"European Son" | |
---|---|
Song by the Velvet Underground | |
from the album The Velvet Underground & Nico | |
Released | March 12, 1967 |
Recorded | April 1966 |
Studio | Scepter, New York City [1] |
Genre | |
Length | 7:46 |
Label | Verve |
Songwriter(s) | |
Producer(s) | Andy Warhol |
"European Son" is a song written and performed by the American experimental rock band The Velvet Underground. It appears as the final track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico . It is also the album's longest track at more than seven and a half minutes.
The song could be seen as a precursor to the band's next album White Light/White Heat and to the song "Sister Ray", a seventeen-minute-long rock improvisation.
"European Son" is dedicated by the band to Delmore Schwartz, the poet who had been literary mentor of singer Lou Reed at Syracuse University. Wanting to dedicate a song to Schwartz, "European Son" was chosen because it had the fewest lyrics (rock-and-roll lyrics being something Schwartz abhorred). [4] The first pressing of The Velvet Underground & Nico referred to the song as "European Son (to Delmore Schwartz)". [5]
The song was recorded in April 1966, and Schwartz died alone in Manhattan three months later on July 14. According to musicologist Richard Witts, the song "reads like little more than a song of loathing" to Schwartz, who refused to see Reed while living out his last days in seclusion at a rundown midtown New York hotel. Witts highlighted obscure personal details in lyrics such as "You made your wallpapers green" and found the Dylanesque "hey, hey, bye bye bye" lyric to bid "a malicious farewell to its subject". [6]
The song begins with two stanzas of lyrics sung by Lou Reed over a D major chord and walking bass line, then after the first minute or so a loud crash is heard (caused by John Cale hitting a stack of plates with a metal chair). [4] There follows a six-minute instrumental improvisation, making use of distortion and feedback. [7] [8]
The song inspired the German experimental rock band Can. Its influence can especially be heard in the song "Father Cannot Yell", the lead track of Can's 1969 album Monster Movie , in which Holger Czukay plays a similar bassline. [13]
A slowed-down version of the song's bassline (originally played by John Cale) appears on "Moby Octopad" by Yo La Tengo.
Simple Minds recorded a song entitled "European Son" on a demo tape, which was released on CD on The Early Years: 1977–1978. The band Japan also recorded a song with the title "European Son". Both these bands titled the song in tribute to the Velvet Underground song, and have covered other songs by the band (both covering "All Tomorrow's Parties", for one), but neither "European Son" is a cover of the Velvet Underground song.
Lewis Allan Reed was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band The Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Although not commercially successful during its existence, the Velvet Underground became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.
Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress and model. She had roles in several films, including Federico Fellini's La Dolce Vita (1960) and Andy Warhol's Chelsea Girls (1966). Reviewer Richard Goldstein describes Nico as "half goddess, half icicle" and writes that her distinctive voice "sounds something like a cello getting up in the morning".
The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico, released in March 1967 through Verve Records. It was recorded in 1966 while the band were featured on Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour. The album features experimental performance sensibilities and controversial lyrical topics, including drug abuse, prostitution, sadomasochism and sexual deviancy.
The Marble Index is the second studio album by the German musician Nico, released in November 1968 on Elektra Records. The avant-garde sound introduced in the album—a stark contrast with her folk pop debut, Chelsea Girl (1967)—was the result of the combination of Nico's droning harmonium and somber vocals, and the producer John Cale's musical arrangements, which were inspired by modern European classical music. Nico envisioned the release as an attempt to get artistic legitimacy and changing the looks that had made her famous as a fashion model.
Delmore Schwartz was an American poet and short story writer.
White Light/White Heat is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cale. Recorded after Reed fired Andy Warhol, who had produced their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, they hired Steve Sesnick as a manager and hired producer Tom Wilson who had worked on the band's debut. White Light/White Heat was engineered by Gary Kellgren.
Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing backing vocals.
Chelsea Girl is the debut solo album and second studio album by German singer Nico. It was released in October 1967 by Verve Records and was recorded following Nico's collaboration with the Velvet Underground on their 1967 debut studio album. It was produced by Tom Wilson, who added string and flute arrangements against the wishes of Nico. The title is a reference to Andy Warhol's 1966 film Chelsea Girls, in which Nico starred.
Gold is a two-CD compilation album by the Velvet Underground. It was released for the North American market on June 14, 2005, by Polydor, the record label that oversees the band's Universal Music Group back catalogue.
"Sister Ray" is a song by the Velvet Underground that closes side two of their 1968 album White Light/White Heat. The lyrics are by Lou Reed, with music composed by John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker and Reed.
"Femme Fatale" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, with lead vocals by Nico.
"Heroin" is a song by the Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song, which overtly depicts heroin abuse, is one of the band's most celebrated compositions. Critic Mark Deming of Allmusic writes, "While 'Heroin' hardly endorses drug use, it doesn't clearly condemn it, either, which made it all the more troubling in the eyes of many listeners." In 2004, it was ranked at number 448 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was re-ranked at number 455 in 2010.
"The Black Angel's Death Song" is a song by the Velvet Underground, from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was written by Lou Reed and John Cale. In a footnote to the lyrics, Lou Reed wrote: "The idea here was to string words together for the sheer fun of their sound, not any particular meaning."
"Sunday Morning" is a song by the Velvet Underground. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was first released as a single in December 1966. The song is written in the key of F major.
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
"There She Goes Again" is a song by The Velvet Underground. It first appeared on their 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The syncopated guitar riff is taken from the 1962 Marvin Gaye song "Hitch Hike". Guitarist Sterling Morrison has stated:
Metronomically, we were a pretty accurate band. If we were speeding up or slowing down, it was by design. If you listen to the solo break on "There She Goes Again," it slows down—slower and slower and slower. And then when it comes back into the "bye-bye-byes" it's double the original tempo, a tremendous leap to twice the speed.
"Here She Comes Now" is a song released by the American rock band the Velvet Underground in January 1968, from their second studio album White Light/White Heat. As the shortest song on the album, the performance and mix of the song are both considered simple and traditional, making it somewhat distinct from the other five songs on the album, all of which contain some degree of experimental or avant-garde elements in terms of sound.
"Run Run Run" is a song by the Velvet Underground originally released on the band's 1967 debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. It originally comprised singer and guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise was replaced by Moe Tucker in 1965, who played on most of the band's recordings. Though their integration of rock and the avant-garde achieved little commercial success, they became one of the most influential bands in rock, underground, experimental, and alternative music. Their provocative subject matter, musical experiments, and nihilistic attitude was also influential in the development of punk rock and new wave music.
I'll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico is a tribute album, by various artists, to the eponymous 1967 album The Velvet Underground & Nico by American rock band the Velvet Underground and German singer Nico. The tribute album was released by Verve Records and Universal Music Group on September 24, 2021, and features recordings of the original album's 11 songs by artists including St. Vincent, Sharon Van Etten, Bobby Gillespie, and Iggy Pop among others. The album released in proximity to The Velvet Underground, a documentary on the band by director Todd Haynes which was released October 15.