=Billboard |date=March 4, 1967 |volume=79 |issue=9 |pages=8, 40, 43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-date=August 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210817061811/https://books.google.com/books?id=CykEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''Vibrations'', a small rock music magazine, gave the album a mostly positive review in their second issue, describing the music as "a full-fledged attack on the ears and on the brain" while noting the dark lyrics.<ref name="Heylin">{{harvnb|Heylin|2009}}</ref> Wayne Harada of the ''[[The Honolulu Advertiser|Honolulu Advertiser]]'' and Dave Donelly of the ''[[Honolulu Star-Bulletin]]'' both praised the album's banana-sticker cover; the former terming it "the wildest" front cover of any album yet and the latter calling it a [[conversation piece]].<ref name="harada-1967">{{cite journal | last=Harada | first=Wayne | date=March 1, 1967 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/260367717/ | title=On the Record | journal=The Honolulu Advertiser | page=B5 | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126225141/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/260367717/ | archive-date=November 26, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref><ref name="donelly-1967">{{cite journal | last=Donelly | first=Dave | date=March 4, 1967 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/270530558/ | title=The Teen Beat | journal=Honolulu Star-Bulletin | page=B14 | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126225942/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/270530558/ | archive-date=November 26, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref> Harada wrote: "Inside, the eating's good, too: 'Sunday Morning' has a definite psychedelic hit sound. 'Run Run Run' still is another Underground gem gaining ground."<ref name="harada-1967" /> Donelly called the album "not Commercial with a capital 'C' but an experience in sound."<ref name="donelly-1967" /> An anonymous reviewer in the ''[[American Record Guide]]'' praised Reed's lyrics as "penetratingly contemporary", comparing them to the work of Dylan while calling Reed on the basis of the record "an important new (to me) talent". The reviewer also praised the variety in sounds presented by "Sunday Morning", "European Son", and "Heroin" alongside from the more Dylan-esque songs.<ref name="arg">{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=May 1967 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uo0rAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+sound+is+electronic+and+you+are+going+to+have+to+learn+to+live%22 | title=The Velvet Underground & Nico | journal=American Record Guide | volume=33 | issue=2 | page=893 | via=Google Books | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906152039/https://books.google.com/books?id=uo0rAQAAIAAJ&q=%22the+sound+is+electronic+and+you+are+going+to+have+to+learn+to+live%22 | archive-date=September 6, 2023 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=March 19, 2023 }}</ref>

Meanwhile, [[Richard Goldstein (writer, born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] of the ''[[The Village Voice|Village Voice]]'', published in Velvet Underground's hometown of New York City, was more reserved in his praise. Goldstein called "There She Goes Again" a "blatant" lift of the [[the Rolling Stones|Rolling Stones]] rendition of "[[Hitch Hike (song)|Hitch Hike]]" and called Reed's vocal performances on other songs "distressingly like early Dylan". However he ultimately wrote that "the Velvets are an important group and this album has some major work [within]", singling out "I'm Waiting for the Man", "Venus in Furs", "Femme Fatale", and "Heroin".<ref name="goldstein-1967" /> Of the latter song, Goldstein wrote:
{{blockquote|
[It] is more compressed, more restrained than live performances I have seen. But it's also more a realized work. The tempo fluctuates wildly and finally breaks into a series of utterly terrifying squeals, like the death rattle of a suffocating violin. "Heroin" is seven minutes of genuine 12-tone rock 'n' roll.<ref name="goldstein-1967">{{cite journal | last=Goldstein | first=Richard | date=October 28, 2013 | orig-date=April 13, 1967 | url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2013/10/28/the-voices-1967-review-of-velvet-undergrounds-debut-album/ | title=The Velvet Underground & Nico | journal=The Village Voice | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211127003740/https://www.villagevoice.com/2013/10/28/the-voices-1967-review-of-velvet-undergrounds-debut-album/ | archive-date=November 27, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref>
}}

The ''[[The Tampa Tribune|Tampa Tribune]]'' writer Vance Johnston dismissed it as a collection  of "several confusing sounds{{nbsp}}... most depressing and whatever the message I failed to get" but wrote that Warhol aficionados would declare it his best "at any rate".<ref name="johnston-1967">{{cite journal | last=Johnston | first=Vance | date=March 5, 1967 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/331583939/ | title=Connie Francis Swings at Vegas | journal=The Tampa Tribune | page=33 | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126231235/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/331583939/ | archive-date=November 26, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref> Don Lass of New Jersey's ''Asbury Park Evening Press'' was similarly dismissive, finding the music "as lifeless and inanimate as the discarded banana peel, touching every cliche in the rock 'n' roll spectrum while missing the genuine fun that good big-beat renderings can offer."<ref name="lass-1967">{{cite journal | last=Lass | first=Don | date=March 18, 1967 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/143755833/ | title=Singing the Blues | journal=Asbury Park Evening Press | page=B14 | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126232114/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/143755833/ | archive-date=November 26, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref> A staff writer for the ''[[Pensacola News Journal]]'' defined the album overall as "one big savage sound", with its lyrics "equally frenzied": "The result sounds like the merger of [[Dracula]] and some of the long-haired wailers of today".<ref name="pensacola-news-journal-1967">{{cite journal | last=Staff writer | date=March 19, 1967 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/264111258/ | title=Music Calendar | journal=Pensacola News Journal | page=4D | via=Newspapers.com | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211126233557/https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/264111258/ | archive-date=November 26, 2021 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=November 27, 2021 }}</ref> [[John Szwed|John F. Szwed]] of ''[[Jazz & Pop]]'' called the band's performance on the record "tedious despite their ventures into electric viola ''et al''", acknowledging the strength of their "loud whine" but ultimately writing that "something is lost in the translation" in the absence of the visual accompaniments of ''Exploding Plastic Inevitable''.<ref name="szwed-1967">{{cite journal | last=Szwed | first=John F. | date=June 1967 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vnQJAQAAMAAJ&q=%22velvet+underground%22+%22something+is+lost+in+the+translation%22 | title=The Velvet Underground and Nico | journal=Jazz & Pop | page=23 | publisher=Jazz Press | via=Google Books | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230906152039/https://books.google.com/books?id=vnQJAQAAMAAJ&q=%22velvet+underground%22+%22something+is+lost+in+the+translation%22 | archive-date=September 6, 2023 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=March 19, 2023 }}</ref>

===Reappraisal===
{{Music ratings
| title      = Retrospective professional ratings
| rev1       = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web |last=Deming |first=Mark |url={{AllMusic |class=album |id=the-velvet-underground-nico-mw0001955423 |pure_url=yes}} |title=''The Velvet Underground & Nico''&nbsp;– The Velvet Underground |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=October 31, 2004}}</ref>
| rev2       = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
| rev2score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Black |first=Johnny |url=http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_689.html |title=The Velvet Underground: ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' |magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]] |location=New York |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040813173101/http://www.blender.com/reviews/review_689.html |archive-date=August 13, 2004 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev3       = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev3score  = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref name="Kot">{{cite news |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-12-9201040209-story.html |title=Lou Reed's Recordings: 25 Years Of Path-Breaking Music |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=January 12, 1992 |access-date=November 11, 2020 |archive-date=February 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224105116/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-01-12-9201040209-story.html |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev4       = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev4score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |chapter=Velvet Underground |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev5       = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev5score  = 10/10<ref>{{cite web |last=Raymer |first=Miles |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17129-the-velvet-underground-nico/ |title=The Velvet Underground: ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=November 20, 2012 |access-date=June 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602164223/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/17129-the-velvet-underground-nico/ |archive-date=June 2, 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev6       = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev6score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=The Velvet Underground: ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |location=London |issue=118 |date=July 1996 |page=150}}</ref>
| rev7       = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev7score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fricke |first=David |author-link=David Fricke |url=http://rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=42058&cf=402 |title=The Velvet Underground: ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' / ''White Light/White Heat'' / ''The Velvet Underground'' / ''V.U.'' |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |location=New York |date=March 14, 1985 |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010907004042/http://rollingstone.com/recordings/review.asp?aid=42058&cf=402 |archive-date=September 7, 2001 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev8       = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev8score  = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=RS2004>{{cite book |last=Sheffield |first=Rob |author-link=Rob Sheffield |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |editor2-link=Christian Hoard |chapter=The Velvet Underground |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA847 |access-date=November 22, 2011 |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/847 847–848] |archive-date=June 10, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610004547/https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA847 |url-status=live}}</ref>
| rev9       = ''[[Spin Alternative Record Guide]]''
| rev9score  = 10/10<ref>{{cite book |last=Weisbard |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Weisbard |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |chapter=Velvet Underground |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |title-link=Spin Alternative Record Guide |publisher=[[Vintage Books]] |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8 |pages=425–427}}</ref>
| rev10      = ''[[The Village Voice]]''
| rev10score = A<ref name="Christgau">{{cite news |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N9LAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134,4535773 |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide to 1967 |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |location=New York |date=December 20, 1976 |access-date=June 22, 2013 |page=69 |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222001558/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6N9LAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RYsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6134,4535773 |url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
A decade after its release, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' began to attract wide praise from rock critics. Christgau wrote in his 1977 retrospective review for the ''Village Voice'' that the record had been difficult to understand in 1967, "which is probably why people are still learning from it. It sounds intermittently crude, thin, and pretentious at first, but it never stops getting better."<ref name=Christgau/> He later included it in his "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings, published in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981).<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0899190251|chapter=A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php|access-date=March 16, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|archive-date=March 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190312052515/http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]'' (1998), [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]] called it a "powerful collection" that "introduced Reed's decidedly urban infatuations, a fascination for [[street culture]] and amorality bordering on voyeurism."{{sfn|Larkin|1998}} In April 2003, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' led their "Top Fifteen Most Influential Albums of All Time" list with the album.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Klosterman |first=Chuck |author-link1=Chuck Klosterman |author2=Milner, Greg |author3=Pappademas, Alex |date=April 2003 |volume=19 |issue=4 |page=84 |title=Top Fifteen Most Influential Albums of All Time (...{{nbsp}}not recorded by the Beatles, Bob Dylan, Elvis and the Rolling Stones) |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nCou4cnn-ZkC&pg=PA84 |access-date=November 27, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627180015/http://books.google.com/books?id=nCou4cnn-ZkC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA84 |archive-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref> On November 12, 2000, [[National Public Radio|NPR]] included it in their "NPR 100" series of "the most important American musical works of the 20th century".<ref>{{cite web |title=NPR 100 |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |url=https://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html |access-date=February 1, 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224063104/http://www.npr.org/programs/specials/vote/list100.html |archive-date=December 24, 2009}}</ref> In 2003, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' placed it at number 13 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list,<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-velvet-underground-and-nico-the-velvet-underground-52023/ |year=2012 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=September 23, 2019 |archive-date=October 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201029231530/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/the-velvet-underground-and-nico-the-velvet-underground-52023/ |url-status=live}}</ref> calling it the "most prophetic rock album ever made".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6597640/13_the_velvet_underground|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218001425/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6597640/13_the_velvet_underground|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-12-18|title=13) The Velvet Underground|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=2008-12-18 |access-date=2018-07-13}}</ref> It re-ranked at number 23 in a 2020 reboot of the list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2020-09-22|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-10-09 |magazine=Rolling Stone}}</ref> The album was selected as one of the 24 significant US albums of the 1960s in the book "The Perfect Collection" by Tom Hibbert (1982).

In 1997, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was named the 22nd greatest album of all time in a "Music of the Millennium" poll conducted in the [[United Kingdom]] by [[HMV]], [[Channel 4]], ''[[The Guardian]]'' and [[Classic FM (UK)|Classic FM]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/50266.stm|title=The music of the millennium|date=January 24, 1998|access-date=November 21, 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120617212743/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/50266.stm|archive-date=June 17, 2012}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[Q magazine]]'' readers voted it into 42nd place in the "2006 Q Magazine Readers' 100 Greatest Albums Ever" poll, while ''[[The Observer]]'' placed it at number 1 in a list of "50 Albums That Changed Music" in July of that year.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Observer]] |date=July 15, 2006 |url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1821231,00.html |title=The 50 albums that changed music |access-date=July 18, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060926193720/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/features/story/0,,1821231,00.html |archive-date=September 26, 2006}}</ref> Also in 2006, the album was chosen by ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine as one of the 100 best albums of all time.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=November 2, 2006 |first=Josh |last=Tyrangiel |title=''The Velvet Underground and Nico''&nbsp;– The ALL-TIME 100 Albums |url=https://entertainment.time.com/2006/11/02/the-all-time-100-albums/#the-velvet-underground-and-nico |access-date=May 16, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301183543/http://entertainment.time.com/2006/11/02/the-all-time-100-albums/#the-velvet-underground-and-nico |archive-date=March 1, 2014}}</ref> In 2017, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' placed the album at number 1 on its list of "The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=10 |title=The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s |date=August 22, 2017 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=September 3, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170903033612/https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/?page=10 |archive-date=September 3, 2017}}</ref> It was voted number 13 in [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' 3rd Edition (2000).<ref>{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor-first=Colin|editor-last=Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=40|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums}}</ref>

===Cover versions===
In April 1967, one month after the album's release, a band called the Electrical Banana may have recorded the first cover version of "There She Goes Again". According to bandmember [[Dean Kohler]], they recorded it in a tent in Vietnam in April 1967 and sent the master tape to a company in California to have 45 RPM records pressed.<ref>{{cite book |title=Rock 'n' Roll Soldier: A Memoir |last1=Kohler |first1=Dean Ellis |last2=VanHecke |first2=Susan |year=2009 |publisher=HarperCollins |location=New York |isbn=978-0-06-124255-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/rocknrollsoldier0000kohl }}</ref>

Also in 1967 the Dutch band The Riats from The Hague released a single with "Run, Run, Run" as the A-side and "Sunday Morning" as B-side. The exact release date is unknown, so it remains open for debate whether Electric Banana or The Riats were the first to put a Velvet Underground cover on record.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/The+Riats|title=The Riats|website=www.muziekencyclopedie.nl|access-date=December 27, 2020|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610004503/https://www.muziekencyclopedie.nl/action/entry/The+Riats|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.45cat.com/record/35796|title=45Cat|website=www.45cat.com|access-date=December 27, 2020|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610004315/http://www.45cat.com/record/35796|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/check_out_these_rare_1967_velvet_underground_covers_from_dutch_kids_and|title=check_out_these_rare_1967_velvet_underground_covers|website=dangerousminds.net|date=June 12, 2014|access-date=December 27, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112025924/https://dangerousminds.net/comments/check_out_these_rare_1967_velvet_underground_covers_from_dutch_kids_and|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2009, the American musician [[Beck]] recorded a track-for-track cover of ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' and released it online in video form on his website, as part of a project called [[Record Club]]. Musicians involved in the recording include Beck plus [[Nigel Godrich]], [[Joey Waronker]], [[Brian LeBarton]], Bram Inscore, Yo, [[Giovanni Ribisi]], Chris Holmes, and [[Thorunn Magnúsdóttir (musician)|Þórunn Magnúsdóttir]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204884404574362732252778264 |title=Beck Remakes the Classics |first= John |last=Jurgensen |date=August 20, 2009 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090824100606/http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204884404574362732252778264.html |archive-date=August 24, 2009 |access-date=April 5, 2016 }}</ref>

Also in 2009, various artists from [[Argentina]] collaborated to produce a track-for-track cover of the record. They played a number of concerts in [[Buenos Aires]] to celebrate the release of the album, which was made available online for free.<ref>[http://www.soundsandcolours.com/news/argentine-artists-cover-velvet-underground-and-nico/ Argentina Artists Cover Velvet Underground & Nico] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100815051417/http://www.soundsandcolours.com/news/argentine-artists-cover-velvet-underground-and-nico/ |date=August 15, 2010 }} at Sounds and Colours</ref>

In 2021, [[Verve Records]] released the tribute album ''[[I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'', a track-by-track cover of the album with performances by [[St. Vincent (musician)|St. Vincent]], [[Sharon Van Etten]], [[Bobby Gillespie]], and [[Iggy Pop]] among others.

==Aftermath==
Frustrated by the album's year-long delay and unsuccessful release, [[Lou Reed]]'s relationship with [[Andy Warhol]] grew tense. Reed fired Warhol as manager in favor of [[Steve Sesnick]],<ref>{{harvnb|Bockris|Malanga|1996|p=69}}</ref> who convinced the group to move towards a more commercial direction.<ref>{{harvnb|Hogan|1997|p=50}}</ref> Nico was forced out of the group, and began a career as a solo artist. Her debut solo album, ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'', was released in October 1967, featuring some songs written by Velvet Underground members.<ref>{{cite web|title=Chelsea Girl&nbsp;– Nico|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/chelsea-girl-mw0000651868|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=September 12, 2017|last=Planer|first=Lindsay|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170321005957/http://www.allmusic.com/album/chelsea-girl-mw0000651868|archive-date=March 21, 2017}}</ref>

[[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]] continued working with the Velvet Underground, producing their 1968 album ''[[White Light/White Heat]]''<ref>{{cite web|last=Fricke|first=David|title=Overloaded: The Story of ''White Light/White Heat''|url=http://bigread.mojo4music.com/2013/11/velvet-underground|website=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|date=November 2013|access-date=September 12, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203025558/http://bigread.mojo4music.com/2013/11/velvet-underground/|archive-date=February 3, 2017}}</ref> and Nico's ''Chelsea Girl''.<ref>{{harvnb|Schinder|2007|pp=316–317}}</ref>

==Track listing==
<!-- DO NOT CHANGE TRACK DURATIONS, these are presented here as printed on the first pressing -->
{{track listing
| all_writing   = [[Lou Reed]], except where noted. All lead vocals by Reed, except where noted
| headline      = Side one
| extra_column  = Lead vocals
| title1        = [[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]
| title2        = [[I'm Waiting for the Man]]
| title3        = [[Femme Fatale (song)|Femme Fatale]]
| title4        = [[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]
| title5        = [[Run Run Run (The Velvet Underground song)|Run Run Run]]
| title6        = [[All Tomorrow's Parties]]
| length1       = 2:53
| length2       = 4:37
| length3       = 2:35
| length4       = 5:07
| length5       = 4:18
| length6       = 5:55
| extra3        = [[Nico]]
| extra6        = Nico
| total_length  = 25:25
}}
{{track listing
| headline      = Side two
| extra_column  = Lead vocals
| title1        = [[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]
| title2        = [[There She Goes Again]]
| title3        = [[I'll Be Your Mirror]]
| title4        = [[The Black Angel's Death Song]]
| title5        = [[European Son]]
| length1       = 7:05
| length2       = 2:30
| length3       = 2:01
| length4       = 3:10
| length5       = 7:40
| extra3        = Nico
| note4         = Reed, [[John Cale]]
| note5         = Reed, Cale, [[Sterling Morrison]], [[Moe Tucker|Maureen Tucker]]
| total_length  = 22:26 47:51
}}

==Personnel==
According to the album's liner notes and author Peter Hogan:<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Velvet Underground and Nico |date=1967 |type=Vinyl liner notes}}</ref>{{sfn|Hogan|1997|pp=1–12}}

* [[John Cale]]{{snd}}[[electric viola]], bass, piano, [[celesta|celeste]] on "Sunday Morning"<ref>{{cite web|last=Pinnock|first=Tom|date=September 18, 2012|title=John Cale on The Velvet Underground & Nico|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141229052133/https://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-news|archive-date=December 29, 2014|access-date=March 7, 2015|website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]}}</ref>
* [[Sterling Morrison]]{{snd}}rhythm guitar, bass, backing vocals on "Femme Fatale"{{sfn|Harvard|2004|pp=98&ndash;100}}
* [[Lou Reed]]{{snd}}vocals, lead guitar, [[ostrich guitar]]
* [[Moe Tucker|Maureen Tucker]]{{snd}}percussion, drums
* [[Nico]]{{snd}}vocals

'''Production'''
* [[Andy Warhol]]{{snd}}producer (all except "Sunday Morning")
* [[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]]{{snd}}producer ("Sunday Morning")
* Norman Dolph{{snd}}[[Audio engineer|engineer]]
* Omi Haden{{snd}}engineer
* John Licata{{snd}}engineer

==Reissues and deluxe editions==
===Compact disc===
The first [[Compact disc|CD]] edition of the album was released in 1986 and featured slight changes. The title of the album was featured on the cover, unlike the original LP release. In addition, the album contained an alternative mix of "All Tomorrow's Parties" which featured a single track of lead vocals as opposed to the double-tracked vocal version on the original LP. Apparently, the decision to use the double-tracked version on the original LP was made at the last minute. Bill Levenson, who was overseeing the initial CD issues of the VU's Verve/MGM catalog, wanted to keep the single-voice version a secret as a surprise to fans, but was dismayed to find out that the alternative version was revealed as such on the CD's back cover (and noted as "previously unreleased").<ref>[http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/cds/cds.html The Velvet Underground CDs] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101202174630/http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/cds/cds.html |date=December 2, 2010 }} at The Velvet Underground Web Page</ref>

The subsequent 1996 remastered CD reissue removed these changes, keeping the original album art and double-tracked mix of "All Tomorrow's Parties" found on the LP.

===''Peel Slowly and See'' box set===
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was released in its entirety on the five-year spanning [[box set]], ''[[Peel Slowly and See]]'', in 1995. The album was featured on the second disc of the set along with the [[Single (music)|single]] version of "All Tomorrow's Parties", two Nico tracks from ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'' and a ten-minute excerpt of the 45-minute "Melody Laughter" performance. Also included in the set (on the first disc) are the band's 1965 Ludlow Street loft demos. Among these demos are early versions of "Venus in Furs", "Heroin", "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "All Tomorrow's Parties".

===Deluxe edition===
In 2002, [[Universal Music Group|Universal]] released a two-disc "Deluxe Edition" set containing the [[Stereophonic sound|stereo]] version of the album along with the five tracks from Nico's ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'' written by members of the band on disc one, and the [[monaural|mono]] version of the album along with the mono single mixes of "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "Sunday Morning" and their [[A-side and B-side|B-sides]] "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]" and "[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]" on disc two. A studio demo of the unreleased track "[[Miss Joanie Lee]]" had been planned for inclusion on the set, but a dispute over royalties between the band and [[Universal Music Group|Universal]] canceled these plans. This contractual dispute apparently also led to the cancellation of further installments of the band's official Bootleg Series. However, this track was included in the subsequent re-release, 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Velvet Underground's first album gets deluxe reissue|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jul/26/velvet-underground-first-album-reissue|website=[[The Guardian]]|date=July 26, 2012|access-date=September 12, 2017|last=Hann|first=Michael|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912234346/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/jul/26/velvet-underground-first-album-reissue|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref> In April 2010, [[Universal Music Group|Universal]] re-released the second disc of the "Deluxe Edition" as a single CD "Rarities Edition".

{{track listing
| headline      = Disc 1 additional tracks
| title12       = Little Sister
| writer12      = [[John Cale]], [[Lou Reed]]
| length12      = 4:27
| title13       = Winter Song
| writer13      = [[John Cale|Cale]]
| length13      = 3:23
| title14       = It Was a Pleasure Then
| writer14      = [[Lou Reed|Reed]], [[John Cale|Cale]], [[Nico|Nico Päffgen]]
| length14      = 8:09
| title15       = Chelsea Girls
| writer15      = [[Lou Reed|Reed]], [[Sterling Morrison]]
| length15      = 7:29
| title16       = Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
| writer16      = Reed
| length16      = 5:09
| total_length  = 28:37
}}

{{track listing
| headline     = Disc 2 additional tracks
| title12      = [[All Tomorrow's Parties]]
| note12       = Verve single VE 10427
| length12     = 2:53
| title13      = [[I'll Be Your Mirror]]
| note13       = Verve single VE 10427 B-side
| length13     = 2:18
| title14      = [[Sunday Morning (The Velvet Underground song)|Sunday Morning]]
| note14       = Verve single VE 10466
| length14     = 3:00
| title15      = [[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]
| note15       = Verve single VE 10466 B-side
| length15     = 2:38
| total_length = 10:49
}}

===45th Anniversary Super Deluxe edition===
On October 1, 2012, [[Universal Music Group|Universal]] released a 6-CD box set of the album.<ref>{{cite web|title='The Velvet Underground & Nico' to receive six disc 45th anniversary re-release|url=http://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground-nico-to-receive-six-disc-45th-anniversary-re-release-news|website=[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]|date=July 25, 2012|access-date=September 11, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203024932/http://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground-nico-to-receive-six-disc-45th-anniversary-re-release-news|archive-date=December 3, 2013}}</ref> It features the previously available mono and stereo mixes as discs one and two respectively. Disc one contains as bonus tracks additional alternate versions of "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]", "European Son", "Heroin", "All Tomorrow's Parties" (alternate instrumental version), and "I'll Be Your Mirror". Disc two contains the same bonus tracks as the prior deluxe version's second disc. Disc three is Nico's ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'' in its entirety and the Scepter Studios acetate (see below) in its entirety occupies disc 4. Discs 5 and 6 contain a previously unreleased live performance from 1966. According to the essay by music critic and historian [[Richie Unterberger]] contained within the set, the source for the show is the only audio tape of acceptable quality recording during singer Nico's tenure in the band. The essay also clarifies that the absence of any DVD materials in the box set is due to the fact that none of the band's shows were filmed, in spite of their heavy reliance on multimedia visuals.<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=The Velvet Underground & Nico |others=The Velvet Underground and Nico |year=2012 |last= Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |type=booklet |publisher=[[Universal Music Group|Universal]]}}</ref>

{{track listing
| headline     = Disc 5: Live at Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, November 4, 1966 (Part 1)
| title1       = Melody Laughter
| note1        = Instrumental jam
| length1      = 28:26
| title2       = Femme Fatale
| length2      = 2:37
| title3       = Venus in Furs
| length3      = 4:45
| title4       = The Black Angel's Death Song
| length4      = 4:45
| title5       = All Tomorrow's Parties
| length5      = 5:03
| total_length = 45:36
}}
{{track listing
| headline     = Disc 6: Live at Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio, November 4, 1966 (Part 2)
| title1       = I'm Waiting for the Man
| length1      = 4:50
| title2       = Heroin
| length2      = 6:42
| title3       = Run Run Run
| length3      = 8:43
| title4       = The Nothing Song
| note4        = Instrumental jam
| length4      = 27:56
| total_length = 48:11
}}

===Scepter Studios acetate version===
[[File:VU 1 acetate label.jpg|160px|right|thumb|Label of the Norman Dolph acetate]]
Norman Dolph's original [[acetate disc|acetate]] recording of the Scepter Studios material contains several recordings that would make it onto the final album, though many are different mixes of those recordings and three are different takes entirely. The acetate was cut on April 25, 1966, shortly after the recording sessions. It resurfaced decades later when it was bought by collector Warren Hill of [[Montreal, Quebec]], Canada in September 2002 at a flea market in the [[Chelsea, Manhattan|Chelsea]] neighborhood of New York City for $0.75.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39948-insanely-rare-velvet-underground-lp-on-ebay-for-19k|title=Insanely Rare Velvet Underground LP on eBay for $19K|date=May 6, 2007|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070506090053/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/39948-insanely-rare-velvet-underground-lp-on-ebay-for-19k|archive-date=May 6, 2007}}</ref> Hill put the album up for auction on [[eBay]] in November. On December 8, 2006, a winning bid for $155,401 was placed, but not honored.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061211.wxunderground11/BNStory/Entertainment/home |title=Rare acetate still seeks buyer |first=James |last=Adams |date=December 11, 2006 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061214212224/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061211.wxunderground11/BNStory/Entertainment/home |archive-date=December 14, 2006 |access-date=April 5, 2016 }}</ref> The album was again placed for auction on eBay and was successfully sold on December 16, 2006, for $25,200.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://realitystudio.org/pdf/velvet_underground_auction.pdf|title=Second auction, ended December 16, 2006|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204431/http://realitystudio.org/pdf/velvet_underground_auction.pdf|archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref><ref name="pitch-acetate">{{cite web|title=Extremely Rare Velvet Underground Acetate Once Sold for $25,200 Is Going Back to Auction|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/55273-extremely-rare-velvet-underground-acetate-once-sold-for-25200-is-going-back-to-auction|website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]|date=May 22, 2014|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819104700/http://pitchfork.com/news/55273-extremely-rare-velvet-underground-acetate-once-sold-for-25200-is-going-back-to-auction/|archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref>

Although ten songs were recorded during the Scepter sessions,{{sfn|Harvard|2004}} only nine appear on the acetate cut. Dolph recalls "There She Goes Again" being the missing song<ref>[http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/andsoon/studio/studio.html The Velvet Underground&nbsp;– Studio and home recordings] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207090813/http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/andsoon/studio/studio.html |date=February 7, 2009 }} at The Velvet Underground Web Page</ref> (and, indeed, the version of "There She Goes Again" that appears on the final LP is attributed to the Scepter Studios session). In 2012, the acetate was officially released as disc 4 of the omnicomprehensive "45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition" box set of the album (see above). The disc also includes six previously unreleased bonus tracks, recorded during the band's rehearsals at [[The Factory]] on January 3, 1966. However, a [[ripping|ripped]] version of the acetate began circulating the internet in January 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fm-shades.blogspot.com/2007/01/velvet-underground-nico-april-1966.html |title=''Velvet Underground & Nico''&nbsp;– April 1966 (Norman Dolph Acetate) |date=January 2, 2007 |publisher=FM SHADES |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312130033/http://fm-shades.blogspot.com/2007/01/velvet-underground-nico-april-1966.html |archive-date=March 12, 2007 |access-date=April 5, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/01/velvet_undergro.html|title=Velvet Underground Acetate MP3s&nbsp;- WFMU's Beware of the Blog|website=blog.wfmu.org|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819021852/http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2007/01/velvet_undergro.html|archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref> Bootleg versions of the acetate tracks have also become available on vinyl and CD.<ref>[http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/bootlegs/lps/blps.html The Velvet Underground&nbsp;– Bootleg LP's] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110325175009/http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/bootlegs/lps/blps.html |date=March 25, 2011 }} at The Velvet Underground Web Page</ref> The acetate was issued on vinyl in 2013 as a limited edition for [[Record Store Day]]. In 2014, it went back to auction.<ref name="pitch-acetate"/>

'''Box set, disc 4 track listing'''
# "European Son" (Alternate version)&nbsp;– 9:02
# "The Black Angel's Death Song" (Alternate mix)&nbsp;– 3:16
# "All Tomorrow's Parties" (Alternate version)&nbsp;– 5:53
# "I'll Be Your Mirror" (Alternate mix)&nbsp;– 2:11
# "Heroin" (Alternate version)&nbsp;– 6:16
# "Femme Fatale" (Alternate mix)&nbsp;– 2:36
# "Venus in Furs" (Alternate version)&nbsp;– 4:29
# "I'm Waiting for the Man" (Alternate version, here titled "Waiting for the Man")&nbsp;– 4:10
# "Run Run Run" (Alternate mix)&nbsp;– 4:23
# "Walk Alone"&nbsp;– 3:27
# "Crackin' Up/Venus in Furs"&nbsp;– 3:52
# "Miss Joanie Lee"&nbsp;– 11:49
# "Heroin"&nbsp;– 6:14
# "There She Goes Again" (with Nico)&nbsp;– 2:09
# "There She Goes Again"&nbsp;– 2:56

'''Notes'''
* Tracks 1–9 are the original Scepter Studios acetate. Tracks 1, 2, 3, and 5 are sourced from tape; tracks 4, 6, 7, 8, and 9 are from the actual acetate.
* Tracks 10–15 are the January 3, 1966, Factory rehearsals, also from tape, previously unreleased.

==Charts==
{|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chart performance for ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''
! scope="col"| Chart (1967–2020)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
{{album chart|Flanders|114|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Wallonia|174|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Netherlands|58|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Germany4|89|id=29329|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Italy|76|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|40|artist=The Velvet Underground|album=The Velvet Underground & Nico|rowheader=true|access-date=March 19, 2024}}
|-
! scope="row"| UK Albums ([[Official Charts Company|OCC]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/velvet%20underground|access-date=July 4, 2014|title=Velvet Underground&nbsp;– Artist|publisher=[[Official Charts Company]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140709225530/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/velvet%20underground/|archive-date=July 9, 2014}}</ref>
| 43{{efn|The album did not reach the UK charts until 1994, when it reached number 59. Shortly after the death of Lou Reed in 2013, it peaked at 43.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/velvet%20underground%20_and_%20nico/ |title=velvet+underground+%26+nico &#124; full Official Chart History &#124; Official Charts Company |website=Officialcharts.com |access-date=March 12, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150826102538/http://www.officialcharts.com/search/albums/velvet%20underground%20_and_%20nico/ |archive-date=August 26, 2015}}</ref>}}
|-
{{Album chart|Billboard200|129|artist=The Velvet Underground|rowheader=true}}
|}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=album|title=Velvet Underground: Velvet Underground & Nico|artist=Velvet Underground|award=Platinum|relyear=1967|certyear=2014|access-date=June 4, 2021}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=The Velvet Underground & Nico|artist=The Velvet Underground|award=Platinum|relyear=1967|certyear=2013|id=9469-2724-2}}
{{Certification Table Bottom}}

According to [[Nielsen SoundScan]], which tracks sales, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' has sold 560,000 copies since 1991.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/5770584/lou-reed-rip-what-if-everyone-who-bought-the-first|title=Lou Reed RIP: What If Everyone Who Bought The First Velvet Underground Album Did Start A Band?|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|access-date=August 18, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119091726/http://www.billboard.com/biz/articles/news/legal-and-management/5770584/lou-reed-rip-what-if-everyone-who-bought-the-first|archive-date=January 19, 2017}}</ref>

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* {{cite book |last=Blush |first=Steven |author1-link=Steven Blush |title=New York Rock: From the Rise of The Velvet Underground to the Fall of CBGB |date=2016 |publisher=St. Martin's Publishing Group |location=New York City |isbn=978-1-250-08362-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3rK7CwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last=Bockris |first=Victor |title=Transformer: The Lou Reed Story |url=https://archive.org/details/transformerlour000bock |url-access=registration |year=1994 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York |isbn=0-306-80752-1 }}
* {{cite book |title=Up-tight: The Velvet Underground Story |orig-year=1983 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=0-7119-5223-X |last1=Bockris |first1= Victor |last2=Malanga |first2=Gerard  |name-list-style=amp |year=1996 }}
* {{cite book|last=DeRogatis|first=Jim|author-link=Jim DeRogatis|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U7cQmRsLgN8C&pg=PA79|title=Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock|year=2003|publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation]]|isbn=1-61780-215-8|access-date=August 1, 2013|archive-date=October 9, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009052930/http://books.google.com/books?id=U7cQmRsLgN8C&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |last=Harvard |first=Joe |title=The Velvet Underground and Nico |year=2004 |series=[[33⅓]] |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |location=New York, NY |url=https://archive.org/details/velvetundergroun00harv |url-access=registration |isbn=978-0-8264-1550-9}}
* {{cite book|title = All Yesterdays' Parties: The Velvet Underground in Print, 1966–1971|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NuLY9zMAGVIC|publisher = Da Capo Press|date = 2009|isbn = 978-0-7867-3689-8|language = en|first = Clinton|last = Heylin|author-link = Clinton Heylin|access-date = January 10, 2016|archive-date = June 24, 2016|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160624133630/https://books.google.com/books?id=NuLY9zMAGVIC|url-status = live}}
* {{cite book|last=Hogan|first=Peter|title=The Complete Guide to the Music of the Velvet Underground|year=1997|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-7119-5596-7|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GL0eMqztmuIC|archive-date=April 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170418085943/https://books.google.com/books?id=GL0eMqztmuIC&pg=PA50|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Irvin |editor-first=Jim |editor-link1=Jim Irvin |editor-last2=McLear |editor-first2=Colin |title=The MOJO Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion |edition=4th |year=2007 |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Canongate Books |chapter=The Velvet Underground |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AVQbF9lTBwgC&pg=PA80 |title-link=The Mojo Collection |isbn=9781847676436 |access-date=March 22, 2016 |archive-date=February 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222073704/https://books.google.com/books?id=AVQbF9lTBwgC&pg=PA80 |url-status=live }}
* {{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=1998|pages=5626–7|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|volume=7|publisher=[[Muze]] UK|isbn=1-56159-237-4|edition= 3rd |title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}
* {{cite book |last1=Ross |first1=Michael R. |editor1-last=Henderson |editor1-first=Lol |editor2-last=Stacey |editor2-first=Lee |title=Encyclopedia of Music in the 20th Century |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=978-1-135-92946-6 |page=649 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m8W2AgAAQBAJ |chapter=The Velvet Underground}}
* {{cite book|last=Schinder|first=Scott|chapter=The Velvet Underground|editor-last=Schinder|editor-first=Scott|editor-last2=Schwartz|editor-first2=Andy|title=Icons of Rock: An Encyclopedia of the Legends Who Changed Music Forever|date=2007|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, Connecticut|isbn=978-0-313-33845-8|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=chj91X0dWzUC&pg=PT307|access-date=September 26, 2016|archive-date=February 22, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222111034/https://books.google.com/books?id=chj91X0dWzUC&pg=PT307|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|last=Sounes|first=Howard|title=Notes from the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed|date=2015|publisher=Random House|isbn=978-1-473-50895-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ|access-date=September 16, 2017|archive-date=June 10, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210610004748/https://books.google.com/books?id=Rx7zCQAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}
*{{cite book |last1=Strodder |first1=Chris |title=The Encyclopedia of Sixties Cool: A Celebration of the Grooviest People, Events, and Artifacts of the 1960s |date=2007 |publisher=Santa Monica Press |location=Santa Monica |isbn=978-1-59580-986-5 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecqPBQAAQBAJ |language=en |via=[[Google Books]]}}
* {{cite book |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author1-link=Richie Unterberger |title=White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-by-Day |date=2009 |publisher=Jawbone Press |location=London |isbn=978-1-906002-22-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Wall |first=Mick |author-link=Mick Wall |title=Lou Reed: The Life |date=2013 |publisher=Orion |location=London |isbn=978-1-4091-5308-5 |url=https://archive.org/details/loureedlife0000wall/ |url-access=registration}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=46–47|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

==External links==
* {{Discogs master|35276}}
* [https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2017/03/11/519306037/velvet-underground-and-nico-50-years-first-record-800-copies-collection 800 Copies: Meet the World's Most Obsessive Fan of ''The Velvet Underground and Nico''] from [[NPR]]
* [http://www.avclub.com/article/velvet-underground-nico-50-monumental-album-or-jus-251472 ''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' at 50: Monumental Album or Just "Fine"?] from ''[[The A.V. Club]]''

{{The Velvet Underground and Nico|state=uncollapsed}}
{{The Velvet Underground}}
{{Nico}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Velvet Underground and Nico, The}}
[[Category:1967 debut albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Andy Warhol]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer)]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Andy Warhol]]
[[Category:Art rock albums by American artists]]
[[Category:Avant-pop albums]]
[[Category:1967 collaborative albums]]
[[Category:Experimental rock albums]]
[[Category:Nico albums]]
[[Category:Protopunk albums]]
[[Category:The Velvet Underground albums]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry albums]]
[[Category:United States National Recording Registry recordings]]
[[Category:Verve Records albums]]