Jazz Articles about Puttin' On The Ritz

Puttin' On The Ritz: White Light / White Heat

by Bruce Lindsay
July 17, 2010

The Velvet Underground's White Light / White Heat (Verve, 1968) was an antidote to insipid pop and a stark contrast to the happier, more optimistic sounds of many West Coast rock bands. Its tales of death, depravity and despair are classics. Puttin' On The Ritz's re-visioning of the entire album--which is available on vinyl and as a download--remains true to the adventure and inventiveness of the original but paints some very different musical pictures. There are, of ...