Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, St Vincent Cover The Velvet Underground
Iggy Pop, Michael Stipe, St Vincent, Kurt Vile and Sharon Van Etten are among the artists featured on I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground & Nico, released 24 September on Verve Records. The album also features Matt Berninger of The National, Angel Olsen, Andrew Bird & Lucius, Thurston Moore featuring Bobby Gillespie, King Princess, Courtney Barnett, Fontaines DC and Matt Sweeney. It was executive-produced by the late Hal Willner, which makes it the last album the producer worked on before his death in 2020.
Kurt Vile spoke to Rolling Stone about the band’s influence on him and his music, “Lou Reed/the Velvet Underground were probably my earliest classic rock influence. I loved it. The first time I heard them, I’m sure I was probably stoned. When you hear music like that, so organic and raw, but you know, so confident, all those things combined, [it’s] so cool. So unapologetic. It just has an effect on you that you can’t even necessarily detect at the moment. The beauty of the Velvet Underground is that the possibilities are endless. You’d never knew until you showed up that day and started playing what exactly it was going to sound like. That’s the beauty of that kind of music. Reacting in the moment. That’s a big part of what I love about the Velvet Underground.”
“The VU are a fundamental part of Verve’s history, and their fearless approach and musical integrity continue to inspire all of us at the label,” head of Verve Records Jamie Krents said in a statement. “We were so lucky to partner with the late Hal Willner to pay tribute to the band’s iconic first album. It’s an absolute honor to have every one of these artists on a Verve recording and we hope this album finds a welcome place in the record collections of VU fans new and old.”