Even though she was treated as a non-musician by the Velvet Underground, Nico’s recording career actually predates that of the group’s. In 1965, through an association with Andrew Loog Oldham and Brian Jones (Nico always had a genius for knowing people who could help her achieve her aims) she recorded a single, "I’m Not Sayin’" (b/w "The Longest Mile"). It’s bright and catchy folk-pop, and although she sings in a slightly higher register than she often used, the recording reveals some of the assets of her voice, in particular its focus and its power.
Indeed, Nico’s voice is the most readily identifiable part of her sound. Even those who don’t appreciate her qualities as a musician and composer acknowledge the unique nature of her singing voice. I remember the first time I heard her on the first Velvet Underground album, The Velvet Underground and Nico. Her voice is low with a somewhat intense quality, and the first reaction I had was a kind of queasy displacement: is this really a woman singing? It’s definitely an androgynous voice, to match her androgynous name. I once put on her album Chelsea Girl for a couple of friends, and even though one friend had never heard it before, or any of her solo work, he knew who it was purely from the three songs she sings on The Velvet Underground and Nico. It’s an instantly recognizable voice.
The three songs that Nico sings on The Velvet Underground and Nico ("Femme Fatale," "All Tomorrow’s Parties," and "I’ll Be Your Mirror") are the principle markers of her fame. When you mention her, it’s always "Nico, you know, from the first Velvet Underground album." Further, people inevitably associate the songs with her, and her with the songs. In Nico Icon, Nico’s aunt Helma Wolff listens to "I’ll Be Your Mirror" and says "This is just like her--dreaming and boundless." My older brother, from whom I first learned about the Velvet Underground (and Nico), told me that the song "Femme Fatale" had been written for and about her, and so many people have thought over the years?. I think that we all do this with pop music; we assume that the person singing is doing so about him or herself. In Nico’s case, it put into place an image that persisted throughout her life, mostly in contradiction to reality, and despite repeated protestations on her part. Consider these two quotes about her from the liner notes of The Velvet Underground and Nico: "And with the Velvets come [sic] the blonde, bland, beautiful Nico, another cooler Dietrich for another cooler generation"; "Nico, astonishing--the macabre face--so beautifully resembles a momento mori, the marvelous deathlike voice coming from the lovely blond head." These quotes emphasize her qualities as a mannequin, to use the French term. This is an association that Nico struggled to unburden herself from the rest of her life.
The Velvet Underground and Nico has entered the ranks of legendary albums. It almost always shows up on critics’ lists of the best albums of all time. Part of the reason is undoubtedly Nico. For one thing, probably the most-covered song on the album is "Femme Fatale." Her performance is often described as "deadpan," and so it is. She also conveys resignation, boredom, sadness, and just a hint of something more forceful. This last feature is inevitable, given how powerfully she tended to sing. On "All Tomorrow’s Parties," she is able to really belt it out (still in a deadpan way, though), while her performances on "Femme Fatale" and "I’ll Be Your Mirror" are much more restrained. In all of these songs, the coolness of her voice contrasts well with the "hot" sound of the Velvet Underground. But upon hearing her solo work, you realize how constrained she is on these recordings, and how little they prepare the way for later work.
Next page: Chelsea Girl
