Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)

"Femme Fatale" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, with lead vocals by Nico.[1]

"Femme Fatale"
Single b/w "Sunday Morning"
Single by the Velvet Underground and Nico
from the album The Velvet Underground & Nico
A-side"Sunday Morning"
Released
  • December 1966 (1966-12) (single)
  • March 1967 (album)
RecordedApril 1966
StudioScepter,[1] New York City
GenrePop[2]
Length2:35
LabelVerve
Songwriter(s)Lou Reed
Producer(s)Andy Warhol
The Velvet Underground and Nico singles chronology
"All Tomorrow's Parties" / "I'll Be Your Mirror"
(1966)		 "Femme Fatale" / "Sunday Morning"
(1966)		 "White Light/White Heat" / "Here She Comes Now"
(1968)

Background

The song was composed in the key of C major.[3] At the request of Andy Warhol, band frontman Lou Reed wrote the song about Warhol superstar Edie Sedgwick. According to Reed, Warhol said when asked what he should write about her: "Oh, don't you think she's a femme fatale, Lou?", so Reed wrote "Femme Fatale".[4][5]

The song was recorded with vocals by Nico.[1] Guitarist Sterling Morrison said of the song:

"Femme Fatale"—she [Nico] always hated that.[nasal voice] Nico, whose native language is minority French, would say "The name of this song is 'Fahm Fatahl'." Lou and I would sing it our way. Nico hated that. I said, "Nico, hey, it's my title, I'll pronounce it my way".[6]

"Femme Fatale" was recorded at the Scepter Studios in New York in April 1966 while the studio was still under construction.[1][7] It was released as a B-Side to "Sunday Morning" in December 1966.[8] The following year it was included in their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. A 1969 live recording of the song was included in Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes released in 2001.[1]

Critical reception

AllMusic critic Mark Deming thought that "Femme Fatale" was among the four best songs on the album.[9] American music journalist Stephen Davis called "Femme Fatale" a beautiful song that portrays the vivid, conflicted and emotional undercurrents of 1966.[10]  

Personnel

References
  1. Davis Inman (October 31, 2011). "The Velvet Underground And Nico, "Femme Fatale"". American Songwriter.
  2. A. Zak, The Velvet Underground Companion: Four Decades of Commentary (Music Sales Group, 22 Dec 2000), ISBN 0825672422, p. 78.
  3. "Femme Fatale". Musicnotes.
  4. Michael Heatley, Frank Hopkinson (24 November 2014). The Girl in the Song: The Real Stories Behind 50 Rock Classics. ISBN 9781909396883.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
  5. Bockris, Victor (1994). Transformer: The Lou Reed Story. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 107. ISBN 0-684-80366-6. Andy said I should write a song about Edie Sedgwick. I said 'Like what?' and he said 'Oh, don't you think she's a femme fatale, Lou?' So I wrote 'Femme Fatale' and we gave it to Nico. (Lou Reed)
  6. Joe Harvard (31 March 2004). The Velvet Underground's The Velvet Underground and Nico. pp. 98–100. ISBN 9780826415509.
  7. The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion. Canongate Books. 2007. p. 80. ISBN 978-1841959733.
  8. Maximum Rock 'n' Roll. 1994.
  9. Mark Deming. "The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground & Nico".
  10. Stephen Davis (2005). Jim Morrison: LIfe, Death, Legend. Penguin Publishing Group. ISBN 9781101218273.

 

 

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