If you get this, you'll buy everything else they've done. This album contains some of the most pop-chart-friendly songs in the VU's repertoire. But they are all still great songs from any perspective. Although the version of Heroin sounds different than the one on the Nico album, it's excellent. If you're a die-hard fan I don't see why you'd need this but if you want a great light retro album to play in the car or at work, and you miss the songs of the 60's, you've gotta get this! I understand the negative reviews because the 1st time I listened to it I was hugely disappointed. But after listening a couple more times I realized it's really a great small collection -- not as challenging as they were known for, but thoroughly enjoyable.

This is a good starting point to the legend that was (and still is) VU. And at a very affordable price! While it has been seen by some as not truly representative of this great band, you can go and buy the boxed set to get true representation! No room for "Venus in Furs", "There She Goes Again" or "I Heard Her Call my Name", but classics like "Heroin", "Waiting for the Man", "What Goes on" and "White Light/White Heat" have to have room made for them somewhere. And, yes, this album will want to make you go out and buy the entire VU back catalogue - their sheer brilliance in sonic experimentation and lyrical craft, not to mention their lasting influence on musicians everywhere from Roxy Music to REM, from Joy Division to Pavement will leave you wanting more - start as you mean to go on...

Reading over previous reviews, all the complaints are valid, however I myself being a casual VU fan picked this compilation up, and found it to be an excellent buy. VU is a truly incredible band, and I was very interested to read in the biography how basically everyone who purchased their debut album started their own band or began producing music. Well, now it's time to review some of this great music.

The disc opens with nice rock energizer called I'm Waiting For The Man. A great opener to this disc, with a strong rocking melody. Femme Fatale is a beautiful song, with Nico providing some sensational lyrics. Run, Run, Run offers strong riffs, and also features a blistering guitar solo to finish off. Heroin is considered by many to be VUs best song, and I would agree in a lyrical sense, with incredible songwriting. Also a sensational guitar strum, and a fiercely ugly guitar solo compliment the song greatly. All Tomorrow's Parties has fantastic dynamic aspects to it, and is very underrated. I love the chorus and building piano introduction. White Light/White Heat is a solid rocker, and Stephanie Says is a popular song that many casual fans are familiar with. I'm a huge fan of Beginning To See The Light featuring an awesome chorus. Pale Blue Eyes is a touching ballad, expressing effectively VU's soft(and sometimes dark) side. Sweet Jane is another popular number, a great track to say the least, and the compilation closely on a high note with Rock & Roll.

Overall, I would definitely without question recommend this compilation to any casual fan of the band(like myself), who just wants one album to capture the essence of what this band is about. Although it does strongly favour VUs debut album, it still contains outstanding music, and no casual fan of VU wants to fork over 25-30 extra dollars to buy all their albums seperately.

I had heard something in high school about the Velvet Underground being a great band, so I figured the Best Of was a good place to start. What I discovered was that the VU are probably the best band to ever come out of America and that I had completely wasted my money on this CD. The same thing happened to me with those Dylan Best Of CDs, because I ended up getting most of the songs again on the original albums - but at least the Dylan CDs had some unreleased tracks and alternate performances. This CD has nothing.

You're either going to love this band or hate them-and you'll probably know pretty quickly. I can't think of another group that's less well served by a Best Of: each of their albums has its own flavor, and if you're even thinking about buying this album, you'd be better off just starting with their debut, because:

1)

This is a completely unbalanced compilation. SIX of the songs come from the first album - that's close to half the running time. The songs they don't include from that album, with the exception of European Son, are all really good-and one that they leave out, Sunday Morning, is one of the best songs the Velvets ever did. Plus the first album is cheaper (I think it's one of those Super Saver deals) and - if this is your introduction to the band - you might as well listen to one of the albums the way it was intended before making up your mind about them.

2)

This CD is only 60 minutes long! All the songs they put on here are good, but what's their excuse for leaving off Here She Comes Now, Jesus, After Hours, Candy Says, I'm Set Free, New Age...or any of like ten or eleven others? Other than Sweet Jane and Rock & Roll, it's not like the Velvets had any hits - you can pretty much put anything you want on here. At least fill up the 80 minutes. Or give us something we can't get somewhere else.

There is no such thing as an adequate Best Of for this band (I think I saw another compilation with all 17 minutes of Sister Ray on it; I'm not sure what they were thinking) - but the first album is a better and cheaper introduction that this. Then you'll probably have to go out and buy the box set or you may discover, to your horror, that you have no taste, and decide to stop right there. $...is a small price to discover something as important as your complete lack of aesthetic capacity, so don't kick yourself too much for wasting your money.
(If you don't have the money for the box, I recommend their third CD - the Velvet Underground - and then Loaded, their last studio album: and probably White Light/White Heat after that. VU is good too.)

The Velvet Underground is by far one of my favorite bands. But they are not a "best of" band. Don't waste your money on a greatest hits CD!! Go and buy their four full length albums. Any one of those is more enjoyable than Best of: The Words and Music of Lou Reed. Actually I recommend starting with the third studio recording--The Velvet Underground.