Nico - Chelsea Girl (1967), 5/10

Nico’s solo debut is clearly an effort to extend and develop what she brought to her project with the Velvet Underground while continuing to collaborate with the band. She had not separated herself from the ethos of the movement in any way, meaningful or otherwise, rather creating what is ultimately a mediocre album, albeit one that is rather enjoyable. The quality in songwriting steadily declines as it progresses, peaking with the introductory "The Fairest of the Seasons" and "These Days". The biggest mistake outside of composition, spread across both sides, is in the arrangements that suffer from misguided attempts to manufacture and progressively create tension with subjectively dissonant sounds. Most of these come across as contrived rather than organic songs. Nico herself sounds like an artist finding her voice, or being limited by her cohort, rather than in her element, although this would thankfully and invariably be the case with the earth shattering The Marble Index a little over a year later. There are some moments mixed into otherwise unimpressive songs that allow a glimpse into what make her a unique and special artist, however, such as her sonic and vocal exploration during “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” or parts of “It Was a Pleasure Then” before it structurally and thematically devolves. Chelsea Girl is only significant for its status as a historical follow up and precursor to greater albums, not standing on its own as anything particularly interesting, effective, or musically memorable.