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CRITIC REVIEWS
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While The Velvet Underground and Nico sounded like an open challenge to conventional notions of what rock music could sound like (or what it could discuss), 1968's White Light/White Heat was a no-holds-barred frontal assault on cultural and aesthetic propriety.
10y
The History of The Albums – n°372 [First episode of 1968 ! Enjoy]
1968 was a particularly rich year, both historically and musically. The world had just gone through the revolutionary phase of the counter-culture, pushed by several movements, the hippies and the Summer of Love, the activism against racism (notably pushed by the Afro-American community), the democratization of the use of drugs, the nascent feminism, the homosexuality, the student power, or the pacifisms. So far these ... read more
This album was the beginning of noise rock. This album was the beginning of avant-garde aspects being used in rock. This album was the starting point for genres like shoegaze, which utilize noise and unorthodox styles of production. TVU crafted such a pristine album in White Light/White Heat that writing about it really doesn't do it any justice. It is impossible to stop mid-album, as the flow is so consistent and there is always something to look ahead to. It is argued by millions what ... read more
Now look, I get that this album is groundbreaking, influential and all that jazz but I don't enjoy all that much, I find the production to be way too muddy majority of the time and I feel like this thing could've turned out so much better. Believe me I want to enjoy this but I just cant enjoy it in its entirety, I will say though Sister Ray is an awesome track.
If 1967's The Velvet Underground & Nico was the discovery, the witnessing of the underground, the taboo, and a life of being on the edge, then White Light / White Heat is living that life. With a wall of noise way ahead of its time, The VU creates an overwhelming, abrasive, yet beautiful record that is almost as perfect as their iconic debut. It is a life of darkness and noise, from which there is love trying to break out.
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Track List
| 1 | White Light/White Heat 2:47 | 91 |
| 2 | The Gift 8:19 | 85 |
| 3 | Lady Godiva's Operation 4:56 | 88 |
| 4 | Here She Comes Now 2:05 | 86 |
| 5 | I Heard Her Call My Name 4:38 | 88 |
| 6 | Sister Ray 17:31 | 92 |
Total Length: 40 minutes
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1w
Am I the only one who wishes for an instrumental only version of this?! I Feel like if it was instrumentals only it would be a perfect album
3w
the people who contributed to The Gift being the lowest rated track even tho it's literally top 2 on the album and top 10 in TVU's catalog just don't like Spoken Word
Added on: April 8, 2013