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Track Listings
| 1. White Light/White Heat |
| 2. The Gift |
| 3. Lady Godiva's Operation |
| 4. Here She Comes Now |
| 5. I Heard Her Call My Name |
| 6. Sister Ray |
Product Description
Amazon.ca
Nothing in their debut could really have prepared fans for the sonic assault the Velvets unleashed in White Light/White Heat. Freed from Andy Warhol's patronage (and Nico's vocals), Lou Reed and company strip production values to a minimum and turn out a primitive rock & roll masterpiece: Everything on this record sounds distorted and abrasive. Depending on how you feel about these sorts of things, this makes it either their best or their worst record. Of course, underneath it all are some of Reed's greatest songs, from the title track to the wistful "Here She Comes Now". It all culminates on side two with the raucously joyous "I Heard Her Call My Name" ("And then my mind split open," Reed sings and his guitar lets you know just about how that would feel) and the epic "Sister Ray"--10 minutes of transcendent, pounding fuzz as Reed searches for his "mainline." --Percy Keegan
Product Description
The proto-punk rock revolution that VU sparked reached its pinnacle right here. Feedback frenzies and narcotic odes abound as you behold Here She Comes Now; I Heard Her Call My Name ; the title cut; the mind-blowing epic Sister Ray , and more!
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
This album, along with And Nico, are the Velvet Undergound's masterpieces. White Light/White Heat has superior sound quality and is more polished, yet the trademark distortion and feedback remain and are used to full effect, particularly on the amazing Sister Ray. Classic VU!
Format:Audio CD
Distortion. Either you love it or you hate it, and that will determine whether you love or hate the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat," which was the final album with John Cale on it. It's strange, raw and eerie, and except for the too-long finale, a fairly good collection.
It kicks off with distorted pop song "White Light/White Heat," and gets followed by equally distorted series of offbeat songs, such as the sex-change operation ballad "Lady Godiva's Operation," the relatively ethereal "Here She Comes Now," and the twisted, squealing riffs of "I Heard Her Call My Name."
"The Gift" is perhaps the most offbeat of all the tracks here: A spoken story-song, recited matter-of-factly in John Cale's Welsh accent. It's about a jealous husband who, in doubt about his wife's fidelity, mails himself to her house. Sounds ordinary enough, except that there is a twist to the finale, both funny and macabre.
This is one of the darker albums that the Velvet Underground did, as well as the last one that was so experimental. The finale is almost twenty minutes of screeching, explosive guitar riffs, and the story-song is definitely odd. But once you get into the swing of it, it's remarkably moving.
The fuzz and wildness of "White Light/White Heat" is definitely offputting at first -- the melodies are buried under a perpetual buzz of sound. That lo-fi flavor won't be to everyone's taste, but those who like their music rough, raw and ragged will probably like the murky riffs and muffled drumming, rising out of a thick mass of fuzz.
For those who don'ty like distortion, it might be a comfort to just focus on the offbeat lyrics -- they can be vulgar, nasty, enchanting, or they can be brimful of black comedy. At least, they are never boring. In his VU swansong, Cale gets to recite and sing, and his rich vocals prove to be somewhat more compelling than Lou Reed's.
While perhaps the weakest, rawest and least accessible of the Velvet Underground's albums, "White Light/White Heat" has the distinction of Cale's vocals and some wickedly weird writing.
It kicks off with distorted pop song "White Light/White Heat," and gets followed by equally distorted series of offbeat songs, such as the sex-change operation ballad "Lady Godiva's Operation," the relatively ethereal "Here She Comes Now," and the twisted, squealing riffs of "I Heard Her Call My Name."
"The Gift" is perhaps the most offbeat of all the tracks here: A spoken story-song, recited matter-of-factly in John Cale's Welsh accent. It's about a jealous husband who, in doubt about his wife's fidelity, mails himself to her house. Sounds ordinary enough, except that there is a twist to the finale, both funny and macabre.
This is one of the darker albums that the Velvet Underground did, as well as the last one that was so experimental. The finale is almost twenty minutes of screeching, explosive guitar riffs, and the story-song is definitely odd. But once you get into the swing of it, it's remarkably moving.
The fuzz and wildness of "White Light/White Heat" is definitely offputting at first -- the melodies are buried under a perpetual buzz of sound. That lo-fi flavor won't be to everyone's taste, but those who like their music rough, raw and ragged will probably like the murky riffs and muffled drumming, rising out of a thick mass of fuzz.
For those who don'ty like distortion, it might be a comfort to just focus on the offbeat lyrics -- they can be vulgar, nasty, enchanting, or they can be brimful of black comedy. At least, they are never boring. In his VU swansong, Cale gets to recite and sing, and his rich vocals prove to be somewhat more compelling than Lou Reed's.
While perhaps the weakest, rawest and least accessible of the Velvet Underground's albums, "White Light/White Heat" has the distinction of Cale's vocals and some wickedly weird writing.
Format:Audio CD
Distortion. Either you love it or you hate it, and that will determine whether you love or hate the Velvet Underground's "White Light/White Heat," which was the final album with John Cale on it. It's strange, raw and eerie, and except for the too-long finale, a fairly good collection.
It kicks off with distorted pop song "White Light/White Heat," and gets followed by equally distorted series of offbeat songs, such as the sex-change operation ballad "Lady Godiva's Operation," the relatively ethereal "Here She Comes Now," and the twisted, squealing riffs of "I Heard Her Call My Name."
"The Gift" is perhaps the most offbeat of all the tracks here: A spoken story-song, recited matter-of-factly in John Cale's Welsh accent. It's about a jealous husband who, in doubt about his wife's fidelity, mails himself to her house. Sounds ordinary enough, except that there is a twist to the finale, both funny and macabre.
This is one of the darker albums that the Velvet Underground did, as well as the last one that was so experimental. The finale is almost twenty minutes of screeching, explosive guitar riffs, and the story-song is definitely odd. But once you get into the swing of it, it's remarkably moving.
The fuzz and wildness of "White Light/White Heat" is definitely offputting at first -- the melodies are buried under a perpetual buzz of sound. That lo-fi flavor won't be to everyone's taste, but those who like their music rough, raw and ragged will probably like the murky riffs and muffled drumming, rising out of a thick mass of fuzz.
For those who don'ty like distortion, it might be a comfort to just focus on the offbeat lyrics -- they can be vulgar, nasty, enchanting, or they can be brimful of black comedy. At least, they are never boring. In his VU swansong, Cale gets to recite and sing, and his rich vocals prove to be somewhat more compelling than Lou Reed's.
While perhaps the weakest, rawest and least accessible of the Velvet Underground's albums, "White Light/White Heat" has the distinction of Cale's vocals and some wickedly weird writing.
It kicks off with distorted pop song "White Light/White Heat," and gets followed by equally distorted series of offbeat songs, such as the sex-change operation ballad "Lady Godiva's Operation," the relatively ethereal "Here She Comes Now," and the twisted, squealing riffs of "I Heard Her Call My Name."
"The Gift" is perhaps the most offbeat of all the tracks here: A spoken story-song, recited matter-of-factly in John Cale's Welsh accent. It's about a jealous husband who, in doubt about his wife's fidelity, mails himself to her house. Sounds ordinary enough, except that there is a twist to the finale, both funny and macabre.
This is one of the darker albums that the Velvet Underground did, as well as the last one that was so experimental. The finale is almost twenty minutes of screeching, explosive guitar riffs, and the story-song is definitely odd. But once you get into the swing of it, it's remarkably moving.
The fuzz and wildness of "White Light/White Heat" is definitely offputting at first -- the melodies are buried under a perpetual buzz of sound. That lo-fi flavor won't be to everyone's taste, but those who like their music rough, raw and ragged will probably like the murky riffs and muffled drumming, rising out of a thick mass of fuzz.
For those who don'ty like distortion, it might be a comfort to just focus on the offbeat lyrics -- they can be vulgar, nasty, enchanting, or they can be brimful of black comedy. At least, they are never boring. In his VU swansong, Cale gets to recite and sing, and his rich vocals prove to be somewhat more compelling than Lou Reed's.
While perhaps the weakest, rawest and least accessible of the Velvet Underground's albums, "White Light/White Heat" has the distinction of Cale's vocals and some wickedly weird writing.
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4.3 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A 40+ minute volume competition, an all-time favorite
I really don't know what to say. For me, this was it. The moment I turned it on, everything I'd ever known about conventional modern pop music was tossed out the window... Read more
Published on July 17 2004 by Sean Corrigan
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Velvet Underground... in their sophomore slump
White Light/White Heat (1968.) Velvet Underground's second album.
Following the release of their first album, 1967's Velvet Underground And Nico, the Velvet Underground decided... Read more
Published on Jun 25 2004 by Rocker_Man
4.0 out of 5 stars
Classic VU, but not for everyone
I really love this CD because I am personally a fan of the distorted noisy alternative/rock/blues stuff of the VU's first 2 albums. This album is for people like myself. Read more
Published on Jun 19 2004 by Dan
4.0 out of 5 stars
Pop or anti-pop?
White Light/White Heat is a delight, an album of pure pop with a reputation nearly as black as Lou Reed's 'Berlin'. Read more
Published on May 25 2004 by Robert P. Inverarity
5.0 out of 5 stars
a classic record of the '60s...
White Light / White Heat, the Velvet Underground's classic album released in 1968. offering forty minutes of one of the greatest albums from the Velvet Underground. Read more
Published on May 8 2004 by lost_weasel
3.0 out of 5 stars
It's Ok
Is this the "Coolest Album Ever," as one magazine asserted? Maybe it is, but that shouldn't have anything to do with the quality of the music herein--we basically get a... Read more
Published on May 5 2004 by Sierra Wilson
5.0 out of 5 stars
The beginning of grunge?
White Light/White Heat is the followup to Velvet Underground's now classic debut album with Nico. Whereas their debut mixed psychedelia, pretty melodies, and noisy rock, White... Read more
Published on Mar 11 2004 by John Alapick
3.0 out of 5 stars
some excellent, some disgusting, some bad
i have mixed feelings about this one. I pretty much like all of it, except john cale's songs. im sorry, i may hate it because of its gruesomness, and they may be great songs, but i... Read more
Published on Mar 3 2004 by Susan E. Pankratz
4.0 out of 5 stars
loud as f***
this is without a doubt the most extreme of all 4 of the velvets albums. while not as amazing as the bands debut album, this is still a very influential, and legendary piece of... Read more
Published on Feb 24 2004 by F. A Ognibene
5.0 out of 5 stars
greater than great, but it ain't pretty
what can I say? This group was ten years ahead of its time. This album is RAW, but a true masterpiece. The Velvets were one of the greatest assets to punk music. Read more
Published on Feb 12 2004 by Deborah J. Sheets
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