White Light / White Heat [Import] [Limited Edition] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Japanese limited edition reissue of 1967 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve.

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
The Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Amazon.com

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 2 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

Customer Reviews:

Seriously Wonderful and Not Half as Scary as Some Would Suggest. .......2007-05-23

Most of the comments I've read about the Velvets on this site are surprisingly smart and well done, so check 'em out, particularly with reference to this album of the Velvet's, but I wanted to add a few things.

When I first listened to this record about 16 years ago (at the age of 16) it freaked me out and I put it aside in favor of Loaded and ESPECIALLY the s/t record (their best, by far). Those records are comforting and oddly familiar (even on the first listen)... they're just plain brilliant and they are pretty easy to dig, and to get. But over the years I've come back to WL/WH again and again and it honestly keeps getting better and better and better.

This is the most interesting and the most challenging record in the Velvet's catalog (not Lou Reed's--see Metal Machine Music) and for that reason I beseech you (if you have any interest in music that colors outside of the lines) to really listen to this, hard. It's not a perfect record, not sure it's even a "masterpiece", but it's remarkably f#&@%^%G cool and it's fun to get lost in. I think of it as a document regarding a particular time in American musical history, one that gets ever more relevant as bands like Comets on Fire, Wolf Eyes, The Warlocks and so on and so on, head off deeper into the forest that the Velvets, I'd argue, seeded.

And honestly, The Gift alone makes this record worthwhile--that you get Sister Ray and Lady Godiva's Operation as well makes it a no-brainer.

Violent, bitter, and brilliant........2007-05-23

Recorded in 1967 (and released early the next year), while Lou Reed and John Cale were constantly at each other's throats, White Light/White Heat is a loud, angry, uncompromising record, full of anti-social dismay and cathartic rage. And since this is a Velvets album, its also sarcastic, smart, drug-addled, and brilliant. If you're here after being floored by the group's astounding debut, be warned: this is a much less accessable, much more hostile album than its predecessor. Where the debut used feedback and unusual song structures to augment what were essentially offbeat pop songs, White Light/White Heat seeks noise as an end in itself- the songs brutal whirlwinds of of distortion and dissonance, messes of pure volume and screaming amplifiers. This stuff makes heavy metal sound like "Ring Around the Rosy." Needless to say, you probably won't like it the first time you hear it. When I bought this on CD (way back when I was all of sixteen years old), my dad actually threw it out the window during the car ride home. It's not the most accessable thing around. But give it a few more listens and you'll discover that the Velvets rarely make artless noise: these songs are hotbeds of raw, negative emotion and boundry-pushing experimentation. They bristle with nervous energy and uncontrolled fury. It really is something that should be heard.

The title track and and "I Heard Her Call My Name" are hypercative, rugged, and speedy (and when I say "speed," think "amphetamene"), racing along on rockin' rhythm sections and stinging lead guitar lines. The lyrics to the former are pure sleaze-obsessed Lou Reed-isms, full of references to shooting up and spending time with seedy characters, while the latter (the one that made my dad throw out the CD, by the way. If only he'd made it to the track after that!) is a shuddering, broken-down blues rocker with instrumental breaks that approximat pure white noise. "The Gift" is a two-headed monster: It consists of John Cale reading an increasingly bizarre (and darkly funny) short story in one stereo channel, while the band pounds out a hypnotic, greasy instrumental jam in the other, full of pinwheeling guitar solos and leering rhythms. Equally unhinged is "Lady Godiva's Operation," which starts out as a somewhat pretty (but undeniably odd) surrealist ballad, but soon transmogrifies into a quiet freakout, complete with startling lyrical interruptions and jabs of nasty guitar. The short, sweet, "Here She Comes Now" is the closest thing on the album to legitimatly beautiful song, complete with haunting vocal harmonies, delicate verses, and ethereal, playful guitar lines. It's proof that Reed could write a gorgeous song when he wanted to (for further evidence of that, see their third album).

And then there's "Sister Ray." To this day, there really are few experiences in this world that are as twistedly wonderful as "Sister Ray." It's the epitome of difficult brilliance: at over seventeen minutes in length, the track is a monster, an endless tornado of tooth-gnashing keybords, shattered guitar chords, and jurassic rhythms. It may not be easy to listen to, but get used to it, and you'll discover that its a masterpiece of ecstatically enraged white noise shattered-mirror psychedelia, a sociopathic rock 'n' roll classic that'll stay with you for the rest of your life. Whenever you're in a bad mood, rank it up. It's better than antidepressents.

White Light/White Heat may be a difficult album to appreciate, but don't give up: If its harshly noisy nature turns you off the first time around, give it a few more listens. You just might discover one of your favorite rock albums ever.

An Intro to the Art of Noise-making.......2007-04-18

The VU is a hipster dream band. Now it has become fashionable to simply adore the Velvet Underground, especially the debut (yeah the one with the banana). I do not doubt how important the VU's debut was but now I rarely seem to listen to it. It seems the VU has become a name-dropping device for pseudo-artsy hipster kiddies while sporting his/her new Warhol made-in-China banana peel shoulder bag. However, true lovers of the VU will always turn to the still little-known soundscape. This album- White Light/White Heat- distilled the VU to its pure core (aka without the annoying Warhol and odd Nico) with John Cale and Lou Reed.

There will always be a fight over which member of the VU was the most important but this noise masterpiece seemed to be guided by the genius of John Cale with his avant-garde inclinations and willingness to challenge the listener's perception of music. Cale would later make far more tuneful, pretty, and (better?) recordings such as his stunning Paris 1919 album but this is the one and only White Light/ White Heat.

As for Lou Reed, well, he is being plain ole Lou Reed. He plays a nasty guitar on "I Heard Her Call My Name". The best VU album that displays his folky pop talents would be the album after White Light/White Heat- the self titled album.

If you like this album get Wire's Chairs Missing, Sonic Youth's EVOL, My Bloody Valentine's Loveless, PiL's Metal Box, and (if you want to go all the way with this noisy stuff...) Fripp and Eno's No Pussyfooting.

This album will scare all the poseurs away.

Even today, one of the weirdest records ever made.......2007-02-05

The Velvet Underground were always something different and special. The first album, even by today's standards, was pretty innovative and artistic, and the second album is the more shocking and more avant-garde of the two. It's also the least digestible VU album, as it's not as catchy as "Loaded," melodic as the self-titled record, or as song-for-song standout-ish as the debut. Even today, this record is menacing and scary, and still pretty unique. It may take some time for you to appreciate, as it is certainly an acquired taste.

The tracks get even more detailed into drugs, particularly the likes of cocaine, in the first track. That's one of the greatest songs on this album, and while there's six songs, there is so much that's accomplished on here. I wish John Cale had sung on more VU songs. I thought he was a great vocalist, particularly on "Lady Godiva's Operation." It is brilliant and worth owning "White Light" for this alone. It is such a beautiful song.

Although, on the other side of the spectrum is the infamous seventeen-minute jam-out track "Sister Ray," which is kinda scary, and totally dark and sinister. This track can be seen as one that paved the way for goth and noise rock. It is actually pretty well done and even at its incredibly long length, I think it's just fine. Well performed.

As for the other three songs, they're a little bit interesting, even if not as noteworthy. The only one I'm not a really big fan of out of those is "The Gift," which goes the entire time through a poetic spoken word verses. I guess it's not bad, but not my type of thing.

This record is interesting, and if you're in for it, I totally would suggest getting this sophomore album from the Velvet Underground.

At least they cared enough to write..........2007-01-10

White Light/White Heat is what happens when a group of talented and original artists are given free reign to create whatever they want in an atmosphere that encourages experimentation. I have a massive music collection covering everything from traditional Egyptian folk music to gangsta rap, and I have never encountered another album like this one. It can be so rocking and groovy at times, yet so chaotic and dense at others. It is also one of the few albums I own that I never find boring.

I'm not going to break the album down song-by-song because there is already plenty of that here on Amazon. I will simply say that this album is not easy listening. It is loud, chaotic, wild, rough, raw, and sometimes just downright weird. Nonetheless, it is among my favorite albums ever. (I usually prefer much more mainstream fare.) It features what has got to be one of the earliest recorded versions of what would eventually become known as punk, "I Heard Her Call My Name." It also features one of the craziest and hardest rocking songs I know of in the exhausting "Sister Ray." Heck, I'd be willing to bet even a lot of the people who say they don't like this song in other reviews still think the first five minutes of "Sister Ray" are killer. And I do want to defend "The Gift." This is my favorite song on the album and among my favorite Velvet Underground songs period. I don't think I could ever get sick of the way John Cale reads the story or the jam the band plays in the other channel.

This is not an album for casual music fans, or even casual fans of the Velvet Underground. I have a lot of friends who love music and cannot stand anything on this album after the first track. But if you are open-minded and willing to throw out your previous ideas about what a rock album can and should be, then White Light/White Heat could prove to be one of those rare albums that you enjoy more with each successive listen, just as it is for me. Highly, highly recommended... but not to everyone.

Average customer rating:

Back To Their Roots...
SD AT ITS BEST
Hard Driving Rage !
The Best Record Ever Made
Absolutely gorgeous agony

White Light, White Heat, White Trash
Social Distortion
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell
Social Distortion
...And Out Come The Wolves
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Punk in Drublic

ASIN: B000002A69
Release Date: 1996-09-17

Tracks:

Dear Lover
Don't Drag Me Down
Untitled
I Was Wrong
Through These Eyes
Down On The World Again
When The Angels Sing
Gotta Know The Rules
Crown Of Thorns
Pleasure Seeker
Down Here (With The Rest Of Us)
Bonus Track

Customer Reviews:

Back To Their Roots..........2007-03-30

While not completely departing from the rockabilly sound of their previous three albums, "White Light, White Heat, White Trash" is definitely a return to the band's punk rock roots. This album is the closest Social Distortion has come to releasing another pure "punk rock" album since "mommy's little monster". Lyrically, this album has a much more angry and bleak outlook on the world than what was presented in the previous three albums.

This album, along with "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" stand as the best two complete albums that Social Distortion have ever released. It is another album that is easy to listen to in its entirety. In my opinion, these are the real highlights of the album...

-Dear Lover
-Don't Drag Me Down
-I Was Wrong
-Through These Eyes
-When The Angels Sing
-Down Here With The Rest of Us
-Under My Thumb

SD AT ITS BEST.......2007-01-03

"White light..." is undoubtlessly the climax of Mike Ness' search for a definitive punk-hearted rock style. Songs like "I was wrong" or "Don't drag me down" deserve to be in every anthology of the finest punk ever played by an american band.

Hard Driving Rage !.......2006-06-09

Probably my favorite album from this incredible band. Heck, all of their albums are great, I cannot really think of another band with the consistency as Mike Ness and the boys. What I like so much about this album is how hard it is. This album kicks off with a rockin' # and just keeps driving the pace and sound up up up. Mike Ness, you freaking rule!

The Best Record Ever Made.......2006-05-03

I've been listening to rock and roll and other popular music since 1963. My tastes run from Hank Williams to Chevelle, from Donovan to Type O Negative, from Dinah Washington to Catherine Wheel. I rarely use words like "the best" because "the best" tends to vary over time and with moods - there is just so much good music out there. This recording, however, over the 10 years since its release, has proven itself over time. Ness and Co. set out with a mission: to make a great "punk rock" album. I don't think they did that at all, this isn't even "punk rock" to my ears. What they made is simply The Greatest Record of All Time. It is flawless in its writing, its performance, and its production. I will be forever grateful to them for making it.

Absolutely gorgeous agony.......2005-10-10

Being a long time Social D fan, I greatly anticipated the release of White Heat... Mike Ness and co. had gone through some line-up changes and in the process acquired "Master of the Skins" and former Danzig drummer, Chuck Biscuits. This new arrival, while he had never been a core writer or personality in any previous band, made his presence more than known on this cd. The tempo and drumming, put to sadistic use in this collection perfectly matched the atmosphere that Ness created when he wrote the songs. Some may say that this cd is a bit depressing. Those people would be right but Ness's pain, loneliness, and frustration is beautiful to listen to unfold. In point of fact, this cd reminded me of why I love music so much. It allows you to explore the darker side of yourself and not to be afraid of it. Kind of scary, huh?
When your finished listening to the entire cd from start to finish, and I advise you to do so, you will feel spent, exhilerated and humming some of the songs all day. Magnificent, heartfelt writing coupled with virtuoso musicianship and recording standards of the highest caliber should result in this cd becoming a pillar in everyone's music library. Most highly recomended!!

Average customer rating:

White Light White Heat White Trash

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000PMFVB6
Release Date: 2007-06-26

Average customer rating:

Seriously Wonderful and Not Half as Scary as Some Would Suggest.
Violent, bitter, and brilliant.
An Intro to the Art of Noise-making
Even today, one of the weirdest records ever made
At least they cared enough to write...

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Mobile Fidelity
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Proto Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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The Velvet Underground
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Loaded
VU
Loaded (2-CD Fully Loaded Edition)

ASIN: B000006NL3
Release Date: 1998-05-19

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
The Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Amazon.com

Customer Reviews:

Seriously Wonderful and Not Half as Scary as Some Would Suggest. .......2007-05-23

Violent, bitter, and brilliant........2007-05-23

An Intro to the Art of Noise-making.......2007-04-18

Even today, one of the weirdest records ever made.......2007-02-05

At least they cared enough to write..........2007-01-10

Average customer rating:

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Proto Punk | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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The Velvet Underground & Nico

ASIN: B00000E5JB
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Average customer rating:

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Universal Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Disraeli Gears

ASIN: B00005Q7HL
Release Date: 2006-10-09

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Album Description

Japanese limited edition reissue of 1967 album, packaged in a miniature LP sleeve.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Average customer rating:

White light, strange heat

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Universal
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B00006BGXL
Release Date: 2002-09-02

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Customer Reviews:

White light, strange heat.......2005-08-26

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.

Average customer rating:

cataclysmic power and warped beauty

White Light/White Heat
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Polyg
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004UEFL
Release Date: 2000-06-01

Tracks:

White Light/White Heat
Gift
Lady Godiva's Operation
Here She Comes Now
I Heard Her Call My Name
Sister Ray

Album Description

Japanese limited edition reissue of the classic 1967 album with a miniature LP sleeve reproduction of the original artwork. Tracks include the title track, 'There She Comes Now' & 'Sister Ray'. 2000 release.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Limited LP Style Slipcase for Initial Pressings. Digitally Remastered.

Customer Reviews:

cataclysmic power and warped beauty.......2001-03-29

White Light/White Heat is the blueprint for tonal liberation. Any pesron who has strapped on an electric guitar and attempted to twist it as far as possible owes a debt to the Velvets, and to this album. Nearly 35 years after the fact, this album is still jarring and an uncompromising piece of experimentalism. The 17-minute musical orgy Sister Ray is the album's centrepiece, a three-chord steamroller - the band creating a frenzied, serrated groove. Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed's guitars slash and burn throughout the album, John Cale adds his brilliant flourishes of inspiration (especially his organ work on Sister Ray), and Moe Tucker is as steady as a rock on the drums. The title-track is a sharp shock, a pounding slice of prime garage rock. Lady Godiva's Operation, with its haunted house atmosphere is a truly creepy, eerie song. There's the atonal guitar squall of I Heard Her Call My Name, one of the most intense pieces of mauling power ever to be etched into vinyl. The Gift is an actual short story, narrated by John Cale over a hypnotic musical backround. The sly Here She Comes is a lesser known gem, an urgent song of lustful anticipation. The album is a bona fide winner. While not all casual fans will enjoy it, I absolutely love the Velvets and this album. Don't come looking for straightforward rock, this is what I can only describe as sophisticated musical anarchy - sonic expressions that are lucid and powerful. No one who has built on this sound through the years has quite equalled the Velvets for beauty, power and bold lyricism forged into art. Don't stop here though, the gritty beauty of the Velvet Underground & Nico, the elegance of the Velvets' third album and the pop melodicism of Loaded all make for satisfying monumental listening experiences.

Average customer rating:

White light/strange heat

White Light/White Heat

ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000F6YPXW
Release Date: 2006-06-27

Customer Reviews:

White light/strange heat.......2007-03-30

Average customer rating:

White Light White Heat

Manufacturer: Swingin' Pig
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Album-Oriented Rock (AOR) | Classic Rock | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0007XL1DK

Product Description

15 tracks recorded for the BBC between 1970-1972.

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