10 Perfect Hard Rock Songs That Are Ridiculously Long
6. Sister Ray - The Velvet Underground
Around the same time that the Summer of Love was starting to get underway in California, Lou Reed had a little something different in mind. Despite being called one of the most unprofessional recordings of the decade, the Velvet Underground were on the verge of something groundbreaking with their debut, taking the sounds of traditional rock and roll and pairing it with loud and abrasive sounds that would become staples of the punk movement almost a decade later. If critics thought that was abrasive, that were in for a surprise on White Light/White Heat.
Outside of the more ramshackle sounds of the title track and some of the more off the rails moments, everything on this record builds to Sister Ray, capping off the album right at the end and expanding to 17 minutes in length. Knowing what we do about Lou Reed, this wasn't just noise for the sake of noise, and hearing the band let loose with their instruments tends to paint a sense of chaos in your mind, as Mo Tucker's drums get more and more energetic and hearing blasts of feedback from the guitars every now and again.
Though it feels like they should logically come to a stop at any point, it's almost scary seeing them keep us in this sonic space, especially when Lou Reed yells "whip it on me Jim" towards the midpoint of the song. The Velvets were already ahead of the curve at the time, but this was something that feels like it was trying to break down the confines of rock and roll.