The discography of the American rock band the Velvet Underground consists of five studio albums, six live albums, fifteen compilation albums, seven box sets, eight music videos, six video albums and eleven singles.
The first line-up was formed in New York City consisting of Lou Reed on vocals and guitar, John Cale on several instruments (viola, keyboards and bass), Sterling Morrison on guitar and bass and Angus MacLise on percussion (replaced by Maureen Tucker in November 1965). In March1967, they released their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico featuring German singer Nico. The album charted in the United States and originally peaked at number 171 on the Billboard album charts and produced two singles, "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "Sunday Morning", which did not chart anywhere. The album, produced by artist Andy Warhol, recharted in 2013 peaking at number 129.
VU released their second studio album White Light/White Heat, which peaked at number 199 of the Billboard charts. The album was more experimental than their first album, featuring a loud and aggressive musical style. The album was produced without Warhol and Nico for the first time. In March 1969 they released the third studio album The Velvet Underground, their first project with Cale's replacement Doug Yule. It did not chart upon its original release. However, when reissued in 1985 it peaked at number 197 in the Billboard chart. One year later, Loaded was released by Atlantic Records, the first time by a major label. Compared with VU first releases, Loaded was produced for the mainstream, without thematizing sex and drugs. Although the songs were successful and popular in several music radios, neither singles, nor the album itself peaked in any music chart. It was the last album featuring Lou Reed, the last remaining founder of VU. After his departure, Yule became the new frontman of the Velvet Underground and toured together with Willie Alexander (keyboard), Walter Powers (bass guitar), Maureen Tucker (drums) and other musicians. In 1973, he recorded their fifth and last regular studio album, Squeeze, which for some time dropped out of the official discography. After their break-off, several compilation albums were released, some of which feature outtakes from their previous studio sessions, most notably VU, which peaked at number 85 on Billboard and 47 on the UK Albums Chart.
Albums Studio albums Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US FRA GER NLD NOR UK 1967 The Velvet Underground & Nico Released: March 1967 Label: Verve Format: CD, CS, LP 129 164 89 58 40 43 BPI: Platinum FIMI: Platinum 1968 White Light/White Heat Released: January 30, 1968 Label: Verve Format: CD, CS, LP 199 — — — — — BPI: Silver 1969 The Velvet Underground Released: March 1969 Label: Verve Format: CD, CS, LP 197 — — — — — BPI: Gold 1970 Loaded Released: November 1970 Label: Atlantic Format: CD, CS, LP — 188 — — — — BPI: Silver 1973 Squeeze Released: February 1973 Label: Polydor Format: LP — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Notes A Upon its release in 1967 the album peaked in the US at 171. Shortly after the death of Lou Reed in 2013 it recharted for one week and peaked at 129.Likewise in the UK, where the album did not chart until 1994 when it reached 59, it recharted at 43 shortly after Reed's death in 2013. B The album did not chart in its original release in 1969, but did chart on its reissue in 1985 when it peaked at 197. C The album appeared at number two on Billboards Bubbling Under the Top LPs chart for the week of January 30, 1971.
Live albums Year Album details Peak chart positions US NZ UK 1972 Live at Max's Kansas City Released: May 30, 1972 Label: Cotillion Format: CD, CS, LP — — — 1974 1969: The Velvet Underground Live Released: September 1974 Label: Mercury Format: CD, LP — 31 — 1993 Live MCMXCIII Released: October 26, 1993 Label: Warner Bros. Format: CD, CS 180 — 702001 Final V.U. 1971–1973 Released: August 2001 Label: Captain Trip Format: CD — — — The Quine Tapes Released: October 16, 2001 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — 2015 The Complete Matrix Tapes Released: November 20, 2015 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart.
Compilations Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications US NZ NOR UK 1970 Velvet Underground Released: 1970 Label: MGM GAS-131 Format: LP — — — — 1971 Andy Warhol's Velvet Underground featuring Nico Released: 1971 Label: MGM Format: LP — — — — 1985 VU Released: February 1985 Label: Verve Format: CD, LP 85 16 — 47 1986 Another View Released: September 1986 Label: Verve Format: CD, CS, LP — — — — 1989 The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed Released: October 1989 Label: Verve Format: CD, CS, LP — — — — BPI: Silver 1991 Chronicles Released: 1991 Label: Mercury Format: CD, CS, LP — — — — 1995 The Best of Lou Reed & The Velvet Underground Released: 1995 Label: Global Rad Format: CD, CS, LP — — — 56 BPI: Gold 1997 Loaded (Fully Loaded Edition) Released: February 18, 1997 Label: Rhino Format: CD — — — — 2000 20th Century Masters – The Millennium Collection: The Best of The Velvet Underground Released: October 2000 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — — 2001 Rock and Roll: An Introduction to The Velvet Underground Released: July 2, 2001 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — — 2002 The Velvet Underground & Nico (Deluxe Edition) Released: June 25, 2002 Label: Verve Format: CD, LP — — 40 59 2003 The Very Best of the Velvet Underground Released: March 31, 2003 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — — BPI: Silver 2005 Gold Released: June 14, 2005 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — — 2008 Playlist Plus Released: April 29, 2008 Label: Polydor Format: CD — — — — 2021 The Velvet Underground: Music From the Motion Picture Soundtrack Released: October 15, 2021 Label: Republic/UMe Format: CD, LP, digital — — — 10 "—" denotes releases that did not chart. Notes D 2002 reissue
Box sets Year Album details 1993 What Goes On Released: 1993 Label: Raven Format: CD 1995 Peel Slowly and See Released: September 26, 1995 Label: Polydor Format: CD 2001 Final V.U. Released: 2001 Label: Captain Trip Records Format: CD 2012 The Velvet Underground & Nico 45th Anniversary Released: October 1, 2012 Label: Polydor Format: CD 2013 White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Released: December 3, 2013 Label: Polydor Format: CD 2014 The Velvet Underground 45th Anniversary Released: November 24, 2014 Label: Polydor Format: CD 2015 Loaded 45th Anniversary Released: October 30, 2015 Label: Rhino/Atlantic Format: CD
Singles Year Song(A-side and B-side) Album Ref(s) 1966"All Tomorrow's Parties" (edit) b/w "I'll Be Your Mirror" The Velvet Underground & Nico"Sunday Morning" b/w "Femme Fatale" (FRA #174) 1968"White Light/White Heat" b/w "Here She Comes Now" White Light/White Heat"I Heard Her Call My Name" b/w "Here She Comes Now" 1969"What Goes On" (edit) b/w "Jesus" (radio-only single - mono versions) The Velvet Underground"The Velvet Underground" (radio ad distributed to radio stations with excerpts from The Velvet Underground)1971"Who Loves the Sun" b/w "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" Loaded"Who Loves the Sun (mono)" b/w "Who Loves the Sun (stereo)""Who Loves the Sun" b/w "Sweet Jane" (UK-only release)1973"Sweet Jane"/"Rock and Roll""I'm Waiting for the Man" b/w "Run Run Run" b/w "Candy Says" (UK-only release)"I'm Waiting for the Man" b/w "Candy Says" b/w "White Light/White Heat" (NLD-only release) 1985"Foggy Notion" (edit) b/w "I Can't Stand It" (promo) VU1988"I'm Waiting for the Man" b/w "Heroin" (UK-only release) Non-album singles"Venus in Furs" b/w "All Tomorrow Parties" (UK-only release)1993"I'm Waiting for the Man" b/w "Pale Blue Eyes" b/w "White Light/White Heat" b/w "Sweet Jane" (UK-only release, promo)"Venus in Furs" b/w "I'm Waiting for the Man" (FRA-only release) Live MCMXCIII 1994"Venus in Furs" (live edit) b/w "Sweet Jane" (Live), "Heroin" (Live), "I'm Waiting for the Man" (Live) (UK #71) Non-album singles 2009"We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" b/w "If You Close the Door (After Hours)"
Videography Video albums Year Video details 1966 The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound Distributor: Andy Warhol Films/RaroVideo/Coleophoric Pictures Ltd. Format: Theatrical / DVD (2004, 2011) 1967 Exploding Plastic Inevitable Distributor: Andy Warhol Films/Coleophoric Pictures Ltd. Format: Theatrical / DVD (2011) 1972 Le Bataclan '72 Distributor: ORTF/INA Films/Grey Scale Format: Broadcast (Pop2) / CD+DVD (2017) / streaming 1993 Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII Distributor: Warner Music Vision/Rhino Home Video Format: VHS/laserdisc / DVD (2006, 2009) 1994 Curious: A Documentary Distributor: VAP, Inc. Format: VHS/laserdisc 2021 The Velvet Underground Distributor: Apple TV/The Criterion Collection Format: Theatrical / Blu-ray/DVD/streaming (2022)
Music videos Year Title Director Ref. 1966 "Sunday Morning" Rosalind Stevenson 2015 "After Hours" Oliver Chen "White Light/White Heat (Version 1 / The Complete Matrix Tapes)" (visualizer) Meire Murakami/Vartan "We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 2 / Live At The Matrix)" (visualizer) "Some Kinda Love (Version 4 / Live At The Matrix, San Francisco)" (visualizer) "Sister Ray (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco)" (visualizer) "Sweet Jane (Version 1 / Live At The Matrix, San Francisco)" (visualizer) 2017 "Sunday Morning" James Eads/Chris McDaniel
See also List of songs recorded by the Velvet Underground
References