Nico - The Classic Years (c) 1998 Chronicles
Artist....: Nico
Album.....: The Classic Years
Type......: Album
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 19
Genre.....: Avantgarde
Rel.Date..: 22-07-2006
Label.....: Chronicles
Catalogue#: 314 565 185-2
Encoder...: LAME 3.90.3 Mod VBR
Quality...: VBR kbps / 44.1Hz / Joint-Stereo
URL.......: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:nce097q0krht
Tracklist:
----------
01 I'm Not Saying 02:52
02 The Last Mile 02:30
from Immediate (1965)
03 I'll Be Your Mirror 02:18
04 Femme Fatale 02:42
05 All Tomorrow's Parties 02:52
from The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
06 The Fairest Of The Seasons 04:10
07 These Days 03:34
08 Little Sister 04:26
09 Chelsea Girls 07:26
from Nico: Chelsea Girl (1967)
10 No One Is There 03:37
11 Ari's Song 03:24
12 Frozen Warnings 04:06
13 Nibelungen 02:47
from The Marble Index (1968)
14 Janitor Of Lunacy 04:03
15 Abschied 03:05
16 Affraid 03:30
from Desertshore (1970)
17 Secret Side 04:08
18 You Forgot To Answer 05:09
19 The End 09:30
from The End (1974)
Total:101,5 MB / 76:09 min
Release Notes:
--------------
One of the most fascinating figures of rock's fringes, Nico hobnobbed,
worked, and was romantically linked with an incredible assortment of
the most legendary entertainers of the '60s. The paradox of her career
was that she herself never attained the fame of her peers, pursuing a
distinctly individualistic and uncompromising musical career that was
uncommercial, but wholly admirable and influential. Nico first rose to
fame as a European supermodel, also landing a bit part in Fellini's La
Dolce Vita film and giving birth to a son by Alain Delon. In 1965, she
attracted the attention of Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham,
who gave her a chance to record for his Immediate label, though the
resulting single, which also featured Brian Jones and Jimmy Page on
guitars, flopped. Shortly afterward, she moved to New York, where Andy
Warhol installed her as a vestigial presence and occasional lead singer
for the Velvet Underground. The band never really accepted her as a
bona fide member and she departed in 1967, but not before contributing
unforgettable deadpan vocals to three of the songs on their classic
1967 debut album.
Nico embarked on a solo career, recording folk-rock-flavored songs for
her debut Chelsea Girl album with assistance from Jackson Browne, Lou
Reed, and John Cale. Her 1969 follow-up, The Marble Index, was a
dramatic departure that unveiled her doom-laden, gothic persona,
produced by Cale and prominently featuring her deep vocals,
impenetrable lyrics, and ghostly harmonium. Her subsequent '70s albums
explored much the same territory, with assistance from Cale and
influential art rockers like Eno and Phil Manzanera. Her career fell
into disarray during the rest of the '70s and the '80s as she struggled
with a massive drug habit and tangled personal life. She released
several live albums on various labels, but the ill-planned Drama of
Exile and the more successful Camera Obscura were her only coherent
studio efforts until she died of a cerebral hemorrhage in Ibiza in
1988.
The original goth rocker, Nico's albums are demanding and bleak, but
map a unique and starkly powerful vision that has become more
influential with age.
The Classic Years is an excellent, portable introduction to the
challenging and singular work of Nico. It's questionable as to why
Chronicles opted to include her three vocal contributions to The Velvet
Underground and Nico, however. What are the odds of someone not owning
that record prior to checking out the ice queen's solo material?
Nonetheless, the tracks certainly don't sound out of place. A handful
of songs are taken from each of her first four (and best) albums,
including her debut single "Immediate" from 1965. :)