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Linger on, your pale blue eyes

C. CRADDOCK | Bakersfield | 07/13/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Velvet Underground is the band's eponymous 1969 album, their third studio album. John Cale was gone, replaced by Doug Yule on bass and organ. The personnel were now Lou Reed, who wrote all the songs, plays guitar and sings, Sterling Morrison on guitar, Maureen Tucker on drums, and Doug Yule. Making this album was a happy experience with everyone working together. The album is a departure from their first two, mainly because the songs are quieter and calmer. They have gone from songs about heroin making you feel like Jesus' son to songs about Jesus, with no apparent irony. Though Rock Critic Lester Bangs didn't even like the song when the album first came out, "Pale Blue Eyes" has proved to be the most enduring track, with several bands and performers covering it. It has appealed to punk rockers, country singers, R.E.M., and Courtney Love of Hole.



"What Goes On" is also popular, in a medium tempo rock groove that is catchier than you think. It sneaks up on you, and before you know it, you're hooked on the hook. "Beginning to See the Light" is in a similar vein. Funny that both songs rip off lyrics from jazz standards, with "Beginning to See the Light" also being the title of a Duke Ellington number, and the refrain of "What Goes On" saying "Lady Be Good," which is a Gershwin tune.



In my review of The Days of Wine and Roses by The Dream Syndicate I ranted about how unoriginal it was to take titles from old songs as the basis for your own songwriting, but I guess they were only following Lou Reed's lead. The Dream Syndicate wanted so bad to be The Velvet Underground, but in that they showed excellent taste. I was just kidding around in that review, but I got nothing but negative reaction. One comment simply called me an idiot.



The drummer, Maureen Tucker, sang the final song, "After Hours" because Lou Reed felt it needed a pure and innocent voice, not a sneering and cynical one. Maureen sings it as a happy little ditty, somewhere between a show tune and a summer camp sing along.



"The Murder Mystery" is an eight minute plus experimental track that soon grows tiresome, but other than that, all the songs are listenable, with a few real gems.



"Candy Says"



Candy says I'd like to know completely

what others so discretely talk about



Doug Yule sang this one, the opening track, with a sweet and pretty voice. It's about Candy Darling, who was a Warhol hanger on, and s/he would also make an appearance in "Walk On The Wild Side" in 1972.



"What Goes On"



What goes on in your mind?

I think that I am upside down.

Lady, be good, do what you should, you know it will work out right.



This is my second favorite song on the album. It has a sloppy but good groove, and the guitar (or is it an organ?) solo really knocks me out. It is very simple, but it says so much.



"Some Kinda Love"



and some kinds of love

the possibilities are endless

and for me to miss one

would seem to be groundless



I like this one, it is a very loose groove, with the words flowing, seemingly at random.



"Pale Blue Eyes"



It was good what we did yesterday.

And I'd do it once again.

The fact that you are married,

Only proves, you're my best friend.

But it's truly, truly a sin.

Linger on, your pale blue eyes.

Linger on, your pale blue eyes.



"Pale Blue Eyes" was inspired by Shelly Albin who had pale blue eyes. She was his girlfriend from college, and some of Lou's other songs are also about her. I wonder if she later got married but still saw Lou, as the lyrics state. This song is really a great song, in my opinion. It has just enough detail in the lyrics to sketch a picture, but whoever sings it can bring their own emotions to it. Eric Andersen, Alejandro Escovedo, Neil Finn, Counting Crows, Hole, Marisa Monte, R.E.M., Tom McRae and Patti Smith have all covered "Pale Blue Eyes." In Julian Schnabel's 2007 film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly there is an instrumental version, and the song was also used in the 2008 film August.



"Jesus"



Jesus, help me find my proper place

Help me in my weakness

'Cos I'm falling out of grace

Jesus

Jesus



Those are just about the complete lyrics to this song, and it repeats that same set of lyrics a few times through. Lou Reed sings this one in a very pretty voice, and the arrangement is very beautiful.



"Beginning to See the Light"



Some people work very hard,

But still they never get it right.

Well, I'm beginning to see the light.



I like this song just as much as "What Goes On" but that is because they are practically the same song.



"I'm Set Free"



And now I'm set free

I'm set free

I'm set free to find a new illusion



This song didn't make much of an impression on me. I can only conclude that it is one of the weaker links in the Velvet Underground chain.



"That's the Story of My Life"



That's the story of my life

That's the difference between wrong and right

But, Billy said, Both those words are dead

That's the story of my life



The story of his life is very short, as it just repeats these few lines a few times. "Jesus" used the same strategy, I mean Lou Reed used the strategy in writing his song entitled "Jesus." Lather, rinse, repeat. This song is less effective than "Jesus."



"The Murder Mystery"



Objections suffice apelike and tactile bassoon oboeing me cordon the virus' section off to the left is what is not right



"The Murder Mystery" goes on like that for eight minutes. It makes very little sense, so either it is a code, or else, it is just a bunch of words thrown together at random over equally random noise. The latter theory gets my vote.



"After Hours"



Accompanied by acoustic guitar and bass guitar Maureen Tucker sings the final number. She sounds very young, and perhaps even a little bit naive. Lou Reed didn't want to sing this one. He felt like he couldn't sing it -- it needed someone pure and innocent.



If you close the door, the night could last forever

Keep the sunshine out and say hello to never

All the people are dancing and they're havin such fun

I wish it could happen to me

But if you close the door, I'd never have to see the day again.



This song has also garnered some unusual covers. Meg White of The White Stripes and The Red Hot Chili Peppers to name but a few.



The Velvet Underground & Nico

White Light/White Heat

Loaded

Alejandro Escovedo - Bourbonitis Blues

Eric Andersen - Waves

R.E.M. - Dead Letter Office

Hole - Ask for It

Bryan Ferry - The Bride Stripped Bare

Dils - Dils Dils Dils

The Dream Syndicate - The Days of Wine and Roses



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Wine in the mornin', and some breakfast at night.

Well, I'm beginning to see the light.

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