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Rank The Velvet Underground albums


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Yeah, I'll post a YSI when I get home from work before I hit the road and head to Detroit.

 

Edit: On second thought, I'll wait until I get to my mom's tonight. So assuming I don't forget my mp3 player, I'll do it tonight.

Edited by MrRain422
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You definately didn't hear songs about S & M, or none that I can think of anyway, but, there were certainly loads of songs about drug addiction - although perhaps they didn't glorify it in the same way I guess.
Well there were songs about drugs and taking drugs I suppose, but few in rock and roll in 1967 and none that talked about both the experience of actually taking it in graphic detail and the sleezy side of going out and getting it. All this was a far cry from Mr. Tamborine Man or Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds or even Steppenwolf's Pusherman or whatever it was called. (Or Kicking the Gong around by Cab Calloway...)

 

LouieB

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Has anyone heard 'Le Bataclan '72'? Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico did a one-off show in Paris (?). It has its moments.
I haven't, but I would like to get a copy. Does anyone know if it is still in print? I thought it was a limited release.

 

LouieB

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So does that mean you don't want to hear Cale's take on "All Tomorrow's Parties"? Seriously, the intensity of the piano work on that song, the lyrics, the drums...I can see not liking Nico's vocals I guess, but man, that song is just so good.

 

I'd be interested in that, yes.

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Interesting as a document for hardcore fans, but it's really rather hard to listen to, don't you think? You really can't hear a thing other than the guitar and a ton of feedback.

 

 

totally. it's not something I can sit and listen to on a regular basis, but it was interesting to hear it.

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OK, I am listening to White Light now and Sister Ray is an amazing song. I've always loved White Light (the song) but I guess I've always been a little sick of the noise and weirdness by the time Sister Ray gets going.

 

"She's busy..."

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1. The Velvet Underground - This kicks ass, especially What Goes On and Beginning to See the Light.

2. The Velvet Underground and Nico - A very close second. I love Nico's versions, especially All Tomorrow's Parties. I'm sure it was quite a novelty in the good old USA at that time to hear anything other than an American or British accent on a record.

3. V.U. - Lisa Says and The Ocean propel this into the 3rd place slot. Excellent.

4. Loaded - Good, but not quite as good as the others (for me).

5. White Light, White Heat - I'm with rghammo, I never got into this album (although the title track is pretty good). Sister Ray gets old fast, and I've always been sickened by The Gift.

6. Another View - Also has some great stuff but some pretty lightweight stuff too.

 

Does anybody have the box set Peel Slowly and See? I've got a mishmosh of the above albums (CD, tape, etc.), but I'm not sure it's worth the money for all those repeated tracks. Any opinions?

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Does anybody have the box set Peel Slowly and See? I've got a mishmosh of the above albums (CD, tape, etc.), but I'm not sure it's worth the money for all those repeated tracks. Any opinions?

I have it, but I hadn't bought the CDs of the other albums first (except for the "Fully Loaded" edition of Loaded). I mostly had vinyl.

 

It's a great box set, of course ... but I guess it depends on what you already own as to whether it's worth it.

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I have it, but I hadn't bought the CDs of the other albums first (except for the "Fully Loaded" edition of Loaded). I mostly had vinyl.

 

It's a great box set, of course ... but I guess it depends on what you already own as to whether it's worth it.

I've only got "Velvet Underground" and "Velvet Underground and Nico" on CD, so I am sorely tempted ... especially since I can get it from BMG for 35 bucks including shipping.

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If you're a big fan, the boxed set is totally worth it. The 4 original albums are on there, but there is just soooooooooooo much more.

 

The first disc is demos from the pre-Moe Tucker days of the band (although Angus MacLise apparently did not show up, as there are no drums on it at all--just Lou, John and Sterl). One otherwise lost song ("Prominent Men", which is totally Lou trying to be Dylan), one song that appeared years later on a Nico album ("Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams") and some early versions of some classics from the first album, some of them in several takes. "Venus in Furs" and "Waiting for the Man" are the ones that are most different from the familiar versions ("Venus in Furs" is sung by Cale, and done in a much sparser but equally creepy arrangement, and "Waiting for the Man" has a bit of a country feel to it). "Heroin" has a few lyrical differences, but is otherwise as you know it.

 

The second disc is The Velvet Underground & Nico, plus some bonus tracks, which include the VU-relevant songs from Nico's first album, a couple live tracks, and the single edit of "All Tomorrow's Parties".

 

Disc 3 is White Light/White Heat plus some tracks from VU/Another View, live versions of "Guess I'm Falling in Love" (with vocals) and "Booker T." (which became the instrumental track for "The Gift"), plus I think 5 demo songs. One of the demos is "Here She Comes Now", another is "The Sheltered Life", which appeared on a Lou solo album later, and the rest are, as far as I know, otherwise unreleased.

 

Disc 4 is The Velvet Underground, plus some VU/Another View tracks. The only other extras on that disc are a live version of "It's Just Too Much" and a demo for "Countess From Hong Kong", which I believe is unreleased elsewhere.

 

Disc 5 is Loaded and just an absolute shit load of demos, plus two live tracks. The live tracks are "I'll Be Your Mirror" and a long version of "Some Kinda Love", from the same shows as the Max's Kansas City album. At the time the boxed set came out, this track was unreleased, but I think it's actually on the re-release of Max's Kansas City now. There are 7 demos. They're all songs that Lou Reed recorded later, but every one of them is dramatically different from the versions that he did later (except for "I Love You"). This features the definitive version of "Ocean" (different from the VU version) and an absolute rockin' version of "Satellite of Love".

 

Anyway, yeah, if you're a big fan, go for it.

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I have the box,Loaded (fully loaded), VU, and Another View. I would say VU is the better of the two. I think the banana album has now been given one of those legacy edition makeovers - but I am not buying that. I don't care much for Nico's vocals - and neither did the band - she was mainly there because Andy put her there.

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rghammo: It looks like the box set is only missing "Andy's Chest" and "She's My Best Friend" from VU (pretty non-essential tracks IMHO), but only has a couple tracks from Another View. I wouldn't say you're missing much, then, as I don't rate Another View very high, but others may disagree.

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1. I Can't Stand It

2. Stephanie Says

3. She's My Best Friend

4. Lisa Says

5. Ocean

6. Foggy Notion

7. Temptation Inside Your Heart

8. One Of These Days

9. Andy's Chest

10. I'm Sticking With You

 

1. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together

2. I'm Gonna Move Right In

3. Hey Mr. Rain (Version I)

4. Ride Into The Sun

5. Coney Island Steeplechase

6. Guess I'm Falling In Love (Instrumental Version)

7. Hey Mr. Rain (Version II)

8. Ferryboat Bill

9. Rock And Roll

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rghammo: It looks like the box set is only missing "Andy's Chest" and "She's My Best Friend" from VU (pretty non-essential tracks IMHO), but only has a couple tracks from Another View. I wouldn't say you're missing much, then, as I don't rate Another View very high, but others may disagree.

 

Thanks for the info.

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not really Velvet Underground

 

 

but it still carries the name, wether Yule wanted his band to be called that or not (he was on more VU albums than John Cale, and hell, he even sang lead on most of the songs on Loaded.)

 

I think it's a very good album, that gets shit on because Lou Reed isn't a part of it.

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