New York, though this contradicts the record's liner notes. The album's closing song, "After Hours", has a rare solo lead vocal by Tucker, requested by Reed as he felt the sweet, innocent quality of her voice fit the song's mood better than his own. Tucker was nervous while recording the track, and after eight takes made everyone leave except herself, Reed, and Valentin. After she finished her take, she said that she wouldn't sing it live unless someone requested it. Reed recorded multiple guitar solos for "What Goes On"; when Valentin commented on how they were running out of track space, the band ultimately decided to keep all of them, as Reed could not decide which one sounded better. When Reed did his own mix for the album—which drowned out other backing parts except his vocals—Morrison and Tucker were annoyed. Morrison described the final product as "anti-production". Music and lyrics The restraint and subtlety of the album was a significant departure from the direct abrasiveness of White Light/White Heat. It reduced their previous effort's explicit sexual references, horror, and references to drugs, replacing those with discussions of religion, love, and loneliness. Music critic Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune characterized it as folk rock, and Rolling Stone magazine's Troy Carpenter said that it focused on mellow, melodic rock. According to music journalist Steve Taylor, The Velvet Underground is a pop album because of its more accessible songs and "has been called Lou Reed with a backing band due to the emphasis placed on songs rather than experimental sound work." Biographer Richie Unterberger commented on its dramatic shift in sound: "Having made perhaps the loudest album of all time, it's almost as if they've now decided to make the world's quietest LP." Reed said that all of the songs on the album were in order and complement each other, elaborating in an interview with Howard Smith:There were certain questions stated in the opening song... and then it was delineated, you know, through various phases.... it ended with 'Jesus,' saying now help me do this, man.... And then after you went through all... from here to here, which is like what an average person goes through, you're faced with like 'The Murder Mystery,' which is a total reversal of everything. Because you shouldn't be faced with that, but you were. Just like on the other albums... people didn't catch [the track order].