White Light/White Heat vs. Third (Sister Lovers)

I think how much you appreciate Sister Ray is directly proportional to how much you are invested in the appeal of "transgression" within popular music, and if you don't really care about that kind of thing, it's appeal is fairly limited.

dunno, i like SR as a batshit, rollercoaster rock song.

Yeah, Sister Ray works on the same level as the best of Chuck Berry or James Brown. It's a massive body song

Eh. It's a good that may or may not be a Towering Achievement. I love it.

I don't think Chuck or James ever allowed their band to get quite THAT sloppy

WL/WH, not close, love Sister Ray, wouldn't want it to be shorter.

tbf I am kinda reacting to some of the opinions expressed not on this thread but in the recently-watched Velvet Underground: Under Review DVD (the nature of which was cleverly disguised beneath a different title implying it was an actual documentary and not just a series of rock critics' talking heads), wherein various people rhapsodized about Sister Ray as being THE defining moment of VU, the avant-garde breakthrough, etc.

xp

maybe, but it doesn't hit me as a successful art-rock experiment, it hits me as a successful (if a bit eccentric) rock and roll song

I was replaying to your earlier post

a good JOKE, I meant, for being smutty and stoopid.

if i could live like WLWH sounds, i'd do it. Third sounds too much like my life already.

I don't think Chuck or James ever allowed their band to get quite THAT sloppy

Chuck did, definitely.

if i could live like WLWH sounds, i'd do it. Third sounds too much like my life already

Lol, but wryly

I've never been able to get into Third. I dig me some melancholy shit, but for some reason I just don't care much for that album despite really loving the two prior Big Star LPs.

WLWH is not my favourite VU record (that would be the third one - closet mix, please), but I don't dislike anything on it, and I love love love the title track, "I Heard Her Call My Name," "Lady Godiva's Operation" and "Here She Comes Now." (I remember reading that Sterling Morrison was unhappy with what happened to IHHCMN in the final mix. I wish I could hear an alternate version.)

So, yeah, WLWH.

I kind of link Sister Ray together w/Can's Yoo Doo Right (probably not an accident) and that would be two of my favorite songs, both based on a basic riff beaten into submission over a very long time. It's actually a strategy that has a pretty good track record, given a good enough riff and a distinctive singer.

Yoo Doo Right has less-concrete lyrics, and nobody ever expected Can to go top 40, so it doesn't seem to get the same backlash that Sister Ray sometimes does. Anyway, I agree that Sister Ray is a towering musical acheivment, even if you ignore context, lyrics, etc.

I'm fond of Big Star's 3rd as well, though lately I'm even fonder of Chilton's solo stuff, where he basically invents Royal Trux. A poll putting Sister Ray up against Take Me Home and Make Me Like It would give me some trouble...

I'd go with I Heard Her Call My Name as being the weirdest song on WL/WH, not Sister Ray. Sister Ray is just long and loud. The way IHHCMN starts off, and the mix, are really bizarre even now.

VU's my favorite band, but WL/WH ain't better than SL. No way, no how. O Dana? Stroke It Noel? Kizza Me? Nightime? Thank You Friends? fucking HOLOCAUST? No contest. Had Chilton's Third been up against VU's 3rd however...

wl/wh>radio city>big star 3rd>velvet underground>v.u.>velvet underground & nico>big star 1st>loaded

ridiculous crazy love for all the above, first two very strong always in the running for my fave alltime record

Third by the Soft Machine over both of these

wl/wh>vu & nico>big star third>radio city>velvet underground>loaded>#1 record

it becomes clear to me that the last two I ranked should've been the poll...

Third by the Soft Machine over both of these

Bollocks.

"Sister Ray" is a lot more than just a loud + long rock and roll song.

third > wl/wh > #1 > velvet underground & nico > velvet underground > v.u.> loaded > radio city

surprised at general equation of both bands, to what extent is this inspired by recent revisiting of the chilton catalog? i'd have assumed the velvet underground were seen in another category really, but i'm pleased anyway

I started this poll because of the Reed vs. Chilton thread

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

"Third/Sister Lovers" is much better than the horrible "White Light/White Heat", yet not even close to being in the same league as "#1 Album".

never change

I think I'd vote for "White Light/White Heat" over all but maybe 15-20 albums

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

Third got a lot more votes than i expected. Deservedly

This poll came out weighted about exactly how I feel about those albums. 51:29 in favour of the Velvets.