The Velvet Underground’s debut LP received mixed reviews at release

Evidence

The Chelsea Girls was still playing when the Velvet Underground LP was released. Response was mixed. Admitting that the Velvets were not easy to like, that their album was derivative and often dull, ending with two cuts, “Black Angel’s Death Song” and “European Son,” that were “pretentious to the point of misery,” Richard Goldstein appreciated Nico’s “harrowing” voice and acknowledged the band’s significance. “Heroin” was “seven minutes of genuine twelve-tone rock ’n’ roll.” — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 972