Tracks:
1. Sunday Morning: 8/10 simultaneously the kind of song you can just close your eyes and relax to and pretty haunting, this is a great start. It's very well sung and it's got a peaceful yet hypnotic instrumental although since this is a song about waking up and feeling low it's surprising this wasn't titled 'Monday Morning'.
2. I'm Waiting For the Man: 8/10 a well played song with a terrific baseline, even if the lyrics, which are basically just about a drug deal, aren't particularly compelling.
3. Femme Fatale: 7/10 great vocals from Nico, strong lyrics and has an alluring quality just like its subject matter yet it feels overly restrained.
4. Venus in Furs: 7/10 the instrumental is terrific and completely unique but if they didn't do it to death slowly over 5 minutes by just using the same notes again and again that would be appreciated. Still, it's more enjoyable than 50 Shades of Grey, that's for sure.
5. Run Run Run: 5/10 some interesting lyrics here but it's repetitive and dull. Even the baseline isn't all that. Pretty much like watching people run in circles for an hour.
6. All Tomorrow's Parties: 8/10 a haunting and downbeat track which is an enjoyable song to interpret.
7. Heroin: 8/10 the lyrics are brilliant and it's bold in its subject matter, while its variations in intensity and speed are a nice artistic touch. Still, you can't help but feel like the band is restraining itself from hitting a genuine peak throughout much of the song until that fantastic outro.
8. There She Goes Again: 8/10 another admirably objective piece of commentary on dark subject matter backed by an instrumental which is completely unique.
9. I'll Be Your Mirror: 7/10 slightly bland, but it connects thanks to Nico's excellent vocals and strong lyrics.
10. The Black Angel's Death Song: 6/10 this goes for dark, haunting and deep but winds up as being blandly downbeat and a whole lot of gothic imagery with little personality. Lou Reed talks his way through this one, but it's still unconventional, interesting and the violin screeching instrumental is pretty cool.
11. European Son: 7/10 I just don't get the brief lyrical bit at the start. As for the 6 minutes of instrumental improvisation that follows, occasionally it's a bit overwhelming and sounds like rock guitar static but mostly it's very impressive.
Best song: Sunday Morning
Worst song: Run Run Run
Summary: A good album overall. It was a commercial flop and only sold 30 000 copies. Brian Eno famously stated that everyone who bought a copy started a band, which I can sort of see. It's a different, experimental and rebellious album which are always good qualities but with its restraint and lack of peaks within the songs, occasionally it feels like the music is being played from underneath a thick paving slab. Perhaps more art than entertainment, but good art nonetheless with some excellent contributions from Nico.
Final rating: 7/10
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