Loaded is the fourth studio album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in November 1970 by Atlantic Records subsidiary Cotillion.

"[10] Reed also felt snubbed by being listed third in the album's sleve credits, and by the large photo of Yule playing piano.

Later releases satisfied many of Reed's concerns: he was acknowledged as the main songwriter and listed at the top of the band line-up and, the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See contains mixes of his full versions of "Sweet Jane", "Rock & Roll" and "New Age".

Although she is credited on the sleeve, the album does not feature long term Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker, as she was pregnant at the time.

"[11] Sterling Morrison had strong feelings about Yule's increased presence on Loaded, saying: "The album came out okay, as far as production it's the best, but it would have been better if it had real good Lou vocals on all the tracks."

While Morrison contributed guitar tracks to the album, he was also attending City College of New York and juggling his time between the sessions and classes, leaving most of the creative input to Reed and Yule.

[13] Original copies of the album do not contain a gap between the first two songs, "Who Loves the Sun" and "Sweet Jane", with the first note of the latter being heard at the moment the former fades.

The artwork was designed by Stanislaw Zagorski,[14] features a drawing of the Times Square–42nd Street subway station entrance, with "downtown" misspelled as "dowtown".

[26] In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau said the music was genuinely rock and roll but also "really intellectual and ironic", with Reed's singing embodying the paradox.

Loaded was compiled on the fifth disc of the comprehensive, five-year-spanning box set Peel Slowly and See, which was released on September 26, 1995, by Polydor Records.

The disc features longer running versions of "Sweet Jane", "Rock & Roll", and "New Age" as well as demos, outtakes and live performances.

[34] The set contains a 23 page booklet authored by music journalist David Fricke, and also features unseen session photographs of the band.