Audio CD review:
The Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly and See

The Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly and See

Band: The Velvet Underground Title: Peel Slowly and See Rating: Release Date: 1995-09-26 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Venus in Furs 2: Prominent Men - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 3: Heroin 4: I'm Waiting for the Man 5: Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams 6: All Tomorrow's Parties 7: All Tomorrow's Parties 8: Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 9: I'm Waiting for the Man 10: Femme Fatale 11: Venus in Furs 12: Run Run Run 13: All Tomorrow's Parties 14: Heroin 15: There She Goes Again 16: I'll Be Your Mirror 17: The Black Angel's Death Song - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 18: European Son - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 19: Melody Laughter - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 20: It Was a Pleasure Then - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 21: Chelsea Girls - The Velvet Underground, Morrison, Sterling 22: There Is No Reason - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 23: Sheltered Life 24: It's All Right (The Way That You Live) - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 25: I'm Not Too Sorry (Now That You're Gone) - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 26: Here She Comes Now - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 27: Guess I'm Falling in Love - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 28: Booker T. - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 29: White Light/White Heat 30: The Gift - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 31: Lady Godiva's Operation 32: Here She Comes Now - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 33: I Heard Her Call My Name 34: Sister Ray - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 35: Stephanie Says 36: Temptation Inside Your Heart 37: Hey Mr. Rain - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 38: What Goes On 39: Candy Says 40: What Goes On 41: Some Kinda Love 42: Pale Blue Eyes 43: Jesus 44: Beginning to See the Light 45: I'm Set Free 46: That's the Story of My Life 47: The Murder Mystery 48: After Hours 49: Foggy Notion - The Velvet Underground, Morrison, Sterling 50: I Can't Stand It 51: I'm Sticking With You 52: One of These Days 53: Lisa Says 54: It's Just Too Much 55: Countess from Hong Kong - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 56: Who Loves the Sun 57: Sweet Jane 58: Rock & Roll 59: Cool It Down 60: New Age 61: Head Held High 62: Lonesome Cowboy Bill - The Velvet Underground, Morrison, Sterling 63: I Found a Reason 64: Train Round the Bend 65: Oh! Sweet Nuthin' 66: Satellite of Love 67: Walk and Talk It 68: Oh Gin 69: Sad Song 70: Ocean 71: Ride into the Sun - The Velvet Underground, Cale, John 72: Some Kinda Love 73: I'll Be Your Mirror 74: I Love You

I'll be your mirror, reflect what you are The Velvet Underground was unique in 1967 -- even if it never made big sales -- and remains unique to this day, no matter how many bands are influenced by them. Heroin, sadomasochism, paranoia, hangovers, seductive ladies and a big banana on the cover. Not bad for an arty band with zero mainstream appeal! Lou Reed tears through a variety of songs, ranging from gritty hard rock to strange ballads. The most memorable song here is undoubtedly slashing, exotic S/M ode "Venus in Furs" ("Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him/Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart"). Elsewhere, he dips into pure rock in the desperate "Run, Run, Run," but takes a softer turn with surreal junkie ballads and the eerie, soft "Sunday Morning. " However, German ex-model Nico -- who departed the band in hazy circumstances after this album -- leads with her seductive monotone. She only had a handful of songs, but they remain some of the best: singsong "Femme Fatale," steady and slow "All Tomorrow's Parties," and the exquisite ballad "I'll Be Your Mirror. " The Velvet Underground was probably the first real art band in rock history, formed at a time when megabands like the Rolling Stones were at their peak. But they couldn't have been more different from the heavily-publicized bands -- creepy, dark, and both beautiful and ugly. The Velvet Underground was the reverse of mainstream. The music isn't complex, but it is strangely compelling -- the wiggling guitar at the beginning of "Black Angel's Death Song," or the tambourines Nico played in her songs. Nowhere else could musical compositions like "Sunday Morning" -- the delicate tune reminiscent of a music box -- seem so haunting as they do here. The vocals are excellent, although listeners will probably like one or the other. Lou Reed's high thin voice is a sharp contrast to Nico's accented, husky croon. (Nico left the band after this album, which is a shame), but it's the writing that makes it stand out The songwriting is outstanding, and since the frank references to kinky sex and drugs are nowhere near as shocking now as they were then, the raw quality of the songs can shine. The sparse, slithering music and excellent singing add solidarity to the reputation of the Velvet Underground as a classic. Dark and brooding, debut album "Velvet Underground and Nico" is an exceptional album. Great music with questionable track listings & packaging You would expect the demos, live tracks, & extras from the respective time periods to be at the end of the official releases, right? Not so. Hard to criticize the great music on this box set, but there are some missteps in the track listings and packaging. It's also disappointing that this isn't the box set that includes everything that is commercially available. On disc 1 there are demo versions exclusive to this release. We are all excited to hear new Velvet's material, but it's mostly Cale singing the same verse over and over accompanied by Reed on acoustic guitar. Interesting, but you won't be anxious to hear this more than a couple of times. On disc 2 there's the short version of All Tomorrow's Parties (Single Version) which is before The Velvet Underground & Nico. There is no reason for this to start the disc; it's the shorter, lesser version of the song. The huge bonus on this disc is the live track Melody Laughter, which is VU live w/Nico; wish there was more tracks like this on here. Disc 3 features demos and live tracks before the main release that is White Light/White Heat. Again, all of these tracks should be at the end of the official release. The live tracks Guess I'm Falling In Love and Booker T. are particularly noteworthy, but are awkward listens before the showcase release. Disc 4 has a live version of What Goes On and you get to hear the "closet" version 2 tracks later. A minor annoyance, but still. The live and bonus tracks on this are outstanding. Disc 5 I have little to complain about. Loaded precedes all of the great extras. On to the packaging. Comes in a great book shelf worthy cardboard case w/a vinyl peel off banana that encloses the discs themselves which are in plastic cases as opposed to the annoying cardboard digipacks that are customary these days. There is also the awesome 80 page booklet w/musings from the Velvets as reported by David Fricke. What is disappointing about the packaging is that the original LP covers are reduced to thumbnails on the back of the cds. These are replaced, on the front cd cover, by scans of the analog tape cases w/hand written notes; very cool, but not worthy enough to replace the original covers. In conclusion, lots to like here, but my big gripe is I wanted an all inclusive box set w/track listings that were suitable to my tastes. . Great Set The bonus tracks really throw it over the top. Must have for all Lou Reed fans. . Supernova With the exception of the discordant Black Angel's Death Song and to a lesser extent European Son, every song is underpinned by a lovely melody line. Astonishing in its diversity, this influential album appeared like a supernova and endures as a classic because of the quality of the songs. This is especially evident on the melancholic Sunday Morning, the resigned Femme Fatale and the wistful All Tomorrow's Parties, but by no means lacking on more confrontational tracks like Venus In Furs or Heroin. I'll Be Your Mirror has the same folky feel as Sunday Morning, while the roughness of Black Angel and European Son (the latter dedicated to poet Delmore Schwarts, one of Reed's heroes) has become more digestible as the mainstream has caught up with this pioneering work. The voice of Nico, the archetypical Teutonic Blonde, adds a strange and eerie dimension to the album as a whole. These songs have often been covered; to name just a few of my favorite interpretations: Sunday Morning by OMD, Waiting For The Man by John Cale and Nico on various of their solo albums, Femme Fatale by Propaganda, All Tomorrow's Parties by June Tabor on Freedom and Rain, There She Goes Again by REM on Dead Letter Office. The legacy of the VU, and of this album in particular, may be observed in the beautiful sonic sojourns of bands like inter alia Mercury Rev, My Bloody Valentine, Jesus and Mary Chain, Sonic Youth, and Swans. The "Banana" album remains a monument to the fierce spirit of rock 'n roll. review of the compilation It sounded more like a jam session by a not so talented garage band! Do i say more. I regret that i got carried away by the recommendations given on my previous purchases as well as the other reviews on this compilation "Peel slowly and see" is definitely one of the worst in my collection. Can i have my money back or atleast exchange the same for some better music?. You can see a complete list of all The Velvet Underground discography, or go back to the The Velvet Underground tabs