Roses in the Snow

I've recently tripped over the fact that most people don't seem to know who Nico was. Her principle claim to fame was probably the work she did with Velvet Underground, during the time Andy Warhol was working with the band. In particular her singing on the song "All Tomorrows Parties" gets mentioned.

Her first solo record was completely in the hands of the record label. She hated it. They turned it into a fairly typical pop album of the day (late 1960s), even adding strings and flutes. She said it made her cry to listen to it.

With her 2nd solo album, she wrote her own songs, played a very dissonant harmonium, abandoned the bleached-blonde look of a pop artist, went to red hair and dressed all in black. (She is sometimes called the first Goth Chick because of this change.) It would be nearly 10 more years before she went back to her natural dark brown.

The song usually often mentioned from that album is "Facing the Wind." But I think that song would be a very difficult introduction to Nico's work for most people. Not that most people will find today's song "easy to listen to." But then most people have trouble with anything they didn't listen to in high school.

This song is "Roses in the Snow" by Nico from her 1968 album The Marble Index.