Loaded - THE VELVET UNDERGROUND****

Who Loves The Sun/Sweet Jane/Rock & Roll/Cool It Down/New Age/Head Held High/Lonesome Cowboy Bill/I Found A Reason/Train Around The Bend/Oh Sweet Nuthin'

Loaded finds The Velvet Underground under the control of Lou Reed leading to more accessible, albeit uneven, pop-rock songs somewhat removed from their recent more experimental output.

"The final Velvet Underground record with Lou Reed. It has much more popular appeal than any of their previous efforts and contains some of their most well-known songs like Sweet Jane and Oh Sweet Nuthin'. The music itself hasn't got a lot in common with the experimental approach of the first two LPs, but it's more like a link between their third album (The Velvet Underground) and Reed's solo career. It's a fine pop-rock album with Reed's unmistakable performing style and some great songs, but overall it's not as exciting as their previous LPs."

"Does any album get off to a better start than this one? Who Loves The Sun is pretty schmaltzy compared to anything on previous VU albums, but as a standalone piece of '60s sunshine pop it's absolutely glorious, and then you get to Sweet Jane and Rock & Roll... ah, pure bliss."

"Though the Velvets were on their way out as far as being a proper and functional unit were concerned, this album represents a completely different sound and style for the band. It’s really Lou taking the reigns and going for broke here, and compared to the previous three albums, this would seem to be the Velvets' commercial attempt at radio and album success. The obvious major tracks on offer are Rock & Roll and Sweet Jane; timeless and instant classic Reed originals that are given the special Velvet treatment."

"So, is this a Velvet Underground album? Not really, parts of this clearly presage Lou's solo career and a couple of rather unfortunate parts presage the brief and best forgotten Velvet Underground career that spluttered to a halt once Lou left. So, given all of this information, you may expect to find that Loaded is below par? Not exactly. The opening three songs are all wonderful, and the best songs here, although a couple of other highlights remain. These opening songs are so good however, they raise the album overall and the project works."

"What makes this album way better than it sounds at first is the friendly and energetic attitude. True, there are only a handful of great songs and several throwaways, but the good stuff here is among the Velvet’s best music."