10 '60s Hard Rock Albums You Need To Listen To
6. White Light/ White Heat - The Velvet Underground
Most records coming out of the '60s counterculture were normally up to a certain standard of recording. Even if you were hearing the sounds of garage rock, you can usually expect a certain sonic sheen to go with the songs that you heard on the radio. As far as White Light/White Heat is concerned, this is the kind of music that's really going to test your limits as a listener.
Even with one of the most influential debut albums already under their belt, The Velvet Underground decided to go even more experimental on this outing, making for some of the most off putting music imaginable. One minute you'll be hearing a story about a man getting killed on The Gift and the next you'll be hearing some of the most unprofessional sounding rock and roll ever conceived on songs like Sister Ray.
At some points, it almost feels like this album is trying to actively dissuade you from listening to it, but the more you let it seep into your DNA, the more it resonates with you. Compared to people like the Rolling Stones, this is the kind of rock and roll that's as brutal as it is poetic. The era of alternative rock and noise rock still looms in the shadow of what the Velvets created on here.