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The Velvet Underground & Nico

The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico Audio CD

A fair review of the The Velvet Underground "The Velvet Underground & Nico" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Velvet Underground reviews here, or go back to the The Velvet Underground tabs.

Band: The Velvet Underground
Title: The Velvet Underground & Nico
Rating:

Release Date: 2008-09-16
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sunday Morning 2: I'm Waiting for the Man 3: Femme Fatale 4: Venus in Furs 5: Run Run Run 6: All Tomorrow's Parties 7: Heroin 8: There She Goes Again 9: I'll Be Your Mirror 10: Black Angel's Death Song 11: European Son

The Velvet Underground were a great band...
I would expect an expensive box set to provide the complete released recordings of a band, or provide a good range of quality un-released material, and this collection does neither.
This is not a great box set.

Disc one has six tracks of early demos sans a drummer. They are of interest because you can hear the early, folksy roots of the band when Lou Reed hadn't quite found his own voice and sounds like Bob Dylan. Unfortunately these tracks are comprised of multiple takes strung together so that they repeat and you aren't able to go from one to the next. "All Tomorrow's Parties" for example, is 18 minutes long. And none of it is better than what is on their classic debut album recorded a few years later. Most listeners will listen once and then move on. This could have easily been shortened and then added to disc two, which is short on rarities.

Disc two includes the debut CD in it's entirety along with a long, rambling live jam and two tracks written by the Velvets for Nico's solo albums, which arguably don't belong here.

Discs three and four include "White Light/White Heat" and the Self Titled third album's original closet mix, respectively. Surprisingly, the closet mix doesn't sound that much different. Yes, there is a difference, but it's not grand. For some reason tracks taken from the two posthumous collections "VU" and "Another View" are picked over here so that you don't get them all. If you were trying to get all of the Velvet's released material, you'd still have to go buy those CDs after purchasing this box set!
Fortunately, there are also 9 demo and live tracks of rare songs included here so you are getting something "new" in their place.

Disc five starts with "Loaded" with the full-length versions of "Sweet Jane" and "New Age" intact as Reed always intended. It also has seven additional tracks, which are the real gems of this set as the sound is of album quality and some of these songs are real standouts. For example, "Ocean", which was left off "Loaded" for reasons I can't fathom, is a totally different version than what was released on "VU" (not included here!) and is as good as anything the Velvet Underground ever recorded. The original version of "Satellite of Love" is great to hear, previously known only as a Lou Reed solo song.
Then there are some live tracks of well-known songs sprinkled in, for what seem to be totally random reasons. A separate disc of live standouts would have been much more appreciated. After buying this box set, a fan would still need to pick up a live album such as "Live: 1969" in order to get the live experience.

So basically everything that's exclusive to this box set could conceivably be released as one CD so that you could just buy all of the original albums and actually end up with more material than what's included here.
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An Incredible Look Into VU During The Reed Years

From the packaging, incredible booklet and wealth of rare material, The Velvet Underground is given the type of treatment that enhances the legacy that was paved during the "Lou Reed years" of 1965-1970. Simply, this boxed set is the way artists should be represented in these "definitive" compilations on their careers.

Early demos, alternate mixes, live cuts, full-length versions of songs and studio tracks from the legendary "lost album" (due to drama with a record company) make for a story that needs to be heard by fans and those who are interested in this intriguing era of "pop" music.

The only quibble concerns the final VU sudio album, Squeeze, which remains mostly ignored and never released on CD. The inclusion here would have made this boxed set indispensible for collectors.

VU receives star treatment and the power of the music propels each of the five discs to extraordinary heights.

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Impressive overview
The first disc of looping demos alone articulates this fan-intensive approach almost to an alienating degree, although the remaining four studio discs come packed with a treasure trove of B-sides, many of which are quite good in their unvarnished ways. A fine boxed set detailing one of America's premier experimental groups, it is still constructed for the knowledgeable (borderline obsessive perhaps) fan already familiar with their 4 studio discs, which work alone fine for me. .

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.

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You can see a complete list of all The Velvet Underground discography, or go back to the The Velvet Underground tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.