Nico – The Marble Index (Vinyl)

Nico immediately embarked on a solo recording career after splitting with the Velvet Underground and had an unfulfilling experience making her debut album ‘Chelsea Girl‘.

For The Marble Index, she seized control of the recording process, determined that her vision be more fully realized on her second LP. Writing all of the songs and enlisting Velvet Underground’s band mate John Cale’s playing and production assistance, Nico created a dark, stripped-down atmosphere that was a million miles from Top 40.

Centered around her signature harmonium playing, the songs have a stark, Gothic quality that profoundly affected listeners. For the albums haunting final track, Evening of Light, she enlisted Elektra labelmates Iggy & the Stooges to appear in a promotional video clip for the song, shot behind their house in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Nico’s haunting vocals predicted the Gothic movement and co-producer and John Cale’s startingly modern classical production ensured The Marble Index’s timeless appeal. The iconic music journalist Lester Bangs wrote, The Marble Index is the greatest piece of ‘avant-garde classical’, ‘serious’ music of the last half of the 20th century so far,.

1968’s The Marble Index, & third solo album, 1970’s Desertshore, have long been out of print. These reissues include audio mastered from the original tapes and previously unreleased photos of Nico by Guy Webster.

Tracklist:
A1. Prelude
A2. Lawns Of Dawns
A3. No One Is There
A4. Ari’s Song
A5. Facing The Wind
B1. Julius Caesar (Memento Hodie)
B2. Frozen Warnings
B3. Evening Of Light