Chelsea Girl (album)

Background

After collaborating as a singer with the Velvet Underground on their debut The Velvet Underground & Nico (recorded during 1966, released in March 1967), Warhol superstar Nico toured with the band in Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable (EPI) multimedia roadshow. Before the EPI came to an end in 1967, Nico took up residence in a New York City coffeehouse as solo folk chanteuse; accompanied in turn by acquainted guitarists, such as Tim Hardin, Jackson Browne and Leonard Cohen, and also her Velvet Underground bandmates Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison and John Cale.

Composition

Some of her accompanists wrote songs for her to sing, and these form the backbone of Chelsea Girl. Browne and Hardin contributed some songs, "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" by Lou Reed was part of the earliest Velvet Underground repertoire (which did not surface as a Velvet Underground recording until it was included in the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See), and Reed, Cale and Morrison in various combinations contributed four more songs. Additionally, Bob Dylan gave her one of his songs to record: "I'll Keep It with Mine".

Content

Musically, Chelsea Girl can be described as a cross between chamber folk and 1960s pop. The musical backing is relatively simple, consisting of one or two guitars or, alternatively, a keyboard instrument, played by either Browne or (a combination of) her Velvet Underground colleagues, but there are no drums or bass instruments and adding to the chamber folk feel of the music are the string and flute overdubs added to the initial recordings by producer Tom Wilson and arranger Larry Fallon without involving or consulting Nico.

Reception

In retrospective 21st century reviews AllMusic feel the album is "an unqualified masterpiece", while Trouser Press feel that the album "is sabotaged by tepid arrangements and weak production" and is "of interest mainly for its links to the band Nico had just left."

Nico was dissatisfied with the finished product. Looking back in 1981, she stated:

Legacy

Two tracks from the album – "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days" – were used in Wes Anderson's 2001 film, The Royal Tenenbaums. "The Fairest of the Seasons" was also used in Gus Van Sant's 2011 film Restless. "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" is used in Andrew Dominik's 2012 film Killing Them Softly.

Side A

1. "The Fairest of the Seasons" (Jackson Browne, Gregory Copeland) – 4:06
2. "These Days" (Jackson Browne) – 3:30
3. "Little Sister" (John Cale, Lou Reed) – 4:22
4. "Winter Song" (John Cale) – 3:17
5. "It Was a Pleasure Then" (Lou Reed, John Cale, Christa Päffgen) – 8:02

Side B

1. "Chelsea Girls" (Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison) – 7:22
2. "I'll Keep It With Mine" (Bob Dylan) – 3:17 Note: this song was recorded by Dylan in 1965 but remained unreleased on any of his own albums until the 1985 Biograph set.
3. "Somewhere There's a Feather" (Jackson Browne) – 2:16
4. "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" (Lou Reed) – 5:07
5. "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce" (Tim Hardin) – 3:45

Personnel