Museum Musica

Germany, 1967, chamber folk

Nico – Chelsea Girl: Look, I like violins as much as the next person–maybe even more–but damn these overdubs (like they’re trying to make every song sound like “Eleanor Motherfucking Rigby”). They’re so tacked on, not matching Nico’s voice at all, which sounds like she’s pulling her jaw back into her throat. And then just listen to “Winter Song”: the power is right there in the (rather frightening) lyrics. We don’t need a flute to tell us “this is a pastoral song, in case you couldn’t figure it out”. RYM ranks “It Was a Pleasure Then” as the worst track on the album, but I think it’s the best because it’s not got those damn overdubs. Everything is more real–the music, the vocals. It’s pretty VU at its heart, too, what with the short bursts of howling feedback and the minimalist experimental vibe threatening to explode into a welcome cacophony that never comes. Nope. Bring the flautist and string quartet back in. Break’s over!