Examine individual changes

'{{Infobox album | name = Chelsea Girl | type = studio | artist = [[Nico]] | cover = NicoChelseaGirl.jpg | alt = | released = October 1967 | recorded = April–May 1967 | studio = [[Atlantic Studios#Technical Engineers|Mayfair Recording]], Manhattan | genre = * [[Folk rock]]<ref name="Unterberger">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-marble-index-mw0000309995 |title=Nico: ''The Marble Index''{{snd}} Review |last=Unterberger |first=Richie |author-link=Richie Unterberger |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=6 May 2021}}</ref> * [[baroque pop]]<ref name="AllMusic"/> * [[avant-pop]]<ref name= "Pitchfork Staff 2017">{{cite web|last= Pitchfork Staff |title= The 200 Best Albums of the 1960s |website= [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date= August 22, 2017 |url= https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/the-200-best-albums-of-the-1960s/|quote= ...Chelsea Girl is an even more accessible mix of pop and the avant-garde than the Velvet Underground had yet achieved.|accessdate= April 15, 2023}}</ref> * [[art rock]]<ref name= "Dimery 2005">{{cite book|first= Mary |last= Boukouvalas|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2005 |title= [[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]] |chapter= Nico - Chelsea Girl|publisher= [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell Illustrated]] |location= London |page= 99}}</ref> * [[experimental rock]]<ref name= "Dimery 2005">{{cite book|first= Mary |last= Boukouvalas|editor-first= Robert |editor-last= Dimery |year= 2005 |title= [[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]] |chapter= Nico - Chelsea Girl|publisher= [[Cassell (publisher)|Cassell Illustrated]] |location= London |page= 99}}</ref> | length = 45:04 | label = [[Verve Records|Verve]] | producer = [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] | prev_title = [[The Velvet Underground & Nico]] | prev_year = 1967 | next_title = [[The Marble Index]] | next_year = 1968 }} '''''Chelsea Girl''''' is the debut solo album and second studio album by German singer [[Nico]]. It was released in October 1967 by [[Verve Records]] and was recorded following Nico's collaboration with [[the Velvet Underground]] on [[The Velvet Underground & Nico|their 1967 debut studio album]]. ''Chelsea Girl'' was produced by [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]], who added string and flute arrangements against the wishes of Nico. The title is a reference to [[Andy Warhol]]'s 1966 film ''[[Chelsea Girls]]'', in which Nico starred. Much of the album features instrumental work and songwriting credits from Velvet Underground members [[Lou Reed]], [[Sterling Morrison]], and [[John Cale]]. The song "[[I'll Keep It with Mine]]" was written by [[Bob Dylan]], while three songs are by [[Jackson Browne]], who contributes guitar. ==Background== After collaborating as a singer with the Velvet Underground on their debut ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'' (recorded in 1966 and released in March of the following year), [[Warhol superstar]] Nico toured with the band in [[Andy Warhol]]'s [[Exploding Plastic Inevitable]] (EPI) [[multimedia]] roadshow. Before the EPI came to an end in 1967, Nico took up residence in a New York City coffeehouse as a solo [[folk music|folk]] chanteuse; accompanied in turn by guitarists, such as [[Tim Hardin]], [[Jackson Browne]], and also her Velvet Underground bandmates [[Lou Reed]], [[Sterling Morrison]] and [[John Cale]]. ==Composition== Some of the accompanists wrote songs for Nico to sing, and these form the backbone of ''Chelsea Girl''. Browne contributed "The Fairest of the Seasons", "These Days", and "Somewhere There's a Feather", while Hardin contributed "Eulogy to Lenny Bruce". "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" by Lou Reed was part of the earliest Velvet Underground repertoire (which did not surface as a Velvet Underground recording until it was included in the 1995 [[box set]] ''[[Peel Slowly and See]]''), and Reed, Cale and Morrison in various combinations contributed four more songs. Additionally, [[Bob Dylan]] gave her one of his songs to record: "I'll Keep It with Mine". Musically, ''Chelsea Girl'' can be described as a cross between chamber [[Folk music|folk]]<ref name="Unterberger"/> and 1960s [[baroque pop]].<ref name="AllMusic"/> The musical backing is relatively simple, consisting of one or two guitars or, alternatively, a [[keyboard instrument]], played by either Browne or (a combination of) her Velvet Underground colleagues, but there are no drums or bass instruments, hence the absence of Velvets drummer [[Maureen Tucker]], and adding to the chamber folk feel of the music are the string and flute overdubs added to the initial recordings by producer [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] and arranger [[Larry Fallon]] without involving or consulting Nico. ==Legacy== {{Album ratings | rev1 = [[AllMusic]] | rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="AllMusic">{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r14089}}</ref> | rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' | rev2score = 8.9/10<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/nico-chelsea-girl/ |title=Nico: Chelsea Girl |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=12 November 2017 |accessdate=12 November 2017 |last=Moreland |first=Quinn}}</ref> | rev3 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' | rev3score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071023013919/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/305240/review/5942658/chelseagirl Rolling Stone review]</ref> | rev4 = ''[[Trouser Press]]'' | rev4score = favorable<ref name="Trouser Press">{{cite web |url=http://www.trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=nico |title=TrouserPress.com :: Nico |last1=Isler |first1=Scott |last2=Robbins |first2=Ira |website=[[Trouser Press|TrouserPress.com]] |accessdate=July 5, 2016}}</ref> }} In retrospective 21st-century reviews, [[AllMusic]] described the album as "an unqualified masterpiece",<ref name="AllMusic"/> while ''[[Trouser Press]]'' commented that the album "is sabotaged by tepid arrangements and weak production" and is "of interest mainly for its links to the band Nico had just left."<ref name="Trouser Press"/> ''Chelsea Girl'' is listed the book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]'', in which Mary Boukouvalas writes: "The public were unprepared for Nico's experimental [[art-rock]] masterpieces and their melancholic ambience, and the album made little impression upon release. But its desolate beauty — and Nico's unique, provocative later work with John Cale — has fascinated subsequent generations", citing [[Patti Smith]] and [[Siouxsie Sioux]] as influenced artists.<ref name="Dimery 2005" /> Nico was dissatisfied with the finished product. Recalling the sessions in 1981, she stated: {{cquote|I still cannot listen to it, because everything I wanted for that record, they took it away. I asked for drums, they said no. I asked for more guitars, they said no. And I asked for simplicity, and they covered it in flutes!{{nbsp}}... They added strings and – I didn't like them, but I could live with them. But the flute! The first time I heard the album, I cried and it was all because of the flute.<ref>Nico quoted in Dave Thompson's [[liner note]]s for the 2002 ''Deluxe'' re-issue of ''[[The Velvet Underground & Nico]]'', which includes all five Velvet collaborations for ''Chelsea Girl''.</ref>}} ===In popular culture=== Two tracks from the album – "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days" – were used in [[Wes Anderson]]'s 2001 film ''[[The Royal Tenenbaums]]''. "The Fairest of the Seasons" was also used in [[Gus Van Sant]]'s 2011 film ''[[Restless (2011 film)|Restless]]'' and Yuri Kanchiku's 2022 drama ''[[First Love (2022 TV series)|First Love]]''. The song "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" was used in [[Andrew Dominik]]'s 2012 film ''[[Killing Them Softly]]''. [[The Tallest Man on Earth]] recorded a version of "The Fairest of the Seasons" for his 2022 album of covers, ''Too Late for Edelweiss''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-09-19 |title=The Tallest Man on Earth Announces New Covers Album Too Late for Edelweiss |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/the-tallest-man-on-earth-announces-new-covers-album-too-late-for-edelweiss/ |access-date=2022-09-24 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> ==Track listing== ===Side A=== {{Track listing | title1 = The Fairest of the Seasons | length1 = 4:06 | writer1 = [[Jackson Browne]], Gregory Copeland | title2 = [[These Days (Jackson Browne song)|These Days]] | length2 = 3:30 | writer2 = Browne | title3 = Little Sister | length3 = 4:22 | writer3 = [[John Cale]], [[Lou Reed]] | title4 = Winter Song | length4 = 3:17 | writer4 = Cale | title5 = It Was a Pleasure Then | length5 = 8:02 | writer5 = Reed, Cale, [[Nico]] }} ===Side B=== {{Tracklist | title1 = [[Chelsea Girls (song)|Chelsea Girls]] | length1 = 7:22 | writer1 = [[Lou Reed]], [[Sterling Morrison]] | title2 = [[I'll Keep It with Mine]] | length2 = 3:17 | writer2 = [[Bob Dylan]] | title3 = Somewhere There's a Feather | length3 = 2:16 | writer3 = [[Jackson Browne]] | title4 = Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams | length4 = 5:07 | writer4 = Reed | title5 = Eulogy to Lenny Bruce | length5 = 3:45 | writer5 = [[Tim Hardin]] }} ==Personnel== ===Musicians=== * [[Nico]]{{snd}}vocals * [[Jackson Browne]]{{snd}}guitars <small>(tracks A1–2, B2–3, B5)</small> * [[Lou Reed]]{{snd}}[[electric guitar]] <small>(tracks A3, A5, B1, B4)</small> * [[John Cale]]{{snd}}[[viola]], [[organ (music)|organ]], [[guitar]] <small>(tracks A3–5)</small> * [[Sterling Morrison]]{{snd}}[[electric guitar]] <small>(tracks B1, B4)</small> ===Technical=== * [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]]{{snd}}[[record producer|producer]] * [[Val Valentin]]{{snd}}director of engineering * [[Gary Kellgren]]{{snd}}recording and remix engineer * [[Larry Fallon]]{{snd}}string and flute arrangements * [[Billy Name]]{{snd}}photography * [[Paul Morrissey]]{{snd}}photography ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/chels.php?page=a Lyrics and liner notes] {{Nico}} {{Authority control}} [[Category:1967 debut albums]] [[Category:Albums arranged by Larry Fallon]] [[Category:Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer)]] [[Category:Folk rock albums by German artists]] [[Category:Nico albums]] [[Category:The Velvet Underground]] [[Category:Verve Records albums]] [[Category:Baroque pop albums]] [[Category:Avant-pop albums]] [[Category:Art rock albums by German artists]] [[Category:Experimental rock albums by German artists]]'