Where the self-titled album proved a successful blur of The Velvet Underground fundamentals and vague, conventional rock notions, Loaded takes it a step further. Not just a more accessible sound than previous efforts but a thoroughly wonderful display of their instrumental qualities and lyrical defiance. Lou Reed found himself moved by religious experiences and relationships doomed to fail and continued with Loaded. Their penultimate studio album, and the final one worth listening to, finds more of the same. Loaded may have the hallmarks of rock and roll, the pop sound of the times, but even if The Velvet Underground are working that in earnest, it still has a peculiar feeling. Applying a George Harrison-like vocal tone to opener Who Loves the Sun, Doug Yule and the rest of the band certainly draw a pastiche of pop, though find they are very good not just in replicating pop, but advancing it.
Heartbreak forms the core, but Who Loves the Sun certainly has a tinge of light and floaty pop noise to it. There is an endearing, surface-level style to it, but the barbershop quartet-like backing vocals are a wild step away from the self-titled album preceding Loaded. The Velvet Underground were sick of being frozen out from radio play and album sales, and understandably so. Every artist has their breaking point, and while Loaded is still a tremendous album, there is an argument to be made against the watering down of their art rock developments. Yet, like the preceding album, this is not a toothless experience. The Velvet Underground still displays an openness which guided them to their best moments. Sweet Jane is the obvious standout from Loaded, but album closer Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ is a monumental piece.
What ties the two together, beyond the obvious, is the overwhelming Yule presence and the drift to what Reed would begin using in his early solo albums. Reed is comfortable replicating the pop tones but keeps his distance when it comes to lyrical suggestions. Compromise usually kills a band, but Loaded is a rare instance where it helps. There is a soft glam-rock appearance found in some of these tracks. It comes from a lack of a steady lineup, a set of fresh musicians and the band finding their creative control dashed. Usually, this is a moment to be up in arms about, but we cannot argue with the results of Loaded. A life saved by rock and roll, as Rock & Roll feels like a smack at those who find themselves when throwing themselves to the conventional sound of the times. Amputations and alienation still run rampant in these songs, but so too does an incredibly catchy instrumental appeal.
Loaded works despite its members. Reed may not be happy with the mix, Moe Tucker may be absent, and John Cale too, but this is The Velvet Underground at their best. Not as a concept, though. It is their best at a pop sound, an accessible piece of work with plenty of heart to it. But when it comes to what the band had set out to do, the artistic intent heard on The Velvet Underground & Nico, this could not be further from those Andy Warhol-managed origins. What may not be the intent of the members is still the result of great musicianship. New Age is an underrated gem, a classic of The Velvet Underground discography which deals with the shame of fame. The whole album does this. The Velvet Underground finds a new beginning, a new age, but accidentally. Their counterculture ways came to an end as they both fit in and made fun of that generation’s pop music. It makes Loaded a wonderful album, tinged with a poisonous thrill, but also a slight jealousy.
