NICO

NICO

John Neilson

To many people, the name Nico sounds naked or incomplete without the prefix “The Velvet Underground &...

Over the years the image of the tall blonde model—one-time consort of Jim Morrison and Jackson Browne—has become inextricably linked with the Velvets’ legend, and her part in the Warhol circus has cast a shadow over everything she has done since. While this connection has guaranteed her an audience for her own idiosynchratic solo career, it has also dogged her with comparisons.

Of all her solo albums, only the first, Chelsea Girls, bears any real resemblance to the Velvets (it should—they provided much of the music for her on it). From there, Nico and her long-time producer/arranger John Cale struck out into a parched musical landscape that is totally her own, defining it with a trio of albums entitled Marble Index, Desertshore, and The End. Combining intricate and abstract arrangements with a moaning, wailing voice that hints of her part-German/ part-Turkish background, these LPs sound timeless and instantly recognizable.

The early years of this decade found her going for a hackneyed garage-band sound, but the results on vinyl and in concert were little more than embarrassing. The thiniy-veiled attempt to go for Velvettype grit only served to fuel suspicions that Nico was playing up her history in an effort to cash in. Two of her most recent works—Camera Obscura and Behind The Iron Curtain—fared much better, layering a warm, undulating electronics-and-percussion groove beneath That Voice.

“You know,” she says of Camera Obscura, “I would have gone to the Amazon to record it.. . the Amazon Jungle... because of the rhythm section. I wanted just a whole bunch of Amazon drumming. You’re supposed to have a heart attack...”

The idea of any sort of rhythmic percussion on a Nico LP will no doubt surprise old fans used to the stark desert textures of her old work, which often was little more than her voice and the melancholy wheeze of her trusty harmonium. Though the dressing of her songs may change with time, those two elements will probably always be there.

“I wouldn’t want to change my vital instrument. .. ” she offers, in a voice that tends to drift off in the middle of a thought, only to find the train again just when you’ve gone on to the next question.

“I wouldn’t want to change it. My manager said that the other day, ‘Why don’t you try another instrument?’ I don’t think I want to. Not that it’s not original... no one else plays it besides myself, eh? I mean in Western countries... it’s an Indian organ, right?”

It may all seem pretty remote from the Velvet Underground—until you remember that there was a band that knew a good drone when they heard one. Nico herself seems ambivalent about her role in the Velvets and the way it is perceived. In our talk, she took pains to point out how she only sang three of their songs, although in concert she’ll often drag out an old Velvets number—one She didn’t even sing in the first place—and subject it to her inimitable treatment. How does she feel, I asked, about being forever associated with them on the basis of those three tracks?

“Oh, that’s quite normal, I would say..And she does, with just a hint of sarcasm.

While the comparisons can be oppressive, they also work in her favor, for with each new generation of VU fans there is also a new generation discovering Nico.

”... and they’re getting younger each time! It makes me wonder, because now they are, like, 15-year-olds! They follow me around, too, write me letters.. .they are very beautiful boys... but I’m of course not interested. It’s a solitary life.”

It is easy to get the idea that her life is not only solitary but also changeless, timeless. The hair is no longer golden, and the cheekbones no longer look as if they were carved of ivory, but so much else seems the same.

“I guess I haven’t changed at all. I’m just standing still, you know. I’ve not changed in 18 years. Since I gave up drinking I haven’t changed... ’cause that’s really bad for you. I used to be an alcoholic. All the fights that I used to get in, all the troubles and fights.. .One time I couldn’t get back to America for seven years because I hit a girl’s eye... at the Chelsea Hotel... I hit her in the eye with a glass, she had 17 stitches... But that’s, like, 14 years ago or even more. Ever since I stopped drinking I’ve been staying out of trouble.”

She’s no longer a Chelsea Girl, but the name is still Nico.

Just Nico.