Limited deluxe packaging. Vinyl LP pressing. Released 50 years ago in March 1967, The Velvet Underground & Nico - also referred to as the The Banana Album designed by Andy Warhol - is back on vinyl with the original peelable banana cover, gatefold jacket and back cover photo. An additional insert has been added for the 50th anniversary edition including a booklet of images and liner notes. The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in March 1967 by Verve Records. Accompanied by vocalist Nico, the album was recorded in 1966 while the group were featured on Andy Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, which gained attention for it's experimental performance sensibilities and controversial lyrical topics, including drug abuse, prostitution, sadism and masochism and sexual deviancy. Though the record was a commercial failure upon release and was almost entirely ignored by contemporary critics, The Velvet Underground & Nico is now widely recognized as one of the greatest and most influential albums in the history of popular music.