11th window – Luke 11

The Velvet Underground & Nico Bob Hund is one of many bands that have named The Velvet Underground as a big influence. They covered Guess I’m Falling in Love – which they named Jag Tror Jag är Kär – as the second song on their single Nu är Det Väl Revolution På Gång?. Musician Brian Eno famously stated that while the album initially only sold approximately 30,000 copies, “everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band“. The Velvet Underground & Nico was the debut album by The Velvet Underground, released in March 1967 by Verve Records. Initially it sold poorly and was mostly ignored by contemporary critics, but later became regarded as one of the most influential albums in the history of popular music. It was recorded with the first professional line-up of the Velvet Underground: Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. Although Andy Warhol is the only formally credited producer, he had little direct influence beyond paying for the recording sessions. The album cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico is featuring a Warhol print of a banana. Early copies of the album invited the owner to “Peel slowly and see“, and peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album’s delayed release). Most reissued vinyl editions of the album do not feature the peel-off sticker.