Nico

This is a record that should be approached with some trepidation. Certainly it isn't going to
top any charts or start any new dance crazes, nor are the lyrics going to be quoted by
earnest young theologians or the underground press. That, however, doesn't make it any
less a work of genius. The genius in question is John Cale who has found in Nico a perfect
foil for the side of his musical personality that made Howard Hansen fail him at th... More >

The Velvet Underground and Nico plus Chelsea Girl convinced me that Nico had charisma; The Marble Index plus Desertshore convince me that she's a fool. The difference is that now Nico writes the songs--songs with titles like "The Falconer" and "Abschied," songs that indulge her doleful monotone instead of playing rhythms and tempos against it. Nothing new here--bohemian hangers-on always get to publish their work while the less socially adept ("charismatic") are shafted. John Cale, with his "spare" arrangements, plays patron. (Grade: C)