NICO - THE MARBLE INDEX

Released: 29/03/24

Two of the most exciting reissues of 2024, Nico’s seminal second and third solo records – 1968's The Marble Index, and 1970's Desertshore – have long been out of print, and thus have for too long been overshadowed by the German artist and Velvet Underground member’s first LP, Chelsea Girls (1967). Of course, the debut is a wonderful collection of haunting baroque pop/chamber folk tracks, but it is LPs two and three that are the masterpieces of Nico’s career, being as they are two of the most important avant-garde records ever committed to vinyl.

Importantly, rather than performing the songs of others, as on Chelsea Girls, on The Marble Index and Desertshore it is Nico alone who writes the words and music, revealing her to be an artist of the highest calibre. John Cale, too, does some of the best work of his life on the records, escaping the long shadow cast by Lou Reed, with his truly incredible string arrangements on the former, and bravura co-production and multi-instrumentation on the latter. Both sonically, viscerally thrilling and intellectually stimulating, The Marble Index and Desertshore are timeless in the truest sense of the word, taking the listener on a thrilling journey that spans eons.