The Velvet Underground (1969), the group's third album, was a big departure from their previous work. John Cale had left the band at this point, and no time was wasted in getting his replacement, Doug Yule, into the game: he sings the opening track, the majestic "Candy Says", the song that sets the stage for the rest of the album. It incorporates themes and images concerned with loneliness, disappointment, moral decision-making and transcendence. The chord progression is both very unusual and very natural (not an easy combination to achieve): D/ F# minor/ F major/ B7/ E minor/ A7/ D/ A. The F major chord, which occurs between "...says" and "I've come to hate my body" provides a highly chromatic moment that gives the melody a strong feeling of direction - which continues throughout the song. The sound of the album, which also takes its cue from the first track, is completely counter to White Light/White Heat. Here, the band was looking for beauty - and they found it. The lyrics, the melodies, the playing, the instrumentation (which features a lot of acoustic guitar) and above all, the honesty - beautiful is the only word for it. It is without question one of the greatest rock albums ever made, and it never entered Billboard's Top 200. (As was written on a sticker on one of Joe Strummer's guitars: "Ignore Alien Orders".)