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."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3WMbxheyaQ

Just read this whole thread off the back of watching the doc - excellent use of a Sunday fyi. Now diving into all the live material which somehow I mostly haven't listened to.

VUare Bizarro World Beatles

Yes! Underrated/band-defining drummer; career trajectory converging to dashed-off stories about Sweet Loretta Jane, Lonesome Cowboy Bill, Rocky Raccoon, Sweet Jane, etc; person called John. Basically the same band.

Thought the doc did a great job of illustrating the context for the band: how these people found themselves in this place at this time, making this music. Less good at what happened once they were doing actual band stuff imo.

xp definitely give a listen to "Sweet Sister Ray", imo a key piece of history that remains unreleased:

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

I thought it was on the big White Light/ White Heat box set?

no, the La Cave version is the one people want

https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/309-invisible-hits-the-velvet-undergrounds-elusive-sweet-sister-ray/

Thought the doc did a great job of illustrating the context for the band: how these people found themselves in this place at this time, making this music. Less good at what happened once they were doing actual band stuff imo.

it would have been 100% less-marketable as a band doc, but would have been cool if the movie had been all about the buildup to VU and ended with the release of the 1st album

Yes indeed.

There are a few rock biographies like that. Re-make/Re-model: Becoming Roxy Music by Michael Bracewell has lots of information about the band members' artistic and cultural environments as young men (and about 5 pages on Bryan Ferry's hairdresser) but ends with the recording of the first album. In Joe Jackson's memoir, he gets to 1978 about 15 pages from the end of the book.

Feel like there is a thing in any kind of biography of the Before and the After. The Before is the kind of interesting part of how the person forms their identity, the After is all the "And then I wrote" etc. Anthony Burgess was kind enough to split his autobiography into two volumes along that fault line.

not that you could have done a miniseries but the whole trajectory of the members lives is so fascinating for the superfan, so unlike Roxy or Joe Jackson settling into steady and comfortable careers; Lit PhDd, Wal-mart and Tea Party rally, methadone goth, midwifing "Hallelujah" to singing competitions, etc.

Heh

you forgot "tugboat captain"!

Ferryboat Sterl.

And that’s the short and long of it

you forgot "tugboat captain"!

"Sweet Sister Ray" is a groovy jam, but I guess I don't really don't hear the magick that others seem to hear in it...

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-new-york-earth-room-new-york-new-york

What’s the link? Is that the End of Cole Ave venue?

No. Walter De Maria was the drummer for The Primitives.

The Velvet Ground

They're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt.

Ha, exactly.

xxxp oh! I was looking for Maclise or Powers and concluded it must be the venue itself

"worth a million dollars" lol

You're just dirt
You're just dirt
The only word for you is dirt
That's the only word that hurt, you're just dirt
That's all you're worth - cheap, cheap dirt
You know they call it cheap, cheap, cheap, cheap, uptown dirt

Not so cheap, actually.

Ha, was thinking of that one too.

Gearhead tells all:
The Kent Copa that Sterling and Lou were playing was from the 1964–’66 range, since theirs had the more angular, rectangle-shaped pickups. These were low-output pickups with a strong DC resistance rating, but they were rather gnarly with a hint of overdrive, even at calm control settings. The real magic happens when the Copa is paired with a raunchy amp (à la the Danelectro-made Silvertone 1484) and a primitive fuzz like the early Vox Tone Bender.

Two other quirks to note: The bridge was a non-adjustable plastic job that did not help with intonation. So, if your guitar was off from day one, it would be off forever. Second, the tremolo on the Kent Copa is actually very good! The spring is recessed into the body and the darn unit just works amazingly and has a great feel.
https://www.premierguitar.com/pro-advice/wizard-of-odd/kent-copa-guitar

!!!! don't think this was posted before?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVxkWnwcFYw

News to me, thanks.

wow!

I think it's in the documentary?

Guess I must have been focusing on the wrong corner of the split screen.

I don't know if it had audio though.

I was about to say it sounds and looks like Moe wasn't there and that is indeed the case:

"Candy Says" live at the Paramount Theatre, Springfield MA, April 17, 1970

Video shot by Steve Nelson on monochrome soundless videotape. The audio was captured separately by unknown source

The Velvet's performed this night as a three piece (Lou, Sterling, and Doug) Moe had just gone on maternity leave

Wow that looks like a transmission that slipped out of the ether

Right, exactly. It’s kind of a triptych version of a Warhol Screen Test.

She went on maternity leave but they still set her drums up? Or maybe they belonged to the opening or closing band?

Most likely. The Tots or The Sundowners or whoever it was.

audio for the whole show is here: https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/615656049044848640/the-velvet-underground-paramount-theater

doug plays drums on a few tracks.

I was six days old!

Yeah, I remember it from the documentary.

One of those daft Facebook articles mentioned The Muppets doing the Velvet Underground on one of their "number" songs on Sesame Street or some such.

Did you remember this?

"Shiny, shiny, shiny number seven ..."

Nope, not found it..

I'd've thought it was a wind up somewhere along the way either something misunderstood by the writer or a joke on their part.
Would be very surprised to find they were overground enough to register in that way.

THough maybe it was a windup on the part of a hip production team. Some kind of irony in knowing the source vs the usage and thinkikng that the audience would never make the connection.

I'm assuming it would be a more recent episode, than back in 1968 or whenever...

.. obviously The Muppets weren't around in 1968, don't write in ..

They were around then, but were more into the Beatles...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4KUrntHu60

tbf "I'm Sticking With You" is perfect for the Muppets.