Velvet Underground Thread

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Thu Jan 19, 2012 10:00 pm

The Velvet's are one of the best/most influential bands ever, and while most rock heads I know love them, I don't see them mentioned on

too often. Sometimes they get overshadowed by Andy Warhol due to the close relationship he had with them and his influence on their aesthetic in the early years, but Lou Reed has always been an excellent songwriter and each of their 4 albums was completely different but dope in its own way.

Inspired by Roy's Dinosaur Jr. post in the 80's thread, I thought doing some classic band threads could be a good way to liven up the Rube. I'll start out of a profile of their first (and best) album The Velvet Underground and Nico from 1967 and follow up with subsequent albums later.

Warhol was a big part of the Velvet Underground at this point and recruited Nico to join the band. Nico would sing several of Lou's songs and tension developed between her and the band and ultimately between Warhol and the band. Everything works perfectly on this album though and she does a great job with Lou's songs, especially on Femme Fatale and I'll Be Your Mirror. This album captures a scene as well as any album I've ever heard. The Velvets were on the cutting edge of a movement in NY in '67 and the creativity jumps out of the speakers. Everything they play feels off the cuff, but layered and thoughtful at the same time.

Side one

1. "Sunday Morning" (Reed, Cale) ג 2:54
2. "I'm Waiting for the Man" ג 4:39
3. "Femme Fatale" ג 2:38
4. "Venus in Furs" ג 5:12
5. "Run Run Run" ג 4:22
6. "All Tomorrow's Parties" ג 6:00

Side two

7. "Heroin" ג 7:12
8. "There She Goes Again" ג 2:41
9. "I'll Be Your Mirror" ג 2:14
10. "The Black Angel's Death Song" (Reed, Cale) ג 3:11
11. "European Son" (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker) ג 7:46

I'm not going to break down every (amazing) song, but here's some of my favorites. Later in the thread I'll make a comp of some outtakes and b-sides I have.

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I'm Waiting for the Man
The best song about waiting for your drug dealer in harlem you'll ever hear. It's amazing how ahead of it's time this song was.

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Venus in Furs
"Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather"

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Heroin
It doesn't get any better than this...the dynamic shifts with the heartbeat drums speeding up and slowing down is so fucking cool. Lou's lyrics and delivery are perfect. Heeeeeeeeeeeeerroooooiiiiiin...White Boy Smack Soul.

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I'll Be Your Mirror
Such a simple song, but one of my all time favorites. Something about the lyric, the melody, and Nico's voice gets me every time. I think I have a version I'll try to find where Reed sings. The Nico version is better, but it's always cool to hear someone sing their own lyrics.

AWAE · Post by **AWAE** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 1:21 am

yep

finally some non-shitty music in here

Roy Johnson · Post by **Roy Johnson** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 10:59 am

Yeah, this is great shit. I'm gonna supplement this thread with some live Lou Reed from the early-to-mid 70s.

Fuzzy Logic · Post by **Fuzzy Logic** » Fri Jan 20, 2012 11:35 pm

these motherfuckers invented cool as far as i'm concerned

i'll be your mirror is one of my favourites

Dunnnnleavy · Post by **Dunnnnleavy** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:51 pm

this would be a prime thread for some live uploads

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Sat Jan 21, 2012 6:24 pm

White Light/White Heat

Side one

1. "White Light/White Heat" ג 2:47
2. "The Gift" (Reed, Morrison, Cale, Tucker) ג 8:18
3. "Lady Godiva's Operation" ג 4:56
4. "Here She Comes Now" (Reed, Morrison, Cale) ג 2:04

Side two

5. "I Heard Her Call My Name" ג 4:38
6. "Sister Ray" (Reed, Morrison, Cale, Tucker) ג 17:27

Released a year after their first album in 1968, White Light/White Heat is the definitive avant garde rock album in my opinion. Breaking free from Andy Warhol and Nico, the Velvets enlisted famed Dylan producer Tom Wilson. They didn't intend to reel in their sound though, instead making the album as jarring as their lives were at the time. This was multi-instrumentalist John Cale's last album with the group and he had a strong influence on it's sound. Recorded in only 2 days, the rawness of White Light/White Heat make it the Velvet's most influential album.

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White Light/White Heat
Driving catchy song all about speed.

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The Gift
This is where things start to get (awesomely) weird. You hear a hypnotic slow burning rock groove in your right ear (recognize the bass line anyone?) and an eight minute story about a guy mailing himself to his girlfriend in a box in your left ear. Having the balls to attempt a song like this is one thing, actually pulling it off and making it dope is another.

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Here She Comes
Best song about trying to make a chick come ever...Nirvana covered this too.

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Sister Ray
The definitive Velvet Jam. Lou Reed tells a nonsensical story about a transvestite smack dealer ("she's busy sucking on my ding-dong") while the band Jams on 3 chords for 17 minutes. There's several 30+ minute live versions of Sister Ray out there, I'll try to track one down.

Their self titled third album brought a new lineup and a new maturity, but White Light/White Heat was the Velvets in all their messy glory.

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 3:44 am

The Velvet Underground

Side one

1. "Candy Says" ג 4:04
2. "What Goes On" ג 4:55
3. "Some Kinda Love" ג 4:03
4. "Pale Blue Eyes" ג 5:41
5. "Jesus" ג 3:24

Side two

6. "Beginning to See the Light" ג 4:41
7. "I'm Set Free" ג 4:08
8. "That's the Story of My Life" ג 1:59
9. "The Murder Mystery" ג 8:55
10. "After Hours" ג 2:07

The Velvet Underground's self titled third album released in 1969 kept up their album a year pace, but everything else changed. John Cale left to pursue a more avant garde leaning career leaving Lou Reed in control of the group. While this album is probably my least favorite of the 4 classic Velvet albums, it almost feels like a Lou Reed solo album and it's singer/songwriter feel might disappoint fans of the prior albums at first, but Reed's songwriting is really top notch and gives the album a ton of replay value. Here's some of the best cuts-

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What Goes On
The best straight rock song on this album, great guitar solo.

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Pale Blue Eyes
Just a beautiful song, Lou Reed at his best as a singer/songwriter.

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Beginning To See The Light
"There are problems in these times...but Ohhhhh none of them are mine!"

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After Hours
Reed convinced drummer Maureen Tucker to sing this song he wrote to close out the album, another simple song triumph for the Velvets.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:25 am

great thread/great band.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:52 am

my favorite song is still upcoming

Dunnnnleavy · Post by **Dunnnnleavy** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 5:45 pm

"Sister Ray" is just a bonkers song.

is anyone familiar with some of the live material that's out there on vinyl? what's good?
like this...

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Sun Jan 22, 2012 6:45 pm

There's not any live recordings from their glory years ('67-'68). The one you posted may or may not be Reed's last appearance with the band and it is not an inspired performance.

This is the one to get-

Recorded in '69, the lineup unfortunately doesn't include John Cale.

While their live catalog is underwhelming, they have several high quality b-sides and unreleased songs as I mentioned earlier. After my profile for their last true album Loaded I'll post up a zip of the best of this material.

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 4:31 pm

Loaded

Side one

"Who Loves the Sun" ג 2:50
"Sweet Jane" ג 3:15
"Rock & Roll" ג 4:47
"Cool It Down" ג 3:05
"New Age" ג 4:39

Side two

"Head Held High" ג 2:52
"Lonesome Cowboy Bill" ג 2:48
"I Found a Reason" ג 4:15
"Train Round the Bend" ג 3:20
"Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" ג 7:23

The last Velvet Underground album, Loaded, was released in 1970. Drummer Maureen Tucker doesn't play on the album due to a pregnancy, leaving Lou Reed and guitarist Sterling Morrison as the only remaining original group members. Bassist Doug Yule, who earlier replaced John Cale, took on a bigger role within the group. This album received more radio play than previous albums thanks to hits "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll" and was really designed to be a hit album. It sounds more like the classic rock of the day than any of their other albums and you can even tell on certain tracks who they're trying to sound like. While I still rank this album as a classic, I feel it gets overrated by some. It's an easier listen than any of their 3 previous albums, but it's importance and creative impact is lower.

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Sweet Jane
This is the full version, which adds a bridge to the end of the song. Might be the most well known Velvet song.

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Rock And Roll
It is what is says, some GREAT guitar work on this one.

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I Found A Reason
A plush little ditty, Psychedelic love.

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Oh! Sweet Nuthin
My favorite song on Loaded. An epic rock song that's been covered countless times.

While the group didn't record anymore material, I have a bunch of outtakes, b-sides, and live tracks that I'll put together in a zip. Look out for that this weekend.

Dunnnnleavy · Post by **Dunnnnleavy** » Wed Jan 25, 2012 6:07 pm

i dont think i listened to two rock songs more during freshman year than "sweet jane" and "rock 'n roll".

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 2:10 am

He's the zip I promised earlier this week. Contains most of the Velvets essential out takes and live cuts. I got some demo's that I'll post up later too, but this is the choice stuff. These songs are also listed in chronological order as to when they were recorded and are all in apple lossless format-
http://www.fileserve.com/file/qq8e8wM/Unreleased Velvet.rar

Melody Laughter (Live) [Bonus Track]
It Was A Pleasure Then [Bonus Track]
Chelsea Girls [Bonus Track]
Guess I'm Falling In Love (Live) [Bonus Track]
Booker T. (Live) [Bonus Track]
Stephanie Says [Bonus Track]
Temptation Inside Your Heart [Bonus Track]
Hey Mr. Rain (Version One) [Bonus Track]
What Goes On (Live) [Bonus Track]
Foggy Notion [Bonus Track]
I Can't Stand It [Bonus Track]
I'm Sticking With You [Bonus Track]
One Of These Days [Bonus Track]
Lisa Says [Bonus Track]
It's Just Too Much (Live) [Bonus Track]
Countess From Hong Kong (Demo) [Bonus Track]
Satellite Of Love [Bonus Track]
Walk And Talk [Bonus Track]
Oh Gin [Bonus Track]
Sad Song [Bonus Track]
Ocean [Bonus Track]
Ride Into The Sun [Bonus Track]
Some Kinda Love (Live) [Bonus Track]
I'll Be Your Mirror (Live) [Bonus Track]
I Love You [Bonus Track]

Here's several of the highlights with my comments-

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Chelsea Girls
A haunting song Reed penned for Nico.

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I Guess Iגm Falling In Love (Live)
Awesome song that never made it onto an album. This live cut is the best version.

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Booker T. (Live)
Great instrumental jam that would be a precursor to the guitar fuzz of White Light/White Heat

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Foggy Notion
Love this fucking song, crazy that it was never on an official albumג¦same with גI Canגt Stand Itג.

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Countess From Hong Kong
This was just a throwaway demo, but it finds a way to get stuck in your head for days.

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Sad Song
A great country ballad that was left off of Loaded, not poppy enough I guess.

The live version of "What Goes On" is from Doug Yule's first appearance with the band in 1968. Lou's guitar work is insane and makes it one of my all time favorites. The live version of "I'll Be Your Mirror" is sung by Lou and is included on the live Max's KC album that Dunnnnleavy posted a pic of earlier. Melody Laughter gives a interesting peek into the early days of the Velvets where you can hear them as a group of experimental musicians trying to find their sound.

Dunnnnleavy · Post by **Dunnnnleavy** » Sun Jan 29, 2012 1:07 pm

nice. thanks.

LilLeftBrain · Post by **LilLeftBrain** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 12:48 am

that .zip looks fantastic. thanks

the brow · Post by **the brow** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:12 pm

Nico sounds like a crooning retard and basically ruins every song. Ding, fries are done -- terrible.

Dunnnnleavy · Post by **Dunnnnleavy** » Wed Feb 01, 2012 11:33 pm

im not a fan of Nico either.

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 12:15 am

the brow wrote:Nico sounds like a crooning retard and basically ruins every song. Ding, fries are done -- terrible.

Every song? She's on no more than a handful of songs of their entire catalog. If your referring to the .zip, after songs 2 and 3, no more Nico.

I think her voice has a unique charm to it, but I don't listen to her songs very often either.

the brow · Post by **the brow** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:06 am

Every song she's featured on, bork. Fortunately for all of us she's not bad enough to ruin songs she doesn't appear on (although she's close).

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 1:27 am

Not a bork. My point is that she means jack shit to the group in the grand scheme. She's too insignificant to ruin anything, especially when she didn't write lyrics or play any instruments.

Radio Raheem · Post by **Radio Raheem** » Thu Feb 02, 2012 5:33 am

LilLeftBrain wrote:that .zip looks fantastic. thanks

the brow · Post by **the brow** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:21 am

[img]http://www.spikednation.com/sites/default/files/emvideo-youtube-B7UmUX68KtE.jpg[/img] wrote:Nut a bork. My pueent is thet she-a meuns jeck sheet tu zee gruoop in zee grund scheme-a. She's tuu inseegnifficunt tu rooeen unytheeng, ispeceeelly vhee she-a deedn't vreete-a lyreecs oor pley uny instrooments. Bork Bork Bork!

unclebengi · Post by **unclebengi** » Fri Feb 03, 2012 12:47 am

Was that really worth the effort?

I'm a hick yo, diametric opposite of a bork. Contribute or GTFO homes.