The Velvet Underground — and Nico: The Banana Album on 24k Gold

The Banana Album on 24k Gold — the Vault Deep Dive on The Velvet Underground — and Nico (1967).

The Story

By 1966, a New York band led by Lou Reed and John Cale had fallen under the wing of Andy Warhol, who folded them into his multimedia show, the Exploding Plastic Inevitable. Warhol, credited as producer, pushed a German model and singer named Nico onto three tracks, over some internal grumbling. The record arrived in early 1967 to modest sales and mixed press, overshadowed by the flower-power tide it stood squarely against. It sold poorly at first, yet its reputation grew slowly, deliberately, until it became one of the most quietly influential debuts in rock history.

The Sound

This is an album of extremes held in one frame. There are gentle, folk-tinged songs sung in delicate melody, and there are pieces built on drone, feedback, and unblinking subject matter. Cale's viola and keyboards give the harder material its scraping, hypnotic edge, while Reed's plainspoken delivery treats difficult themes with reportorial calm. Maureen Tucker's drumming, often standing, often mallet-driven, strips rhythm to a pulse. The dynamic swings from lullaby tenderness to grinding chaos, sometimes within a single track. Nico's low, accented voice adds a third color entirely, cool and detached against the band's downtown grit.

The Sessions

The core sessions took place in New York in the spring of 1966, with additional work in Los Angeles later that year. Tom Wilson, who had worked with Dylan and Simon and Garfunkel, handled key production duties and is credited alongside Warhol. The recording captured the band largely as a live unit, with limited overdubbing, preserving the raw immediacy of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable era. Release was delayed into 1967, partly by cover complications. An early sleeve featured a photograph that led to a lawsuit, forcing the album's withdrawal and reissue, an event now prized by collectors.

The Legacy

The often-repeated line is that few people bought it, but nearly everyone who did started a band. Whether literally true, it captures how deeply this record seeded punk, art-rock, and countless underground scenes for decades. It reframed what a rock album could address and how ugly and beautiful it could sound at once. Reed and Cale would both build towering careers, and the band's small catalog became gospel. Today it sits near the top of essentially every serious critical canon, a commercial failure that outlasted its era's hits and rewrote the rulebook for everyone who came after.

What the pressing tells us

The part most listings skip. This is how we grade and how you can tell copies apart:

• This is the Mobile Fidelity 24k Gold Disc edition, a US audiophile CD reissue.
• MFSL's gold-disc series aimed to preserve maximum fidelity from original master tapes.
• Gold-plated reflective layer chosen for long-term stability over standard aluminum.
• This copy grades Near Mint, ideal for the format's careful collector market.

Session file

• Core sessions recorded in New York, spring 1966.
• Additional recording done in Los Angeles later that year.
• Tom Wilson handled key production; Warhol credited as producer.
• Band captured largely live with minimal overdubbing.
• Release delayed into 1967 by cover and legal issues.

Who played on it

• Lou Reed — Guitar, vocals
• John Cale — Viola, keyboards, bass
• Sterling Morrison — Guitar, bass
• Maureen Tucker — Percussion, drums
• Nico — Vocals on three tracks

Vault Trivia

1. Which Warhol multimedia show featured the band during this album's era?

1. Exploding Plastic Inevitable
2. Merry Pranksters Acid Test
3. The Fillmore Happenings
4. Trips Festival

Reveal the answer

Exploding Plastic Inevitable — The Exploding Plastic Inevitable toured Warhol's films, lights, and dancers around the band.

2. Which producer, credited alongside Warhol, had worked with Dylan?

1. Tom Wilson
2. Phil Spector
3. Bob Johnston
4. Shel Talmy

Reveal the answer

Tom Wilson — Tom Wilson also produced Simon and Garfunkel and early Dylan electric sessions.

3. What forced the album's early withdrawal and reissue?

1. A back-cover photo lawsuit
2. A banana peel copyright
3. A mislabeled track order
4. A censored song title

Reveal the answer

A back-cover photo lawsuit — A photo of an actor on the rear sleeve triggered legal action, prompting revision.

4. On how many tracks does Nico sing lead?

1. Three
2. One
3. Five
4. Two

Reveal the answer

Three — Warhol pushed Nico onto three songs despite some resistance within the band.

5. Which band member frequently drummed while standing during this period?

1. Maureen Tucker
2. Sterling Morrison
3. Angus MacLise
4. John Cale

Reveal the answer

Maureen Tucker — Tucker often played standing with mallets, favoring a primal, tom-heavy pulse over cymbals.

Come spin the real thing at the vault, where the counter's always open.

Rare Collectibles Chicago grades and photographs every copy in-house — 20 years, 25,000+ sales. Browse the vault.