Velvet Underground & Nico Andy Warhol LP Orig Mono [67] Verve Torso-Banana Ver I

$

140

The Story Behind The Velvet Underground's Most Iconic Album Cover

One of Lou Reed's lasting legacies -- besides founding The Velvet Underground and introducing the world to the depths of feedback loops -- will forever be his impact on the way the world sees bananas.

The late singer, who passed away of a liver-related ailment Oct 27, 2013, helped popularize one of the most recognizable pieces of pop artwork -- a bright yellow piece of fruit that adorned the cover of The Velvet Underground & Nico's debut album.

The banana itself is, of course, the handiwork of Andy Warhol, who crafted the image and slapped it on the cover of his pet band's first record in 1967. Warhol served as the manager and patron saint of the now iconic art rock band that surprisingly sold just 30,000 albums in its first five years.

The original album cover allowed fans to peel back the banana skin as a sticker, revealing the fruit of a nude-colored banana underneath. The sexually-charged effect was difficult for manufacturers to pull off (the time it took to perfect the peel was part of the reason behind the album's delayed release), but MGM deemed it warranted, since Warhol's stamp of approval was bound to go far in the 1960s.

"He just made it possible for us to be ourselves and go right ahead with it because he was Andy Warhol," Reed once said. "In a sense he really did produce [the album] because he was this umbrella that absorbed all the attacks when we weren't large enough to be attacked."

Alas, the record was hardly a commercial success. It was only in the decades after VU's breakup that the band became a cult favorite, transforming their vintage peel-off sticker album into a rare collector's item and a symbol for the protopunk genre. In fact, nearly 50 years after the release, the band and the Andy Warhol foundation would battle over who reserved the right to market the now-coveted banana as their own.

We'll leave you with one of the more praiseworthy reviews of The Velvet Underground & Nico's album, straight from the typewriter of The Village Voice's Richard Goldstein in 1967: "The Velvets are an important group, and this album has some major work behind that erect banana on the cover."

The Velvet Underground & Nico Andy Warhol LP Original Mono [1967] Verve

Produced by Andy Warhol

CONDITION / DETAILS

• Side A Good+ (no skips)

• Side A shows several scratches that are ‘feel able’

• Track 1 side A: “Sunday Morning” fine, has moderate to light surface noise / crackles during play. No skips.

• Track 2: “I’m waiting for the man” when played Lou Reed sings “I’m waiting for my man” Sound is decent with hardly any issues, plays and sounds fine.

• Track 3 side A: “Femme Fatale” surface noise / crackles evident. This track shows some feel able scratches.

• Track 4: “Venus in furs”: Some surface noise, crackles nothing overpowering, enjoyable listen.

• Track 5: “Run, run, run” Light surface noise with crackles decent play and sound, enjoyable.

• Track 6: “All tomorrow’s parties” Some subdominant surface crackles upon play nothing overpowering. Probably the best track to listen to of all.

• Side B: Fair (skips, jumps) has several light to significant surface scratches some that can be felt.

• Track 7 “Heroin” Has scratches that can be felt by fingernail. Has moderated surface noise during softer passages e.g. crackles, light to moderate.

• Track 8: “There she goes again:” Background surface noise evident, no snaps, crackles or pops.

• Track 9: “I’ll be your mirror” Has a skip/jump along with crackles

• Track 10: “Black angel death song” (listed on label but shows “The Black angel’s death song” listed on the inside cover”  During play has some moderate crackles during quieter passages and several “deep sounding thuds” and skip-jumps. (This track, play at your discretion)

• Track 11: “European son” Light to moderate crackles mainly during softer passages nothing overpowering, no skips or jumps.

  The Gatefold cover

  Cover issues / *Labels The big plus is that the banana peel able sticker remains unpeeled showing some wear in spots revealing the pink banana underneath. I would say the sticker is 90% intact! Again, the banana peel sticker for the most part is unpeeled. Oh and did I fail to mention the cover was a design by the late great Avant Garde artist “Andy Warhol” whom also produced the iconic LP! The front of the cover shows a permanent marker doodle on the front (see photo) and the previous owner’s name neatly written in pink in fine point ball point pen. Also, the cover shows the inevitable ring wear to both sides front and back which is normal for a cover this age of what nearly 50 years old?? I hear this album was released before The Beatles-Sgt Peppers!. Also inside the gatefold cover is pretty clean only showing approximate 1 inch split at center where the thick vinyl edge has rubbed a wear spot. This is pretty much unavoidable as in time during insertion and reinsertion this is going to happen. No to mention moving from one place to another and living the bohemian lifestyle!? The spine has a wear spot at the middle and corners with most of the text still visible except “produced by” showing to be the victim of the wear. “Andy Warhol” text is somewhat visible along with the title, record label and catalog # V-5008 which shows some rubbing.*Labels: Side a & b show writing (previous owners name) neatly written in blue fine point pen hardly noticeable as the ink has faded somewhat. The spindle hole is good and the labels show fine spindle trails also hardly noticeable. No stickers or their residue appear on the labels. All in all the labels are good. I hope I have covered pretty much everything regarding the condition details. Feel free to ask any pertinent questions you may have regarding. I will answer if able and if time permits. Thanks for looking and happy bidding!