Product Details

* Audio CD (May 7, 1996)
* Original Release Date: 2000
* Number of Discs: 1
* Format: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
* Label: Polydor / Pgd
* Catalog Number: 1251
* ASIN: B000002G7E
* Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette
* Average Customer Review: based on 142 reviews. (Write a review.)
* Amazon.com Sales Rank: #15,887 in Music (See Top Sellers in Music)
Yesterday: #21,515 in Music

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1. White Light/White Heat Listen Listen
2. The Gift Listen Listen
3. Lady Godiva's Operation Listen Listen
4. Here She Comes Now Listen Listen
5. I Heard Her Call My Name Listen Listen
6. Sister Ray Listen Listen
Editorial Reviews
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
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28 of 40 people found the following review helpful:
Approach With Caution, August 3, 2002
Reviewer: Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) (TOP 100 REVIEWER)
According to Lou Reed and John Cale, the sound engineer on WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT actually left the studio during the performance of "Sister Ray," telling the band "Just let me know when it's over." This reaction is typical. Most listeners will despise the recording; few will ever listen to it all the way through; fewer still will listen to it more than once. And even many Velvet Underground fans consider it an abomination.

In fact, The Velvet Underground's WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT might best be described as a musical migraine. It reeks of sea-sick rythmns, half-heard lyrics, and squalling guitars. There is absolutely nothing likable about it. So why then is it so famous? Two reasons, really. First, the entire point of the recording is to be a musical migraine, and in this absolutely everything about the work is entirely successful. Second, WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT lays the groundwork for everything from 1970s punk to 1990s grunge--and by and large outdoes all of them and probably will continue to outdo all of them for as long as the recording exists. These facts, however, do not make it musically accessible to most listeners. Even fans of the hardest "noisy" bands will probably have difficulty with WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT, and in hindsight the members of The Velvet Underground themselves consider the recording a failure--partly because of various engineering failures and partly because it is too representative of the chaos in their private and public lives at the time and so is more than a little self-indulgent.

Do I recommend this for the casual listener? NO. Absolutely not. On the other hand, if you are comfortable purchasing something with the clear expectation that you probably won't like it--you might actually be one of the rare people who can survive and actually enjoy this nihlistic sonic assault. Even so, brace yourself. It's a twisted, jarring, and chaotic ride. ( )