Velvet Underground Trainspotting Question

UPDATE: My speaker wire was connected to the right main and right remote outputs. I fixed the problem.

I'd like to thank everyone who was with me from the beginning, without your help this project may have never been completed. I'm confident that with the teamwork displayed in the last couple of days our dream of sending an ex-member of the Velvet Underground to the moon will soon become a reality.

This seems as good a place as any to ask this question ... has anybody bought that new VU seven inch singles thing that Sundazed just put out? I don't really want to buy it, BUT: the mix of "I Heard Her Call My Name" is apparently vastly different. Would like to hear this ... mp3 anywhere?

haha I was wondering which thread to revive to discuss the "Nuns Are On The Seawall" blog...

i.e Velvets bootlegs S/D

the 'Ultimate Mono and Acetates Album' has some of those singles but not all. it does have the mono WL/WH which is really different at least on Lady Godiva's Operation, I guess I should listen to it. that may be the version of "Call My Name" you refer to.

also loving:

the Pre-VU Preview, all the demos of early 60's Reed/Cale pop music
Problems In Urban Living (Cleveland 68)
CDs from a certain minimalist composr who shall remain anonymous

Yeah, I've got that Ultimate Mono Acetates thing -- from what I understand, this mix of "Heard" is unheard until now? Less of Lou's guitar, more of the band. Or something ... But anyway -- yeah! Pre-VU is crazy, really incredible. Drop in some references to methamphetamine and "Do The Ostrich" could be on White Light/White Heat, easy. Crazy that, according to the Unterberger VU Day By Day book, there's a solo version of "Heroin" recorded during the Pickwick era. Probably sounds similar to the versions on the 1st disc of "Peel Slowly" but I'd still love to hear it.

I've got it on order, will let you know...

Cool!
Someone over on the Velvet Forum sez: "the mix of I Heard Her Call My Name is insane. At first I thought that there was a mistake in the pressing as Lou's opening vocals ("here comes count down...' ) are way down in the mix and actually sound muffled. Then they pick up a little with 'Ever since...'. Sterling's guitar is up and so it Cale's bass. For the first 30 seconds or so it sounds like a kind of lo-fi garage sound and then later the sound gets bigger with more of the impact we know. But overall the balance is restored so that you can hear Sterling's lovely rhythm guitar work and Cale's bass, which is really great. Cale's bass sound is amazing on this mix and then also makes you realised how low the bass is in the mix on most of the White Light LP."

Hmm
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847833550/ref=pe_5050_13305760_snp_dp
$189
Little bit annoying that they're putting out all of this collector-bait stuff these days and not putting out unreleased stuff. Or barely any unreleased stuff.

A while ago, I did my own mix of "Heard Her Call My Name" with less Lou and more of the band just for fun, anyone can do it

ysi?

From that Velvet Forum, here's a list of uncirculated VU stuff that seems to actually exist.

-The demo tape Cale took to England
-Summit High School tape
-Bizarre footage
-Delmonico´s tape
-Boston Tea Party footage(any news on this, by the way?)
-La Cave 68 tape
-Hippodrome 68 tape
-Nelson Video tape 70
-Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island
-May 11, 1965 Pickwick Studios, near Long Island City, New York
-Donald Jackson VU footage
-Danny Williams VU footage
-The Primitives tape
-Ronald Nameth Vu footage
-Matrix Tapes
-Seattle 69 tape

I don't know how to do that! (xp)

-The demo tape Cale took to England

I'd be surprised if this still existed! Very! The Matrix Tapes is what we want!!!!!

xpost

what the hell is that? a 304-page hardback book, yeah, but what about the single with it?

hate it when Amazon has no info about the product.

and hey that Seattle 69 show is on the Nuns Are On The Seawall blog, it's listed as Retinal Circus. first new show (to me) to surface since the Gymnasium.

!!! Had no idea ... Thanks! Is it good?

more from that Velvet Forum:
-the full Gymnasium tape
-the cale/sterling/reed rehearsals from cale loft 1966
-uncut recent Factory 66 tape

here's a list of uncirculated VU stuff that seems to actually exist.

i'm still hoping that footage of them on Upbeat! shows up somewhere. Lots of clips from that show are in circulation, but considering they made a handful of appearances i'm surprised nothing's around. About one of the shows: "The Velvets performed live on the Upbeat TV show in June 1968 (not June 1967). Moreover, contrary to Sterling Morrison's recollection, they performed a blistering, buzzsaw version of Run Run Run. Their rendition of Run Run Run went beyond their alloted time: thus, Upbeat cut away to a commercial while the Velvets were engaged in feedback frenzy with Lou's back to the camera."

that would be awesome. There was some comment (I think from Moe Tucker) that she couldn't believe, with all the cameras the Warhol crew had going all the time, no one just filmed a straight ahead version of one of the EPI shows.

Is it good?

here's wl/wh:

http://www.sendspace.com/file/8j4j7c

it's a soundboard!!! the only one I know of besides those Matrix tapes. as a result the vox are too loud and the guitars a bit subdued, but the overall recording is much clearer. I still think Problems In Urban Living (Cleveland Oct. 68) is my favorite live boot, love the guitar sound on that.

that's a flac btw

Already downloading from The Nuns site ... So weird that this stuff just keeps showing up. One thing I'm super interested in (that hasn't seen the light of day afaik) is a studio version of "Beginning to See the Light" with Cale.

WHAT????!??!

those Velvets Forum trainspotters mean business man.

http://www.paulvates.com/images/gatwickshuttle.jpg

But yeah, the "Beginning" with Cale is mentioned in the Unterberger book - recorded at the "Mr. Rain" session apparently? With "fuzz bass"? There was talk of it appearing on a projected WL/WH "deluxe edition, I think. Which never came out obv.

LOL, yeah, obv.

But ... maybe now that this singles set has come out, there's a chance of more VU material coming out officially? I think I read that Lou wasn't into having any more live stuff come out.

Hmmm, so I'm listening to this "Retinal Circus" VU show -- and I'm pretty sure some of these takes are the same as appear on Live 1969. Haven't a/b'd them or anything. It's an uncut tape of the show, though, which hasn't circulate as far as I know ... I think that those songs were thought to be from the Matrix, wonder what the deal is! MYSTERY. Sounds great, anyway.

yeh, the wh/wh posted above is the same as the version on the live 69 album

er wl/wh

Yeah, same w/ "heroin", "what goes on", "new age" so far. it's funny to hear these songs w/ audience applause -- on 1969 they cut off almost immediately, sort of giving the impression that the VU was playing to barely anyone. But here they've got a totally enthusiastic crowd. And why not, considering the godlike awesomeness of this "What Goes On."

so I'm fairly certain that these are ALL tracks from Live 1969, albeit in unedited form ... Maybe "Some Kinda Love" is different? Not sure.

interesting... now that u mention it the track times look very similar.

going to John Cale talk at MoMA monday!

What? Nobody told me about it.

Oh, I see.

OK, I'm there.

John Cale talk is being postponed. Very sad.

What was he supposed to talk about? Something specific, or just the Art of Being John Cale?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou0NJ_9IA4g

Sweet Jesus "Venus in Furs" sounds amazing here!

check the moma website under "Looking at Music 2". I think it as mostly about some art instillation/film he's got in the Venice Biennual now or something?

I was hoping he was going to talk in Welsh, about being Welsh.

I think he was going to interview Joe Walsh, about eating Welsh Rarebit.

Cale and Walsh need to restart their long-dormant collab Walsh Rarebit ... shit was off the hook.

ahem ILX user tylerw please report to the "five jazz album runs" voting thread

Damn, gotta check out that Unterberger book. Boring writer but his subject matter's always interesting.

Yeha, often when Unterberger inserts an opinion into his Velvets book, I find myself disagreeing with him. But as a reference, and as a history of the band, I think it's unparalleled. Also, tons of great photos/posters/ephemera, stuff I'd never seen before. And I appreciate that he has in fact listened to the bootlegs, which a lot of writers before him don't seem to have done. In general he doesn't seem too down with the experimental side of the group, even though he does give plenty of space to Cale's pre-VU work, as well as Angus MacLise, which is nice.

There's no way I am gonna be able to finish reading it, tbh.

OK, so I'm familiar with the differences between the original "closet mix" of the 3rd LP and the Valentin (sp?) mix that was put out in the 80's reissue series. I know that "Some Kinda Love" is a different take altogether on the Valentin one. My trainspotter question is: which mix does the recent 4 Men With Beards reissue have? "Cause I already have an original closet one and am kicking myself for not picking the alternate mix up a few years ago when it was cheap.

4M reissue has the Valentin mix.

awesome, thanks.

Think I prefer the Valentin mix, tbh. At least, the take of "Some Kinda Love" is superior.

preordered Kugelberg has arrived

is it mainly photos/posters and stuff? not sure if I need to shell out the $$$ ... Does it come with a CD or something?

I went to Kugelberg's apt once to talk about some post-punk/DIY stuff, and in this one room where he had his record collection, or small portions of it, he had all these cabinets with 12" sized panels, and in each panel was a copy of the first Velvet Underground record. Perhaps different states of peeling, different pressings, different photo states on the back, I don't remember, it was pretty impressive though.

Blimey, how many have I got now? I have the UK original, the Banana one with a 97% intact banana, um.... Oh, an HMV box set version, a deluxe CDversion, oh and how many more...

Wow, mono White Light/White Heat from that Nuns Seawall blog is making me really happy. Of everything I've heard of theirs (Matrix excepted) that's the thing that most needs a legit release (and I kind of wonder why it hasn't happened already).

Yeah, not sure why they haven't followed up that deluxe VU&Nico from six or seven years ago with deluxe editions of White Light and the third album ... Maybe VU&Nico didn't do that well, since it didn't have any unreleased stuff on it?

i thought these would've come out domestically by now, but i scored Japanese versions a couple/few years ago of wl/wh, s/t, 1969 live, and V.U.
the only one that's not a big improvement is '69 live. both white light, and the velvet underground really sound noticeably "better"(IMO) than the mid-1990's releases. and v.u. sounds greatly improved over its original cd release

LPs? Yeah, I got the 3rd album, it was the only Valentin version readily available at the time.

Oh, and does the V.U. one have that intro on "Foggy Notion" snipped from the CD?

Hey, this is the trainspotting thread, innit?

I'll be picking up that singles box tomorrow from the postie!

Will report back tomorrow.

Oh, and does the V.U. one have that intro on "Foggy Notion" snipped from the CD?

I believe that this is only on the original 1985 vinyl pressing but I dunno about the new 4 Men one. It's definitely not on the '85 CD.

speaking of trainspotting, check out this alternate version of VU!

Pre-release cassette sent to radio stations contained what was to be the original version of the album, with different mixes and with Ferryboat Bill in place of Ocean (version different from the Another View one).

(from http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/index.html , a great resource)

Yeah, he actually bought "Sweet Sister Ray" off me!

yeah, that site is vu trainspotter heaven.

http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/pep/pepdesc.cfm?id=6084

a panel/talk...or something else?

25-minute "What Goes On" jam w/ Fricke on vocals? Where's Cale? (glad they're including Doug in this stuff, though! YULE RULES)

lol at "the Beatles of New York"

this is so weird.
I just compiled a bibliography of VU stuff available at libraries in my town for my reference class.
Now they are playing at the new york public library.

yeah, must be a panel. I really can't imagine them playing. I \mean, without Sterling.

maybe they'll do some stuff off of "Squeeze."

so going back to that "Retinal Circus" bootleg mentioned upthread -- it is definitely the uncut show from whence a great deal of the Live 1969 LP was drawn. So it's not new performances, but holy shit, it is like the best concert ever. it's weird though -- I wonder where it's actually recorded. In the Unterberger book, he attributes that stuff to the Matrix in SF. WILL WE EVER KNOW.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/218/459752039_ce58511f09.jpg

yeah iirc Live 1969 is part from the Matrix and part from Dallas (which is available as a whole and in better sound quality on the boot "End Of Cole Ave").

yeah, i was just wondering if the Retinal Circus tapes were actually from somewhere else. I guess they don't really sound like the Matrix Tapes sampler or the Matrix stuff on the Quine Tapes. Like, the audience is too enthusiastic! But I'm just bullshitting here.

I'll be picking up that singles box tomorrow from the postie!

Will report back tomorrow.

― Mark G, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 10:13 PM (4 weeks ago)

xpost: did the posties off Mark G? i do'nt doubt that singles box sounds sublime. i keep looking at it every time i go to amoeba...

yeah! how is that?

i dunno if i ~need~ it, but it wants me to pray to its grooves.

http://www.dangerousminds.net/images/uploads/VULG_thumb.jpg
I like the way it looks ... That pic is the cover of the Kugelberg book, too. Look how Nico is grinning! Funny.

or i guess it's just the same session
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/517o3N-4qLL.jpg

hey tyler I think 1969 Live is a different show than the Matrix. oh hell, gimme a second on the internet...

yeah, Quine Tapes has stuff from a buncha different November dates and also December, not just the Matrix but also the Family Dog and St. Louis.

for the breakdown on 1969 see here:

http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/lps/usa/lpsusa.html

in 1st sentence there "Matrix" = "Quine Tapes"

Hiya.

Yeah, the singles box is a lovely thing.

I did have "All Tomorrows Parties" a while back, sold on ebay, for about twice the price of the box.

Then I went on and got the Pere Ubu singles box to keep it company, £15 or thereabouts.

http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/lps/usa/vulpus_v-5008_backcoverstickered.jpg

This is very much like mine. (Peelable banana on the other side)

but what about the supposed alternate mix of "I Heard Her Call My Name"?!?!?

ysi?

ooh, yes puh-lease

+1 oh hai

confirmed, it's a "talk".

These days for Lou it amounts to the same thing.

Did you trainspotters see this? http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=333 I've actually never heard any 1993 stuff except the official release, so I'm kinda curious.

ordered the Unterberger and Kugelberg books from Amazon last nite. So psyched.

Was hoping NYPL event was going to be about invading skating rink with loud amps and intrusive microphones.

I have mixed feelings about the Unterberger book. I guess it's where you go if you want to know what they ate for breakfast on the third Tuesday of the month, and it is full of weird and sometimes fascinating little bits of trivia.

That said, it has the overall effect (at least for me) of making the Velvet Underground seem kind of boring. And he has this major fixation on the Live 1969 album, which has never been my favorite thing of theirs...

The Unterberger book is a bludgeoning thing, but I can't fault his love for the live album, which is easily my favorite official album release of theirs now.

but what about the supposed alternate mix of "I Heard Her Call My Name"?!?!?

I compared this with my original Verve mono, and it's a more 'fuzzy' mix, and the lead guitar may even be mixed slightly down.

Yeah, definitely can't fault Unterberger for praising Live 1969 -- it is the best live album ever imo. As for making the VU seem boring, I kinda like that about the book. There's definitely a de-mystification of the band -- it's fun seeing how a semi-popular group in the late 60s went about their day-to-day existence. But maybe that's just me. I'm just now getting to the end of it. It must've been horrible for Lou to put out his first solo album and have all the reviews say "man, the VU were so good, I wish this was a VU album"! After being generally ignored for the lifespan of the band, that would suck.

On-the-money review by David Keenan in last month's Wire of both books, effectively skewering the received wisdom that the VU were like a monochrome alternative to late 60s hippydom.

Time machine, anyone?
http://23.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_krdkn9t3mi1qa5w86o1_500.jpg

so far these books are GREAT. The Reed/Tucker intvw in NY ART is odd and wonderful though too short. And those photos!!

yeah I think I'm going to have to get it. Was trying to convince myself I didn't need a VU coffee table book, but I do, I do!

$30 and change @ Amazon.

On-the-money review by David Keenan in last month's Wire of both books, effectively skewering the received wisdom that the VU were like a monochrome alternative to late 60s hippydom.

http://z.about.com/d/classicrock/1/7/I/9/velvetundergroundc.jpg

... none more monchrome

http://lineout.thestranger.com/files/2006/12/velvet-underground.jpg

xp exactly, that pic illustrates Keenan's point perfectly.

hey it was the VU at the Zoo, whaddaya want? That's usually what I look like when I go to the Zoo.

Going to see the rock 'n' roll animals I suppose

They may have gotten all bright n' paisley by '69 but they were certainly no fans of hippies or West Coast rock of the time.

i think mainly they weren't Bill Graham fans. Reed loved "Eight Miles High" and Sterling Morrison loved Quicksilver Messenger Service. Can't get more West Coast rock than that!

http://media.nypl.org/audio/live_2009_12_08_velvet_underground.mp3
^^^ audio from this week's NYPL VU talk ... Haven't listened yet ...

This was a fun listen though D. Fricke is a bit of a Phil Schaap-y creepy fanboy

What other tune is "Ride Into The Sun" reminiscent of? I think it's classical but can't place it. Help!

I'm listening to it on the Another View compilation, btw, if you want to dig it out & listen.

dunno what it's reminiscent of ... but it is lovely, isn't it?

This was a fun listen though D. Fricke is a bit of a Phil Schaap-y creepy fanboy
He would fit in perfectly on this thread! David, are you out there?

oh goddammit this is like one of the most famous classical pieces ever it gets used all the time and I can hear it in my head but I am blanking on the title arrrrrgghghghghghgh

haha, glad it's not just me, someone will put us out of our misery shortly i'm sure

Pachelbel's Canon?

YES

i guess it is kinda like pachelbel's ... Ride Into The Sun would make a good wedding processional, too!

aha

thanks mark g

Ride Into The Sun would make a good wedding processional, too!

^^^did this

(actually it was Bron-y-Aur for the entrance and Ride into the Sun for the exit but whatever)

haha, nice ...

got the New York Art book for xmas -- man, it is gorgeous! i get so used to seeing the VU in black and white, but there are amazing color shots in there, too. Haven't fully explored it yet, but early thoughts: Moe Tucker = hero of the universe.

speaking of which, in the 2008 conversation with him and Moe, Lou says he saw all these bands at SXSW with drummers standing up a la Moe. Is this true? I don't think I've heard of many bands doing this recently. I saw the Raveonettes doing it a few years back -- i think the drummer was a hot chick with just a low tom and a snare. But are there others? It is interesting -- for all the talk of the VU being super influential, how many drummers actually played like Moe?

Mimi in Low plays standing up.

Stray Cats = standing up with vv simple drum set (do they still exist? no idea)
Mimi from Low = standing up with vv simple drum set
Butthole Surfers in the '90s = standing up (two drummers, '80s)
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds = vv simple drum set (but sitting down drummer, late '80s)

xpost :-)

er... B surfers = late 80s, early 90s I guess. :-/

ah, right, Low. Probably the best example.

saw someone else just recently who does this too...tyvek.

They may have gotten all bright n' paisley by '69 but they were certainly no fans of hippies or West Coast rock of the time

Not really – they shared stages with the Fugs, the Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Sly & the Family Stone &c. As Keenan argues in the review I mentioned upthread, the Velvets were a product of their times and they played their part as wholeheartedly as anyone else.

The art book neatly showcases their transition from "art band" to commercial rockers(or at least aspiring commercial rockers), I think. The clash between their art beginnings and their rocker aspirations is one of the things that makes them so classic.

in the ny public library talk, David Fricke quotes Dean Wareham as saying that Sterling Morrison was the only person he knew who could hold forth on Moby Dick and Moby Grape with equal knowledge and passion ...

Lou says he saw all these bands at SXSW with drummers standing up a la Moe

http://www.slovenly.com/debaucha-reno/subsonics.jpg

Subsonics. And they actually really pull of a VU vibe, complete with minimal instrumentation and crazy psych shredding solos.

for all the talk of the VU being super influential, how many drummers actually played like Moe?

― tylerw

i that Fricke interview I think Lou said something to the effect that "nobody can play like Moe" - in a groove type sense, i concur

ooh subsonics sound kinda good.
and yeah, Lou is effusive in his praise of Moe. He talks about trying to get a drummer to play like her for years, but failing. Would be kind of cool if they played together again -- don't really know if Moe plays at all these days.

Cowboys vs Eagles game a replay of the one described by Lou on the 1969 album.

Is there a Velvets bootlegs thread? Couldn't find one. Anyhow - just got a hold of the 1969 Hilltop Festival one and it's up there in my top VU boots. Unterberger whetted my appetitie for this one in his book and it doesn't disappoint. Funny to listen to the crowd response to Reed's "This next one's called 'Heroin'" (distant hoots of approval and some giggles) as well as an amazing "Run Run Run" , etc. VU boots are some of my favorite listening right now.

yeh hilltop is my fave VU boot, guitar on 'Run Run Run' kills

there was a smattering of VU bootleg talk in some other VU thread a week or so ago ... Hilltop is definitely great! love that Run Run Run -- Lou shredding at its finest. You might also be interested in this: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/325332296/pre-vu-ive-been-od-ing-on-the-velvet-underground

hilltop link please? can't find the site with all the VU stuff that was mentioned. Currently reading the VU + Nico 33 1/3rd book and the Untrberger. Hopefully will get the Kugelberg for xmas! Right now it's all Velvets and Devo all the time. Strangely the Devo kick started prior to the recent thread revivals.

thenunsareontheseawall.blogspot.com
should have the Hilltop show somewhere ... and everything else!

Favourite Velvet Underground album (with extra facility) right here.

Run Run Run To The Hills

interesting that the VU were headlining over Van Morrison at the Hilltop Festival ...

fella over at thevelvetforum.tk has posted some innnnnteresting upgrades on the Boston Tea Party shows ... Just look at the thread called "professor tapes" ...

Whoa! The "Professor Tapes" are leaving me speechless. Fantastic!

yeah, as they note, all of these recordings circulate, but the quality here is (for the most part) waaay better. January show in particular sounds great ... Hope they get it together to get the complete shows out there ...

wow. Thanks for the heads up & fingers crossed indeed!

Meanwhile, though, someone is still sitting on those Matrix tapes. :-(

Droooollllll.......

heard they're re-ishing Live 1969 on vinyl ... not terribly exciting. Wonder what it would take to get the Velvets bootleg series going again? Thought for sure that the Gymnasium tape would get an official release. But noooooo.

as usual I blame LOU REED

he's afraid that releasing VU live shows will distract from his thriving iphone app business.

Legit fear.

funny though, over on that velvet forum they're talking about getting Easy Action or Captain trip to release the tapes ... is that possible? Could they do it legit w/o Lou or the band's approval? How does this stuff work anyway? What goes on in your mind?

Pretty sure that you cannot do that legally.

what if you just didn't mention it to Lou.

Release it under a codename so he doesn't find out. Velours Metro.

Doug Yule & The Boston Tea Baggers

http://i45.tinypic.com/fxa16s.jpg

unseen VU film premiering: http://www.warhol.org/calendar/events_detail.php?eventID=1831

anybody who's interested in those Professor Tapes in full should check out thevelvetforum.tk. Dude who posted the sampler is looking for paypal donations to cover his costs, or something ... probably worth chipping in a few bucks for!

as usual I blame LOU REED

I blame Mike Love.

I can't claim to be an expert, although I've heard a lot more VU bootlegs in the last year than I've heard in the rest of my life, but hardly any of them sound as good as "Live 1969", even the ones that are supposed to - and, yes, I know "Live 1969" is from different sources. So if someone had access to all this material in 1974, which is when I believe "Live 1969" was put together, where is it now? Who actually compiled "Live 1969" anyway?

A lot of it was from the "End Cole Ave" tapes, that got a separate release a while ago (from certain ahem outlets)

tbh, apart from that recent Lp with "I'm not a young man anymore" and anything with unheard songs on, the remainder of this can lie as far as I'm concerned.

(I did have a listen in to some of this, no surprises really)

A lot of it was from the "End Cole Ave" tapes, that got a separate release a while ago (from certain ahem outlets)

I know, I've got that, I'm still convinced "Live 1969" sounds better. I'm with you though, I love the Velvets, but my interest in indifferently recorded bootlegs of the same songs over and over again has dipped alarmingly in the last year.

the origins of 1969 Live seem to be super murky -- the Unterberger book goes into in some detail, but doesn't really have any concrete conclusions. No one knows where the tapes came from!

from heaven maybe

I did have a listen in to some of this, no surprises really
to each his own ... I guess I can't get enough, hence my regular presence on this thread. That 14 minute version of Run Run Run from the Professor Tapes is craaaaaazy. That said, if you don't want to get deep into the murky bootleg world, Live 1969 is certainly good enough. It is one of my favorite things ever.

I'm with Tyler - I just can't get enough of live Velvets, even if of dubious sound quality. I also rate the Quine Tapes over Live 1969, and by quite a margin. I've never really warmed to live 1969, despite owning and listening for 20-odd years.

I've never really warmed to live 1969, despite owning and listening for 20-odd years

You are Lou Reed

I was listening to the Quine Tapes yesterday - soooo good. Especially the Sister Rays! Like a whole, weird world to get lost in.

Quine Tapes is all about the Sister Rays imo

just ridiculous that there are close-to-perfect quality recordings of some of those shows in that Matrix dude's vault. Not that I don't love the murk and hissssss ...

The murk and hiss somehow works with Sisters, not sure about the rest though

i also love other sister rays that are out there. one called "Sweet Sister Ray" is esp. wonderful (sorry don't have deets handy). oh, and the End Cole Ave. i got ~1990 from Italy still sounds a bit better than 1969 Live, fwiw

Sister Rays are generally great. What's the one where it goes straight into it from "Heroin" - and it's like, to quote Nico, "The red sea paaaaaaaaaarting"

yeah, and then there are the ones with bits of the Murder Mystery thrown in at the end ... They're just awesome rollercoasters.

The Quine Tapes are pretty dud free, IMO. "Sister Ray" live is almost always a highlight of any of the boots I've heard. I wrote something about the version "I'm Waiting For The Man" (Quine Tapes, disc 3) several years ago that I think holds up okay. You can read it here if you choose:
http://ezsnappin.blogspot.com/2007/04/cold-chillin.html

nice! i love that version -- so mellow, but so intense. Kind of unbelievable really -- what else sounds like this in the 1960s? Not what the VU is known for but kind of just as revolutionary. And I think you're right about the dreamlike quality -- for all the talk of Reed's lyrics being "hardboiled, photorealist" kinda things, I think that there's a strain of the epic/surreal, too. even in "waiting for the man" it's sort of a fantasy, quest kind of thing. With heroin.

"Waiting For The Man" as hero's quest - classic or dud?

http://www.rpgmmag.com/images/site/rpgm/games/heros_quest_title.jpg
Hey, Knight Boy, whatchu doing uptown?

Ha!

"Thou chaseth our maidens around"

There is now a reason for this wistful, strolling take on the song; the singer is already fixed, just picking up more before the hunger ever hits.

such a great version of that song, immediately I thought "oh that has to be about that long lazy one".

I want them professor tapes but I can't be arsed to register at that forum :-/

i'm sure they'll slip into general circulation pretty quickly. Not sure why there's all the cloak & dagger stuff over at the velvet forum -- plenty of other unreleased VU material circulates freely doesn't it? Doesn't seem like Lou has an intern surfing the blogs for bootlegs or anything. I would apply to be that intern, however.

I do that for my label. It's really frustrating work. Some of the file sharing sites are like "abuse? sorry, we'll take it down" (not in an email, just in their FAQ or whatever, and they do.)

Others though...have all this text saying "if you have a claim of ownership to something being hosted with us, you have to send us your name and address and explain how you own it and where you found it and who linked to it and prove this and that" and even then still don't take it down. The bloggers themselves are more response in deleting the link to the shared file, even if the sharing site still has it up.

I have google alerts for my releases and have to say either file sharing has gone up or the new CD is more popular than the last, but it's not a great feeling to get emails from google every day telling me about the various torrent sites and mediafire and rapidshare and megaupload locations that the entire CD is being hosted at.

oh yeah, i can see having someone tracking down sites that are offering officially released material, but the bootleg-y stuff seems like a different thing ... at least I hope it does, as someone who runs a bootleg blog! btw, dan, you reminded me I need to order that Method Actors disc!

these professor tapes are sounding gooooood. sound quality probably on par with the Quine Tapes now. So, not amazing, but very listenable.

Really special. Definitely better than any other boot of these shows.

Aside from alternate mixes, have any actual outtakes from the first 2/3 albums been released? Like "Sunday Morning, Take 01" or something?

actual outtakes from the first 2/3 albums

The versions of some of the tracks on that Norman Dolph acetate of the 1st album session have different takes or unedited versions (not just different mixes) of some of those songs. Other than that, I don't think so.

That's too bad, what with the wealth of VU and Loaded-era material. It'd be nice to hear some studio-quality stuff from earlier. Were the tapes destroyed? Wiped over?

yeah, it doesn't seem like there's any session outtakes from WL/WH or the third record ... but the Dolph acetate is fab, if you don't have that you should try to track it down.

never noticed it til the Unterberger book pointed it out, but Reed's little "Eight Miles High" tribute on the 12/12/68 "Sister Ray" is awesome! Pretty unmistakable. I love all of these "Sister Ray"s -- totally fun rollercoasters.

Ah bloody hell -- I grabbed the first .rar batch of these professor tapes (VUProf1-1-1) from a blog which then was guilted into removing the entire lot before I could grab the rest. So now I have three songs mocking me. Any tips on acquiring the rest of this set?

pm'd u

A limited edition run of 1969 Live was reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day last week, by the way. Two separate LPs. How limited isn't very clear (1500 of LP1 and 3000 of LP2 ????).
No new audio source, still no sign of the "Matrix tapes".

yeah, sort of crazy that they've never upgraded that set. I think the End of Cole Ave. bootleg sounds better than the official release ... and yeah, the Matrix Tapes sampler is clearly from a superior source. as nice as it is to have these upgraded Boston Tea Party tapes, those Matrix recordings are pretty much the holy grail right now.

Plus, the Cd editions both have extra tracks, and you can find the original 2LP set in most 'collector vinyl' shops.

the 7/11/69 show from the Professor Tapes is uhhh, pretty nuts. Were they drunk and/or high? That batshit 14 minute Run Run Run, the shambolic WL/WH, Reed's crazy vocalizing on Pale Blue Eyes. Shame it isn't a slightly better recording. Guitar playing here is wild.

Maybe Lou overdosed on papaya juice and wheat husks before he went on

possible. too much health food can cause serious noize jams. also cool to hear Lou sing Candy Says here as opposed to Doug.

He was seriously into health foods at the time

yeah, there are interviews from around the time where he sounds pretty hippie-ish. talking about auras, how "white light" is the white light of consciousness or something. drinking honey from a jar. lou reed, flower child.

It's the beginning of a new age.

Not gonna lie, this looks pretty amazing: http://www.sundazed.com/vu_quine.php
Not gonna pay $100 for it though ...

I'm past the point that I care about the object as fetish, so I'll be happy with the cds.

yeah, it's obviously bait for ummm VU trainspotters. speaking of which, wow, there are some *serious* completists over at that VU forum.

That forum scares me a bit. The cocksmanship is pretty unappealing.

yeah, kind of a weird scene. still, I'll keep lurking if things like those professor tapes keep showing up ....

Totally. That was worth it.

Indeed! Thanks for that heads up, tylerw!

anyone who wants to hear that Heard Her Call My Name from the Sundazed singles box, ahem: http://decrepittapes.blogspot.com/2010/01/velvet-underground-singles-1966-69.html

for some unknown reason i've never checked out the band's live material until recently... suddenly i find myself sucked into a frenzy of exploring this stuff. i discovered i have the first disc of the 'caught between the twisted stars' bootleg, which i downloaded and never got round to listening to at the time. i'm currently half way through acquiring the first of the professor tapes so looking forward to hearing it.

i admit to being tempted by the sundazed quine tapes set. my few rational brain cells are arguing that for that price i could get the cd version, along with the Live 1969 cds, and still have room for the sundazed singles box to scratch the vinyl itch.

Live 1969 is essential Puppa, so I'd listen to your brain cells there. The fidelity of the Quine set isn't so great that vinyl is going to make a difference over the cd versions. (I totally understand the fetishism of the lavish vinyl packaging though).

Thanks Officer Pupp. It's a sunny Sunday morning (ha!) here so I think I'll head on down to the record store and see what they've got. Good point on the Quine set fidelity. Sometimes one must set aside fetishistic tendencies.

I was never aware of how improvisational the band was. That becomes obvious when you start listening to them live of course, but usually whenever you read/hear about them the focus seems to be on their influence, the avant-garde aspects, the lyrical content, Andy Warhol, rather than the Velvet Underground as live band.

Does anyone know where I can find the new Professor tapes? Can't seem to find them anywhere

yeah, the guy who put them out asked that it not be put up on blogs for the time being ...
i'll get around to upping them at some point for people who missed em the first time around.

still available via Nuns Are On The Sea Wall blog, btw

is it? i thought he took it down ... if it's there, grab it while it lasts!

and while this thread is revived, this is probably appropriate:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Inevitable-World-of-The-Velvet-Underground/133663983326915?v=wall
A compilation of VU newspapers and magazine ads, articles and reviews published from 1966 to 1975.
• More than 340 pages
• Actual reproduction of the ads, articles and reviews.
• Numbered Limited Edition of 500
• A Bonus CD with radio ads and interviews

I haven't been able to get them working from that blog, it's a rar file, and i'm not sure what to do with it, I've gotten lots of VU downloads to work but i'm having trouble with this, I'm not that great with this sort of thing. Also,how much better is the quality than the older Boston tapes?

i just picked up some of these recently. you realize these are flac files right? the quality is a little "bass-y", but really good. better than the quine tapes official release

My files are all messed up then. Is there anywhere else I can get them? I'm dying to hear these.

If you are on a Mac you can unpack the rar archive using UnrarX. The equivalent program for Windows would appear to be WinRAR. Once you have done that you will have your flac files which you will need to convert to wav files for listening and/or burning to CD. There are some music players that will play flac files direct but it's a bit hit-and-miss.

That said I note there are some comments on the blog saying the files are corrupted or some such. I haven't tried downloading them so don't know whether it's true or not.

yeah, i think i had to use unrarx to get these files, they're uploaded kind of strangely.
i dunno if they're better quality than the Quine Tapes -- maybe the January show is. But they're a big improvement over the versions that have floated around in past decades -- a lot more listenable.

I've unzipped them using 7-zip with absolutely no problems at all. That's an excellent little bit of software, does what you want it to do with no fuss.

I've used Winrar and 7-zip and they both keep asking for a password. Does anyone know what the password is?

says it in the blog

lol thank you, can't believe I didn't see that

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=lKhbmRwBA50&feature=related

i can definitely hear the influence of denny vertigo here...

Haha, I came on this thread to post that.

word gets around quick with such a momentous find!

Are people taking that seriously?

Lou was so far ahead of his time you'd think he had a time machine

how can anyone bear to listen to such crappily recorded minutiae, the mind boggles

i consider myself a huge VU fan, and i cant even listen to the quine tapes very easily

I consider myself a huge VU fan, and I love it.

Yeah, Lou was so far ahead of his time you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's a fairly well done spoof recorded in 2010 and passed off as a street-sale find.

Found at a street sale in Hoboken, NJ last week

as if I needed any encouragement to continue cratedigging, jeez.

acetate quality would upset me more if this wasn't "Do The Ostrich" with different lyrics.

Yeah, Lou was so far ahead of his time you'd be forgiven for thinking that it's a fairly well done spoof recorded in 2010 and passed off as a street-sale find.
sorry, thought my post was dripping with sarcasm, but I guess not! yes, obviously a spoof tie-in with the human centipede movie that came out a little while ago.

oh, I was a little slow on the uptake there

bummer.

well, speaking of the pickwick years, this stuff is tantalizing:

December 3, 1964
Walter De Maria's Bond Street loft, New York City, New York

John Cale - Tony Conrad - Walter De Maria - Lou Reed - Jimmie Sims

1. Won't You Smile (1st take)
2. The Ostrich (1st take)
3. The Ostrich (2nd take)
4. Won't You Smile (2nd take)
5. Johnny Won't Surf Anymore
6. Teardrops In The Sand
7. Sad Lonely Orphan Boy
8. Shame, Shame, Shame

A full review of this Primitives rehearsal tape is available in Beyond The Dream Syndicate - Tony Conrad and the Arts after Cage by Branden W. Joseph. Won't You Smile is an early version of Why Don't You Smile Now. Shame, Shame, Shame is a Jimmy Reed's cover.

May 11, 1965
Pickwick Studios, near Long Island City, New York

John Cale - Lou Reed - Jerry Vance or Jimmie Sims

1. Buzz Buzz Buzz (one complete take + a couple of attempts breaking down)
2. Why Don't You Smile Now
3. Heroin (take 1)
4. Heroin (take 2)
5. Untitled Piano Piece 1
6. Untitled Piano Piece 1

A full review of this demo tape is available in White Light/White Heat - The Velvet Underground Day by Day by Richie Unterberger. Buzz Buzz Buzz is a Lou Reed original, not a cover of the 1957 hit by The Hollywood Flames. Untitled Piano Pieces are by John Cale alone.

i'm sure Lou would never let it happen, but a *real* career-spanning box set of his work would be great. one that started with the early doo wop stuff, went into the pickwick years, the VU, the solo years, etc. There's Between Thought & Expression, but that's pretty old now -- only goes up to Mistrial I think and doesn't have any VU or pre-VU stuff.

Tyler, it wasn't a dig at you honestly; I could tell that you'd got it. What I couldn't tell from the tone of the other answers was whether people were taking it seriously or whether people knew it was a spoof.

ha, no worries! it's not a bad spoof though! i mean, for someone with obviously too much time on their hands ... :)

so has anyone actually bought this Quine Tapes on LP thing from Sundazed? No way I could afford it, but I'm curious to know if the fact that "this set has been newly mastered by Bob Irwin from the original source material" makes any significant difference sound-quality wise. Samples sound good, but I can't really tell. http://sundazed.com/shop/vu_quine.php

Hello. I made that Primitives Human Centipede thing & I'm very proud of myself. Anyhoo, I came on here the other day & found out about the Nuns Are On The Seawall blog & downloaded an LP off there but now whenever I try to get on it says "No" & that I've not been invited or somesuch. Does anyone know how I can get on there?

Also my group The Loves' new LP has got Doug Yule on it as the voice of Jesus. Really.

that I've not been invited

Damn. Me too.

I can't believe anyone thought it was anything other than a spoof! Although my obsession with the Human Centipede and friendship with a couple of Loves may have helped me recognise this fact.

ha, nicely done, simon. you got a link for info on this Yule/Jesus album?

you got a link for info on this Yule/Jesus album?

All in good time. Which means you'll have to wait til the LP is available before I post anything.

I can't believe anyone thought it was anything other than a spoof! Although my obsession with the Human Centipede and friendship with a couple of Loves may have helped me recognise this fact.

― emil.y, Friday, 9 July 2010 19:19 (3 hours ago) Bookmark

It was the welsh accent of the non-Cale variety. that & the fact it was on S!m0n's youtube and he'd been posting about the Human Centipede for the last week. Very nicely done an' that, though.

I realise now that I should've done it as John Cale's version of The Ostrich & done it in an OTT Welsh accent. & made a separate Youtube account to post it on. Something like StewReid64.

It was the lyrics that gave it away!

Is there a d/l link? Would like to hear it anyway...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKhbmRwBA50

There ^

& there's a new comment today

"This sounds almost identical to 'Do the Ostrich' by The Primitives which I beleive was a bit of a hit at the time. If this was never released Im guessing they changed the lyrics/music very slightly and released the ostrich version instead"

I do not know this person. I believe they are serious.

Ach, I guess youtube is the new YSI?

god damn it

will someone PM me the password for Nuns Are On The Seawall files? now that the thing is invite only I can't look at it and the pw I thought it was is wrong.

isn't it "cookin"?

yeah I thought there was a "vinyl" after it but that is a record label

thanking u

oops it is "cookinG"

How do you get invited to join Nuns Are On The Seawall? I only managed to download The Psychopath's Rolling Stones before it went invite only.

investigating that -- thevelvetforum.tk would be a good place to haunt. I think the dude who runs that blog posts there.

meanwhile, there's this: http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=540
dunno if it's good or not.

looks like the nuns site is back up and running. still sort of scared of it, but an amazing resource!

Just got the Hilltop boot on vinyl. blowing my fucking mind

yeah that thing is one-of-a-kind, the only LOUD outdoor gig of the Velvets that has surfaced so far. really different dynamics and sound when they turned it way up.

yeah, parts of the "what goes on" on that bootleg are mindblowing. if you haven't seen it, i did a sort of sampler of the professor tapes over here: http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/838951975/move-right-in-the-velvet-underground-at-the

Ossum scenes

The Velvet Underground in Boston (1967, USA, 33 min.), which Warhol shot during a concert at the Boston Tea Party, features a variety of filmmaking techniques—sudden in-and-out zooms, sweeping panning shots, in-camera edits that create single frame images and bursts of light like paparazzi flash bulbs going off—that mirror the kinesthetic experience of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with its strobe lights, whip dancers, colorful slide shows, multi-screen projections, liberal use of amphetamines, and overpowering sound of The Velvet Underground.

http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/film_screenings/10587

... features a variety of filmmaking techniques that most people try when given a movie/video camera for the first time, ....

movie itself sounds sorta painful, but i wonder if the sound is any good? i guess it'll all be cut up thanks to "in camera edits"...

Friday, November 12, 2010
VELVET UNDERGROUND FILM DISCOVERIES
Two complete screenings, at 8:00 pm & 10:00 pm
Admission: $7.00

Moore College of Art & Design
20th & Race Streets, Philadelphia
(215) 965-4099

Read more: http://theworldsamess.blogspot.com/2010/11/velvet-underground-films-to-screen-in.html#ixzz15OO3KwJr

When will someone find their guest appearance on the Marvin Gaye/Tammi Terrell show?

holy fuck @ this

including one film with color, synchronous sound footage of the band playing live in Boston in 1967

one of only two known films with synchronous sound of the band performing live

also how does that blog code its text so that if you c/p a line you are also c/p'ing "Read more: http://theworldsamess.blogspot.com/2010/11/velvet-underground-films-to-screen-in.html#ixzz15RjU7sGL";? that's clever.

nyt does the same iirc, i guess it is a thing you can do now

it's some java scripting and it's annoying as fuck.

yeah seems like newspapers are doing this autofill thing now. that's the first blog i've seen doing it tho. irritating.

politico.com's been doing that since it started

crazy times. is lou for or against it, do you think?

it has always amazed me that a band who was clearly around filmmakers all the time left behind so little actual footage

would love to see this of course

yeah, there are literally films of dudes eating bananas in the Factory.

hours and hours of a building.

if you look closely though, the VU are playing on top of the empire state building during that movie.

I'm gonna make an art project...Empire State with a soundtrack of Sister Ray or What Goes On seamlessly looping for 8 hours.

hours and hours of a building.

have watched this for about fifteen minutes at the Warhol museum in Pittsburgh...it is almost indescribably beautiful fwiw

crazy times. is lou for or against it, do you think?

think lou has always been pretty pro-javascript but a late career turnaround isn't impossible

im officially obsessed with velvet underground bootlegs. what's the definitive version of the gymnasium show? 'psychedelic sounds from the gymnasium" has booker t after sister ray which is not in the other widely circulated boot

On "The Singles 1966-69" there's a radio spot at the end, at at the end of the radio spot there's a mix of Beginning To See The Light where the drums sound way different. Anyone know where that's from?

Well, bear in mind the current CD has the 'non-closet' mix, so its either

1) From the 'non-closet' mix, originally issued on the first pressings of the UK edition, and all the ones (LP, etc) ever available in Japan
2) The 'closet' mix, issued 'later' in the UK, and that was always issued as the LP version everywhere else.

Back when, I ended up paying plenty for a jap copy, and less than a year later the CD version came out.

Anyway, back to the promo, I'd assume it's from the 'closet' mix.

I thangyew.

closet mix would be correct, imho.

I checked out the two cd version of Live 1969 from my public library and was sort of surprised and stoked over some of the differences between it and my 2lp version of it.
Like "Sweet Bonnie Brown/It's Just Too Much." I couldn't believe there was a VU song I hadn't heard, but I was still glad. I'm also certain that there are different takes of some songs.

Definitely not the closet mix, since that's the CD I have, but maybe it's the non-closet mix? The difference is on the closet mix the drums are panned center and are softer, and on the radio promo they're panned more to the left and at the end during "how does it feel to be loved" there's a much more prominent pounding floor tom sound.

Could the Closet mix on the Peel Slowly And See box be different from yours?

I just realized I still have my old CD from before the box set came out. I just checked and it's definitely not a closet vs. non-closet issue.

I have a CD from the mid '90s pre-peel slowly box, and then I have the box.

unreleased mix alert!

Eh, maybe not. On closer listen I guess it is the closet mix, it's just that the radio promo is less bassy and more distorted and that tom sticks out more?

It's probably Tom Wilson talking over a copy of the album playing with a bit more reverb.

Well, I want a mix of the whole album like that. "How do you feel? You don't really know how you feel."

Like a director's commentary

“Angus MacLise was the Velvet Underground's first drummer. He withdrew when he found out that at a paying job he had to start and stop playing when told to. No one told Angus to stop playing. So the job of a working musician was impossible for Angus, and he taught us all a lesson about purity of spirit.

Angus was a dream percussionist. A dream person.” -- Lou Reed

DREAMWEAPON
The Art and Life of Angus MacLise 1938 – 1979

May 10 - May 29, 2011
Art Exhibition
Open EVERYDAY 11AM-6PM
Boo-Hooray Gallery Chelsea
521 W 23rd Street Sound Installation
Open EVERYDAY 11AM-6PM
Boo-Hooray Gallery Chinatown
Location to-be-announced, Chinatown, NYC

Opening party: Tue, May 10, 2011, 6pm at Boo-Hooray Chelsea
Film Screening at Anthology Film Archives: Thurs, May 12, 2011 at 8pm
Walks and Talks at Chelsea Location: Sat 5/14 at 3pm, Sat 5/21 at 3pm

Exhibition series overview
DREAMWEAPON, The Art and Life of Angus MacLise 1938-1979 is the upcoming exhibit at pop-up / parasite gallery Boo-Hooray and presents the work of the American artist, poet, percussionist, and composer active in New York, San Francisco, Paris, London and Kathmandu in the 1960’s and 1970’s. The exhibition series will include an overview of poetry, artwork, and publications in Chelsea, an audio installation in Chinatown, and a night of film screenings at Anthology Film Archives.

Sound installation overview
Boo-Hooray presents a new sound installation of never before heard music by Angus MacLise and collaborators. The sound installation will be open everyday to the public, from 11AM to 6PM, at the new Boo-Hooray Gallery space. Angus MacLise, a composer/improviser and inventive hand drummer, produced multimedia tape works and concerts of his own music that often included dance, poetry, and experimental films. He composed original scores for films by Ira Cohen, Jack Smith, Ron Rice, Sheldon Rochlin, and Don Snyder. A founding member of the Velvet Underground, he also performed with La Monte Young’s The Theatre of Eternal Music and Daniel Moore’s Floating Lotus Magic Opera Company. The audio installation will play the entire Angus MacLise tape archive including film scores, improvised jams, tape collage works, and drumming with various groups of musicians across a variety of genres. Each day the installation will feature a set of curated programs of MacLise’s music.

Film screening night overview
May 12th, 2011 at 8pm, Anthology Film Archives will host an evening of film and video works by Ira Cohen and Piero Heliczer. At the center of this event is the underground classic, The Invasion of Thunderbolt Pagoda (Dir. Ira Cohen, 1968), showcasing the music of Angus MacLise and the Universal Mutant Repertory Company. The program will also include works by Heliczer starring MacLise, Marty Topp portapak video from the Ira Cohen Jefferson St. loft (1971-72), and the world premiere of a new film, Heavy Canon (Dir. Ira Cohen, 1968/2011), comprised of unseen 16mm footage shot in Cohen’s Mylar Chamber and scored with tapes from the Angus MacLise archive.

DREAMWEAPON is curated by Johan Kugelberg and Will Cameron.

Bump, this starts tonight.

yeah, sadly Ira Cohen just died last week.

detailed descrip of that VU in Boston film from someone at the velvet forum:
The sound quality is like you are outside the venue listening in with alot of background noise, so whatever your expectations you will be disappointed, as this is by far the worst VU audio experience. However if you listen very closely you can focus in on the music through the muddiness and background noise. We are, however, very lucky to have this preserved, as it gives the only live recordings we have of two VU songs: Walk & talk and I heard her call my name.

Waiting for the man is a 40 second section half way through the song, sounding much like it does on the Gymnasium tapes.
Guess I'm falling in love is the end of the song, and lasts for 48 seconds, sounding much like the Gymnasium versions but with enough differences to make it interesting.
Run run run is the end of the song, lasting 2 minutes and 51 seconds. much the same as we are used to, but with particularly good guitar soloing.
There is then 1 minute 47 seconds of tuning.
Heroin is a 2 minute 18 seconds section near the start of the song, no surprises here.
Walk it & talk is from the start of the song and lasts for 2 minutes and 10 seconds. I can make out words that sound like "you better walk it, and talk it" and later "moving too fast.......you want it to last". Needless to say with Cale in the band it is nothing like the later 1970 demo version. If you imagine a hard rock version of that demo, with some heavy organ in parts, and great guitar soloing then cross it with sister ray and foggy notion and you'll be close to what this sounds like. Makes me want to hear the Gymnasium version that Cale has even more. It sounds like one of the best VU songs ever.
I heard her call my name lasts for four and a half minutes, and begins near the very start. It starts off sounding like the sundazed alternative mix version, going into some amazing guitar soloing which goes on for most of the rest of the song.
Venus in furs sounds like most other versions, lasting 1 minute 20 seconds, half way through the song.
Then there is tuning for 30 seconds (Cale preparing his organ)
Sister ray lasts 12 minutes 33 seconds, from the start of the song to the end, and there are some edits by Warhol during the song. The band seems much tighter here than in the Gymnasium version and it sounds more menacing. Great organ, with superb guitar soloing, screeching and feedback. I think without a doubt this is the best version recorded, and its a real shame the sound quality isnt better. Nearer the end it slows right down into a steady beat for about three minutes, then it speeds up very fast to the end of the song.

Thats the audio. Visually of course this is a unique experience and its great to see what they looked like when they were playing live. Despite what has been said about the camera work there are some good shots of the band. Check out the woman dancing at the very end of Sister ray...........If I was gonna dance in public to Sister ray I'd dance exactly like her!

(sounds neat)

Sounds great!

I know this was asked by someone else above, but does anyone know the password for the Nuns On The Sea Wall stuff? I've just found two files that I hadn't unzipped and the blog is currently invite only.

i think it's cookin ? maybe? try that.

speaking of these dudes, here's lou singing who loves the sun last week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf8BcDJa9Iw
has he ever sung this before? who's he playing with? who loves the sun?

Ah! Of course! It was cooking, but you got me there, cheers buddy.

some other exciting VU trainspotting news -- two samples from this tape seem to have shown up? http://www.guitars101.com/forums/f90/velvet-underground-1970-05-00-philadelphia-119687.html quality is pretty good. not that a new max's bootleg is the most thrilling thing, but still cool. setlist looks neat.
The Joseph Freeman tape
“ I recorded an entire set at Max's (around the same time as Polk's). The tape was recorded on a Sony TCS-124 a portable stereo cassette recorder with an external single stereo mic. The quality of the tape is very good and has never been bootlegged. I may be interested in having this tape surface as a legitimate release...
--Joseph Freeman, in a message posted in the Velvet Underground Discussion Forum on March 2, 1999
”
I'm Waiting For The Man
White Light/White Heat
I'm Set Free
Lonesome Cowboy Bill
Who Loves The Sun
Sweet Jane
New Age
unidentified bluesy instrumental
It's Just Too Much
Ocean
I'll Be Your Mirror
What Goes On
Head Held High
Oh! Sweet Nuthin'
Some Kinda Love

that philly show linked above is interesting too -- moe-less trio of lou, doug, sterling. some totally drum-less songs...

you mean the Second Fret stuff yeah? that's a good one, super blissed out "Train Comin Round The Bend".

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/bobbldr/VU_RISD2.jpg
some talk of a good quality 1967 recording of the VU/Exploding Plasitc Inevitable at Rhode Island School of Design emerging....!

http://akson.sgh.waw.pl/~kg23187/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6790&start=0

oh man that sounds amazing, fingers crossed.

yeah, right? eesh, hope it is true! guy posted this a while back, but it sounds like he's been successful in tracking the tape down:
There is a tape of the Velvets playing at the RI School of Design in 1967. I have heard it, though that was approximately 30 years ago. The owner of the tape, an acquaintance of mine, has also been missing for approximately 30 years. I have been trying to find him in vain. He used to tape concerts that were held in the Providence area and would not let me copy it. It was on a 7" tape reel. He got into some trouble with some druggies and vanished one day. No one ever found out where he and his wife went. I remember the tape well, it was from the WL/WH period and was very clear with a great Sister Ray.

the ultimate in velvet underground trainspotting -- the VU rehearses! http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/8045359178/rehearsing-for-the-inevitable-i-know-im-in-the
enjoy!
(i actually think sleeve supplied me with the matrix recordings, so credit where credit is due.)

The last minute or two of that Retinal Circus Heroin...wow.

yeah that weird bending of the guitars/lou's voice -- "all of eeeevilllll n this town!"

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6_Q6XXQifg/TjINNlAMD7I/AAAAAAAAAhc/r-no1Ma06XU/s1600/VUWhiskeyHB.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UQ5nz18lkv0/TjIMtv-97BI/AAAAAAAAAgA/cda0_NtGYiI/s1600/VUsetlist.jpg
interesting that the velvets were playing goodnight ladies at some point...would be interested to hear their rendition.

how the fuck have the Matrix tapes not emerged yet

yeah pretty irritating right? i'm sure that the powers that be think there's more than enough late 1969 VU out there officially, but it seems like someone like Rhino Handmade would jump at the chance to put out a deluxe box set of all this stuff. i know that the guy who owns the tapes has licensed similar projects to the Doors and Jefferson Airplane, but I think there's some kind of argument going on between him and the VU camp.

I blame Lou... or, failing that, Mike Love... hold on tho, Mo's gone all Tea Party, I blame her

yeah lou must've put the kibosh on any/all VU reissues. they haven't really done anything since the deluxe VU & nico, right? aside from that sundazed vinyl version of the quine tapes.

That typewritten Whisky newsletter is "especially groovey!"

btw here's unterberger's piece on the matrix tapes, with an interview with the SOB who is holding them back
http://www.richieunterberger.com/vuexc10.html
(jk about the SOB thing. i love you dude, can i come over to your house)

“They’re beautiful tapes. We listened to some playback of a little bit of the tapes about a year ago over at some studio in Berkeley, and they sounded just great. One of their fans who was [there] said, ‘Oh, these are the holy grail of Velvet Underground tapes.’ If there’s a market for them, they should come to me.”

going back through this thread, i see i'm repeating myself. oh well.

Just noticed in that Whiskey newsletter thing, playing with Moby Grape "for the first time anywhere", the Flying Burrito Brothers, "a new group formed by two former Byrds, Chris Hillman and Graham Parsons".

hee hee, bet they sucked that night.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fokpCjkmNpY/TjIMpYf7S7I/AAAAAAAAAfo/OnUzB-2P6SQ/s1600/VUmaxsreceipt.jpg

this is all coming from over here, which is selling some serious VU ephemera from the "sterling morrison collection"

http://velvetundergroundmemorabilia.blogspot.com/

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CymbC_S-P5c/TjIM0aG7nII/AAAAAAAAAgo/KJ7UcUDFqBI/s1600/VUunioncard.jpeg
vu trainspotter heaven

wow. his tugboat pilots license! His 1968 W2!

essential parts of the VU experience

steak lobster chickpeas

Decent tipper.

important new blog
http://30.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lr6x7zn7Ih1r2gpaao1_500.jpg
http://bananaunderground.tumblr.com

that's pretty impressive how they don't move the banana on any of them.

the ultimate vu trainspotting book? http://inevitablevucatalogue.wordpress.com/

that looks cool.

yeah, pretty fun. also pretty expensive.

I'll let you tell me if it's any good.

can we share custody? I'll let you have weekends.

Might be the only way we could swing it!

insane VU / lou reed comic book from the 70s?!
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy201/Aramchekster/LouReedLivetheBackHolesInSpacemagpg19.jpg
pdf of the whole thang: http://www.divshare.com/download/16935302-8d0

what the hell

That's plain crazy.

Crazy comic book, crazy guy!

and yet... it all makes sense...Scary blue veins as we approach the neg!

http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy201/Aramchekster/LouReedLivetheBackHolesInSpacemagpg16.jpg

^ Lou dances Swan Lake in enormous tutu

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/bobbldr/mypix/Pers_Tools_Music/vu.jpg
i guess Sundazed is putting this out? hmm

can't see the tracklisting, is this a reissue of the live vol. 1 or 2...?

i think it's a rejigged version of VU and Another View comprised of studio sessions from 1969. confusing, yes.

hmm. would maybe purchase... looks nice anyway

It's the "lost" album...huh.

the lone Velvet's vinyl I have is a random German reissue of the 2nd LP from like 1972. will see if I can find the cover... this would be a nice addition

... the one with the sorta wildly inappropriate Roger Dean-style cover?

nah, it's this (not German btw, misremembered that bit)

http://www.audiophileusa.com/covers400water/89217.jpg

kinda love it honestly

extensive quotes from David Bowie in the liner notes lol

yeah that cover is cool. there's also this one
http://www.minilps.net/images/stories/shop_image/product/velvetshmcd2j.JPG

I think I might actually finish the Unterberger book this evening, after several weeks of squinting. It's like those Lewisohn Beatles tomes, numbing in its level of detail but hypnotic after a while.

Other recommended reading?

been wanting to read Bockris' trashy bio for years. Local library copy is "library only"! Who the fuck is going to sit in a library and read a Lou Reed bio all day.

i enjoyed that coffee table NY Art book that came out a couple years back. some great photos, wacky interviews. the new ellen willis anthology has her great VU essay in it (same one from stranded, i believe).
the unterberger book is great, though, it's my fave VU book, even though i rarely agree with his musical assessments (he seems to have no love for the avant garde side of the band). just a ton of info on my favorite band.
bockris bio is pretty trashy, but has some good stuff in it. lou is probably due a better bio at this point.

yeah I'm kinda amazed there aren't more. waiting for him to die I guess.

lou will outlive us all.

the comic book told me so
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy201/Aramchekster/LouReedLivetheBackHolesInSpacemagpg05.jpg

Another amazing cover:

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/50b4c3b2b26705a7ed716ffb7c7ce798/2103097.jpg

"Franz Schöler präsentiert die Velvet Underground Story"

cover connection, xp:

http://moonsetgallery.com/catalog/images/Dianogah.jpg

Who the fuck is going to sit in a library and read a Lou Reed bio all day.

lol 18 y.o. underrated a would have gone back to the library every day for a month until he had the whole book memorized

just requested the Bockris book through interlibrary loan ... I'm Waiting for My Librarian

Ha, aero otm

lol 15 y.o. zappi went to library & looked through microfiche for any references to Warhol/Factory/Velvets or anything even vaguely related. then Up-tight came out, hoo boy.

Will read my copy of the Unterberger book while awaiting my turn out the community ILX copy of the limited edition memorabilia book

http://i196.photobucket.com/albums/aa72/vulcangascompany1969/sunn_amps.jpg

http://blog.chron.com/bookish/files/2012/04/seeing-the-light.jpg
Got this one at the library today.

I've been eyeing that.

I just finished the two Bockris books, Up-Tight (nice photos, other contents superseded by the Unterberger book imo) and Transformer (lots of entertaining dirt but ultimately overwhelming in its Lou-ness; after finishing it, I felt like I had been listening to different versions of "Heroin" on repeat for a few days).

nice cover on the jovanovic book, though he really isn't a great writer, having read his big star and pavement books. what's the angle on this -- just a history?

Looks like that. Claims "exclusive" interviews.

I put a notify in it to pick up at the circ desk once it has been processed.
It just feels good in my hands. Not sure how interested I am in actually reading it.
Never read this guy before.

nice cover on the jovanovic book, though he really isn't a great writer, having read his big star and pavement books. what's the angle on this -- just a history?

― tylerw, Monday, April 23, 2012 10:38 PM (36 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

If I'm thinking right that's from a photoshoot from L.A. when the Exploding Plastic Impossible crew went out there. there's a photo of the band with reflection in a window in the photobook version of Uptight which I wish i still had. From what I remember, they're dressed almost exactly the same which is why I'm thinking it's from that shoot. Always stuck in my head at least partially cos I loved Lou's boots in the photo.
Not sure how much i like Uptight without the 60s photos.

The South Bank Show on them from the mid 80s was also pretty tasty.

yeah that must be the same photo shoot that pretty much every VU book uses for its cover. i guess it's one of the few that features everyone (incl. warhol and nico).
http://www.arrakis.es/~e.miquel/rnranimal/images/books/uptight.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51sUa3al8-L._SL500_AA300_.jpg
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/711VMZHJYVL._SL500_AA300_.gif

http://www.avclub.com/articles/visiting-the-highschool-auditorium-that-introduced,82633/
sort of the ultimate link for this thread. but kind of fun anyway.

https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/524435_10151061126258791_637989788_n.jpg
won't be buying this, but it looks cool!

Is that new/soon-to-be-released?

Targeted for Late October according to the Sundazed FB page (which I reccomend "like"ing; Irwin is good about answering questions and such).

Of course, they also spout out lines like this in regards to their product:

You may think you have these albums, but unless you have absolute first pressings, have the first four records in mono, have them all cut from the absolute original masters, and have the rare "closet mix" of the third LP, you really don't "have" these albums.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVCtkzIXYzQ

have the first four records in mono

rolling my eyes, 3rd LP was never in mono (some of the singles were)

I remember reading in The Velvet Underground Reader that the mono WL/WH is basically all noise, pure headache music. "The Gift" suffers in particular.

You may think you have these albums, but unless you have absolute first pressings, have the first four records in mono, have them all cut from the absolute original masters, and have the rare "closet mix" of the third LP, you really don't "have" these albums.

I "have" these albums.

Also:

I remember reading in The Velvet Underground Reader that the mono WL/WH is basically all noise, pure headache music.

And this is bad how?

There seems to be some debate about the "mono" 3rd album.

It seems it's the "closet" mix, but it's a 'genuine' mono, not a 'fold-down' of the stereo.

But there seems to be no confirmation about it.

"The Murder Mystery" in mono would seem to defeat the purpose.

it's weird, and kind of awesome, that the Velvet Underground, whose catalog was either OOP or cut-out bin for a good while, has become one of those bands whose stuff can be repackaged & rereleased again & again & again and people will just keep right on buying it

And David Fricke will just keep right on writing about it.
mostly curious about the tracklisting they've cooked up for the 1969 sessions (and whether those mixes are markedly diff from VU and Another View).

the Velvet Underground, whose catalog was either OOP or cut-out bin for a good while

you sure about this? afaik none of the three canonical albums have ever gone out of print, which would also mean that they have never languished in cut-out bins

I thought the 1985 reissue program was the first time the first 3 records were back in print for at least a few years?

technically I don't know. I do know that for several years you used to be able to hit up Rhino, Music Plus, the Wherehouse, Licorice Pizza, and Tower in SoCal and not be able to find anything except the debut & Loaded. And, as we all know, Loaded is a piece of shit and doesn't even count lol

lol
in other news, its sterling morrison's b-day today
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_68orX32dobI/TPRrFdqS3dI/AAAAAAAAC70/NTzHDxIyf5M/s320/SMorrison.jpg

I thought the 1985 reissue program was the first time the first 3 records were back in print for at least a few years?

Nooh.

You always had the choice of New pressings on the red "Polydor" label, or second-hand versions on the old MGM label, for not-too-much-money.

Or, of course, the "verve" editions for a chunka-change.

I do remember a line in The Book of Rock Lists where Lester Bangs complained about Verve/MGM's horrible repackaging of Velvets records; just didn't know what the timeframe was.

First album got the "can't peel" banana
Second one got the "soldiers" front cover
Third album escaped the re-design

There's also the unforgettable
http://991.com/NewGallery/Velvet-Underground-Velvet-Undergroun-361886.jpg

pretty weird. is that an actual warhol design?

I think so, yes. That comp was actually my first ever VU record so I have a soft spot for it. It also seems to be rather rare.

The first three were long out of print, at least in Canada--I bought import copies of the first and Loaded sometime around '78, then spent the next few years going from used store to used store, trying to find reasonably priced copies of #2 and #3. I wrote about this never-ending search once.

I think so, yes. That comp was actually my first ever VU record so I have a soft spot for it. It also seems to be rather rare.

Ditto.

The first Velvets comp I had was a German double from the early 70s, with a green cover with a sort of sub-Roger Dean design on it. It also had tracks from "Chelsea Girl" on it.

The comp with the Warhol cover gets a mention in Julian Cope's "Head on" as both his and Ian McCullough's intro to the Velvets, around 1973.

My copy of Loaded:

http://static.rateyourmusic.com/album_images/0a2054f6bb8977ea4a69ad46a602eb82/674127.jpg

I found decent copies of the Verve originals for ~$10 each around 1990 at Rockaway Records of Los Angeles. Actually, now that I think of it my 3rd version may not be original, because when I first heard the closet mix of "Some Kinda Love" I was like "uh...... wtf?!?!!??!"

i got used copies of all the original VU lps in the 90s for fairly cheap -- can't imagine I paid more than $10 for any of them. not that they were in great condition or anything. only half a banana ;_;

just realised that i've never heard the non-closet mix of the 3rd album, is it really that different?
only know i have the closet mix on vinyl cos someone remarked upon it when i played once

on the non-closet version, some kinda love is a totally different (imo superior) take of the song. other differences are negligible to my ears.

here's the non-closet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh-GNnCwHj4
and the closet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc8kMbL7y3o

actually my fave version of that song is probably on live 1969

closet mix is basically just Lou's vocals louder, right? I think I only listened to it a couple times cuz it was on the Peel Slowly box. was not particularly impressed.

wow that's a totally different take of Some Kinda Love huh
totally jarring listen after 20+ years of playing the other version!

I don't think it's a different take...? just a different mix.

pretty sure it's at least a different vocal take. think it might be a different instrumental take altogether too, but i suppose it could just be a different mix.

Didn't know anything about that. I have the closet version. I have no idea what it has to do with a closet.

Lou was in the closet iirc

pretty sure it's at least a different vocal take.

a lot of the inflections/line readings are *really* similar in each version, but I'm not sure

here's what sal mercuri says in his peel slowly review:
The box offers Lou's infamous 'closet mix', which is not better or worse than the more familiar Val Valentin mix, just different. The difference is one between an artist, and an engineer - one works to depict a personal vision, the other turns knobs and manipulates levers competently. As this box is intended to finally honor the band and their vision, it's only fitting that original mix be used. The most obvious variation is the alternate take of 'Some Kinda Love'. In the Valentin version, the take used features jangling guitars and straight ahead vocals typical of the band's live renditions of that song. The closet mix version sounds much more desperate, like Lou was lying on the floor, on the nod, with a microphone placed nearby as he mutters the virtues of all kinds of love.

What I mean is, if the words are identical in the two versions (which is what most of these posts indicate), why is one any more closety than the other?

Okay, sorry--tyler's long post seems to answer that.

sterling morrison coined the "closet mix" -- he said it sounded like it was recorded in a closet. i think he meant it as a compliment though!
since we're VU-ing it today -- here's something i just posted over on ye olde blog: a live show from march 1969. http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/30395247670/endless-revisions-in-honor-of-sterling-morrisons

There are a lot of differences between the two, but I only have the closet mix so I can't really rattle them off. I used to be friends with this guy who owned the Valentin mix who got really agitated when he was at my apartment and I played the closet mix. He basically gave me a live commentary pointing out all of the differences. I specifically remember him ranting about how the closet mix ruined "Jesus".

i just heard the valentin mix first so that's the one i prefer -- but the closet mix is fine too. feel like the drums are a little less prominent in the mix, the vocals are kinda higher above everything else. i mean, i don't care too much, it's an amazing record either way.

though i guess, according to sundazed, i've never really "had" this record.

sterling morrison coined the "closet mix" -- he said it sounded like it was recorded in a closet.

Okay--so it's a metaphorical closet, but also a physical space. I've got it straight. I mean, I get it.

even rarer still is lou's "i'm exploring my sexuality" mix.

same performances different mixes imo. mix is such a huge thing. prefer the weirdo closet mix but it's the one I had back when - the other one they sound like a jangly pop band with a bad singer, not a weird band that can't really be compared to anybody else

I’ve always preferred the closet mixes. They sound more intimate to these ears.

I'm new to ILM but have had suspicions that many of the posters here are as deaf as doorknobs, and reading all the posts that think that the closet mix of "Some Kinda Love" is the same performance as the non-closet mix absolutely confirms it.

Peter G. (aka "il queequeg")

haha! y'all been burned. yeah i think it's a diff performance too.

maybe we can get some real musicians in here to make the final judgement.

okay I A/B'd 'em (hard to sync em up with one being shorter than the other) and yeah they're different, albeit very similar, vocal takes. Dunno about the guitars, the closet mix seems to drop one of the guitar tracks altogether which makes it hard to tell.

yeah, if it's the same performance lou has (surprise!) mixed his guitar wayyyyyyy the hell up. but yeah, there are some different vocal intonations throughout.

Well, for starters, Lou begins the closet mix with "Some kinds of love," where as "love" is singular in the non-closeted version.

Oops, that's "kinds" is singular.

just noticed that the nuns blog is invite only.. anyone know how to get access?

I'm new to ILM but have had suspicions that many of the posters here are as deaf as doorknobs, and reading all the posts that think that the closet mix of "Some Kinda Love" is the same performance as the non-closet mix absolutely confirms it.
Of course they're different performances. I just prefer what are commonly known as the "closet mixes."
Having said that, I am as deaf as a doorknob. I blame that on a Clash show in '82.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=daIsBjJmGJY

^^^^i believe that's an early mix of white light white heat they've dug up for some soundtrack

yeah, it was a hillbilly cover all along?

Ralph Stanley returning it to its bootlegging roots, think he does that with a few songs on that s/trk.
Could be all thanks to having Nick Cave as musical director. Think he talked about it in that interview in that Observer last Sunday
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/aug/26/lawless-nick-cave-interview?fb=native

WTF at that Ralph Stanley version

maybe we can get some real musicians in here to make the final judgement.

I've recorded many, many albums & I'd wager that they're the same performance. Vocally & all. I think some of you don't really know just how different a mix can make a song. I could be wrong, but having gone through the mixing process many, many times, I don't think I am. You guys know that whole parts get taken out in mix that can be present in a different mix of the same performance, right? So, for example, the drum track & the vocal track can be the same while the guitars are different...or some vocal phrases can be dropped in or out, replaced with pieces from different takes...etc, etc. This was all doable by any local engineer when the track was recorded. Substantially, these are the same take, with some possible different mixing decisions about keeping or leaving out other stuff.

OTOH it is also true that I'm completely deaf.

haha, i *was* kidding, aero -- i know there are real musicians around here.

http://images2.fanpop.com/images/photos/5200000/Steven-steven-tyler-5217884-385-480.jpg

huh, never knew about the different mixes. my LP is the closet mix.

http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1968/vuad6805.gif

I just listened to both mixes. Vocals are different, the closet mix also has only one guitar which sounds to me like neither of the guitars on the original vinyl mix. The percussion and the bas could very well be the same though.

http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/live/1971-73/vu_ad_710501_youngstown_vindicator_april_29_1971.jpg

Steven, i know you have recorded many of Beantown's finest classic rock albums of the 70s, but seriously, ffwd to the final verse ("put jelly on your shoulder")... Lou does this elongated falsetto on the closet mix ("lie down upon the carpet"). the prominent guitar (not sure if that's lou or sterl) that's present on both tracks also does more blue note bends on the closet mix. NOTE: I am NOT A/B-ing this shit, I have heard both versions enough that they are ingrained in my brain.

Trust me for I am
Peter G. (aka "lil queequeg")

The guitar present in both mixes is Lou for the record. Sterl got the shaft in the closet mix, no wonder he named it so.

blue note bends

Yeah, this was the descriptor I was trying to come up with. Neither guitar on the original mix does this the same way, or as much.

Can I just say that doing my research for my previous post I had to revisit the reunion tour album which has to be without a doubt one of the biggest flaming piles of shit ever amassed?

the version of some kinda love on there is pretty bonkers. lou is terrible, but cale's piano pounding drowns him out at the end!

Chuckling at Ralph Stanley resolutely refusing to find a way to fit "tickles me down to my toes" into the meter every single time he reaches that line.

Steven, i know you have recorded many of Beantown's finest classic rock albums of the 70s, but seriously, ffwd to the final verse ("put jelly on your shoulder")... Lou does this elongated falsetto on the closet mix ("lie down upon the carpet"). the prominent guitar (not sure if that's lou or sterl) that's present on both tracks also does more blue note bends on the closet mix. NOTE: I am NOT A/B-ing this shit, I have heard both versions enough that they are ingrained in my brain.

ha, I will confess that I listened to the first two minutes A/B and said "these are the same performance for the most part," I haven't made it all the way through. I will] say that I remember plenty of blue bending notes on the French vinyl which was my listening copy during the eighties - it was one of the things I found most unusual about the song.

http://gawker.com/5938877/man-who-shipped-himself-in-a-box-to-his-girlfriend-nearly-suffocates-after-getting-lost-in-the-mail?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow

Someone who didn't pay enough attention to VU lyrics.

he was Chinese so maybe hadn't understood the song perfectly.
I mean since WL/WH is such a popular lp over there & all

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/265970_10151070886033791_1592168086_o.jpg

feel like leading off the 1969 LP is a good idea, not sure how i feel about it not ending with "I'm Sticking With You" ... but 'Ride Into The Sun' is rad too.

meant to say "feel like leading off the 1969 LP with Foggy Notion is a good idea"

As long as it leads off with the six guitar notes missing from every non-vinyl-VU release of the song.

also, leaving out ferryboat bill! COME ON.

I admit I am kinda tempted by this

mostly because all my Velvets stuff has always been cassette/CD (apart from a very odd pressing of WL/WH)

I don't know if I've only ever heard the 'closet mix' or what but every mix I've ever heard has sounded exactly the same. Maybe the older mix just isn't in circulation much these days...

xp it does look cool. i think sundazed said it would retail for around $100. which isn't outrageous, i guess. it's a little outrageous.

not to just keep posting things from sundazed's facebook page, but this is neato!
https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/417395_10151070916863791_1241806119_n.jpg

Yeah, those tape boxes were the CD covers for the discs in the box set from the mid-90s. I remember trying to understand what the heck the notes next to each track meant.

I love that "Sister Ray" is handwritten in, having crossed out "Searching."

"Really? This isn't the Coasters tune? Are you sure?"