The Velvet Underground is the third studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released in March 1969 by MGM Records, it was their first record with multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule, who replaced previous member John Cale. Recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, California, the album's sound—consisting largely of ballads and straightforward rock songs—marked a notable shift in style from the band's previous recordings. Lead vocalist Lou Reed intentionally did this as a result of their abrasive previous studio album White Light/White Heat. Reed wanted other band members to sing on the album; Yule contributed lead vocals to the opening track "Candy Says" and the closing track "After Hours" is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker. Thematically, The Velvet Underground discusses love, contrasting previous releases from the band. Reed devised its track order and based his songwriting upon relationships and religion. "Pale Blue Eyes" has been hailed as one of his best love songs, although "The Murder Mystery" is noted for its experimentation in a call-back to White Light/White Heat. From Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Vel...) under Creative Commons Attribution CC-BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...)