Nico - Chelsea Girl - 1971 LP UK Pressing - Velvet Underground Lou Reed 2353 025
$
31
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Description
With a voice like a slightly off harmonium (which she frequently played on her subsequent releases), Nico was a total original. After singing a few songs on the Velvet Underground's debut album as their Warhol-implanted chanteuse then getting ousted from the band, Nico recorded this, her debut solo album. The atmosphere throughout "Chelsea Girl" is haunting, mournful and a little mysterious, even when the lyrics of a given song are optimistic or hopeful. However, most of the material she works with here is quite morose. She covers one of Jackson Browne's saddest songs, "These Days", a truly depressive beauty. Stand-out tracks for me include the ode to Andy Warhol's Factory characters "Chelsea Girls" written by sometime lover Lou Reed and the ghostly "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce" by Tim Hardin. This song really gets to me as I know first-hand how the pain of drug addiction affects not just the user but also those close to the addict. The decision to include this song on the album is the very definition of 'ironic' since Nico's struggle with drugs is well documented.
Nico's later releases sound very different from this record as she finds her own voice as a composer and musician. Are they better than this album? I don't really think so. I think that they're all of a piece. But where this album's main instrumentation is guitar, strings and the occasional woodwind, Nico's later, more personal CDs use synthesizers, the aforementioned harmoniums and the like to convey her unique solo compositions. So she started out folky with this one and gradually becomes more avant garde as her career progressed.
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Nico - Chelsea Girl
Label: MGM Records ?– 2353 025 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, ReissueCountry: UK Released: 1971 Genre: Jazz, Rock Style: Folk Rock, Avantgarde
TracklistHide Credits
A1 The Fairest Of The Seasons Written-By – Copland*, Browne* 4:05 A2 These Days Written-By – Jackson Browne 3:25 A3 Little Sister Written-By – Cale*, Reed* 4:20 A4 Winter Song Written-By – John Cale 3:15 A5 It Was A Pleasure Then Written-By – Cale*, Reed*, Nico (3) 8:00 B1 Chelsea Girls Written-By – Reed*, Morrison* 7:25 B2 I'll Keep It With Mine Written-By – Bob Dylan 3:20 B3 Somewhere There's A Feather Written-By – Jackson Browne 2:15 B4 Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams Written-By – John Cale 5:15 B5 Eulogy To Lenny Bruce Written-By – Tim Hardin 3:45Companies, etc.
- Manufactured By – Polydor Records Ltd.
- Manufactured For – MGM Records Ltd.
- Distributed By – Polydor Records Ltd.
- Published By – Kinney Music
- Published By – Sunbury Music Ltd.
- Published By – T. M. Music, Inc.
- Printed By – Akenmay Ltd.
- Marketed By – Polydor
Credits
- Arranged By, Conductor – Larry Fallon
- Engineer [Director Of Engineering] – Val Valentin
- Engineer [Recording & Remix Engineer] – Gary Kellgren
- Liner Notes – Pat Patterson (2)
- Photography By [Liner Photo] – Paul Morrissey (2)
- Producer – Tom Wilson (2)
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