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The Velvet Underground — White Light/White Heat

What the critics heard when these records were new. Original reviews, release anniversaries and chart histories.

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First release · United States
Album cover: The Velvet Underground — White Light/White Heat (Original 1968 US Verve Records release (V6-5046) with black-on-black sleeve designed by Billy Name)
Cover source ↗Billy Name / The Velvet Underground / Verve Records
1968

The Velvet Underground

White Light/White Heat

experimental rocknoise rockproto punkart rockacid rock
Hostile review

The noise assault Melody Maker called pretentious and monotonous

Released in the US on 30 January 1968. A contemporary hostile review, alongside chart results with their dates.

The verdict at the time

Melody Maker wrote off the album as "utterly pretentious, unbelievably monotonous".

Melody Maker staff reviewer · Melody Maker ·

Read the contemporary review

Chart peaks

USA#199Billboard 2001968-03-16 · Original release periodChart source
UK#28UK Independent Albums Chart (OCC)2013-12-14 · Later chart entryChart source
Europe · Belgium#175Belgian Albums Chart (Ultratop Flanders)1968 · Original release periodChart source

European positions are listed by country. Later chart entries are labelled separately.

Sources & context

One critic's opinion, summarised from the original Melody Maker review of February 1968. The album is now ranked #272 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2020) and recognised as a foundational noise-rock and proto-punk document.

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