Iggy Pop, Sharon Van Etten, Michael Stipe, St. Vincent, Matt Berninger and many more are all set to contribute to a new tribute album to The Velvet Underground & Nico.
- ORDER NOW: The Beatles are on the cover of the September 2021 issue of Uncut
- READ MORE: A Velvet Underground playlist
The 1967 album paired the Lou Reed-fronted New York rock legends with German singer Nico, and became one of the most lauded albums of all time.
On September 24, Verve Records – the original home of The Velvet Underground – will release I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico, which will feature every song on the album covered by an array of stars. The album was produced by the late Hal Willner, Lou Reed’s dear friend who died last year, making it the final album he ever worked on.
Joining the names above will be Fontaines D.C., King Princess, Courtney Barnett, Thurston Moore, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Bird and Kurt Vile, the latter of whom has shared his version of “Run Run Run” yesterday (July 14) to announce the album.
“I literally covered ‘Run Run Run’ when I was a kid, in my late teens with my band at the time,” Vile, who recently signed to Verve Records himself, said in a statement.
“So it was pretty cosmic, let’s say. There is a direct connection to certain indie bands and beyond w/ the Velvets. That’s why the Velvets are a classic. You know it can have doo-wop in there and things like that, but it can also have this jagged noisy thing, and it immediately let me feel like I could do anything.
“The possibilities are endless. You’re completely free. Unapologetic and effortless.”
Listen to the cover and see the tracklisting for I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute To The Velvet Underground & Nico below. Pre-orders for the album are available here.
1. “Sunday Morning” – Michael Stipe
2. “I’m Waiting For The Man” – Matt Berninger
3. “Femme Fatale”– Sharon Van Etten (w/ Angel Olsen on backing vocals)
4. “Venus In Furs” – Andrew Bird & Lucius
5. “Run Run Run” – Kurt Vile & The Violators
6. “All Tomorrow’s Parties” – St. Vincent & Thomas Bartlett
7. “Heroin” – Thurston Moore feat. Bobby Gillespie
8. “There She Goes Again” – King Princess
9. “I’ll Be Your Mirror” – Courtney Barnett
10. “The Black Angel’s Death Song” – Fontaines D.C.
11. “European Son” – Iggy Pop & Matt Sweeney
Meanwhile, The Velvet Underground were recently subject to a new documentary from Todd Haynes.
In our first-look review of The Velvet Underground, which came out this month, we wrote: “Director Todd Haynes is looking at the band from the perspective of a fellow artist rather than an archivist. The director of I’m Not There is trying to understand what the Velvets achieved rather than laying out the facts of where and when they did it. Which is just as well, because the Velvets story is famously slippery.”