A complete Velvet Underground collection

Oh YEAH!! "VU" and "Another View" are two crucial (though posthumus!) Velvet Underground albums.

If you have "Peel slowly", you get these two along with "Squeeze" (essential!), and you're covered.

Ah, and then ... the time will probably come when you'll need the live stuff.

...and when you feel the need to start discovering the Lou Reed solo stuff, the fun really begins

 

Sweet description, utterly nails it!

 

Well, it is good but to be fair, it really is not a true VU album. Lou Reed's not on it for crying out loud!
Sounds more like an Elliot Murphy album.


As for Nico, yes Chelsea Girl features almost all the band (and the sole composition credited to Reed/Morrison), but the next two, Desertshore and Marble Index, both heavily feature John Cale (he plays nearly every instrument on Desertshore), so if you're a VU freak, I would call them essential indeed.

 

For years my friend and I joked about the "awful" Venus in Furs music video from this tour, but I very recently actually listened to the LIVE MCMXCIII set for the first time and I was astounded by how enjoyable it is! They really cover all the bases with many surprises and to be honest, nearly every song (including Venus in Furs) is a successful interpretation. I love Lou's guitar playing in this era, too...well, all eras!

The crowd providing the "awww" in unison on "The Gift" is classic.

 

Nico's Evening of Light video with Iggy Stooge from 1969: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjToD2dXgD4&feature=related

If you like the sound of this you need Marble Index. Chelsea Girl is great too but far less experimental.


There was a 5 minute version of this video on youtube a couple of years ago but I can't find it now. Anyone got a link?

 

Squeeze is not a VU album!

 

It most certainly IS A VU ALBUM!

 

It sounds like a continuation of Loaded to me. It's merely okay, IMO, and probably won't change the minds of people who are strongly predisposed to disliking it.

 

And terrible, terrible sound. Worse than the Quine tapes.

 

A cheaper way to get the mono mix is this, which I believe is merely the second disc of the deluxe edition. Of course, you'd miss out on the extras on Disc 1 of the deluxe edition going this round

http://www.amazon.com/Velvet-Underground-Nico-Rarities-Edition/dp/B003CLAN9C/

 

I agree, but i really loathe Lou's out-of-tune vocals on Venus in Furs. IMO he ruins the song.

 

Some uncirculated audio & video could probably be considered "essential".

 

Originally Posted by Jim B.
Squeeze is not a VU album!

It's a VU album in name, but for most people it's not a true VU album.
It's enjoyable, but the replacement bass player is the only remaining musician.
Trying to come up with a similar example...it's like an album by The Animals and those bands touring the oldies circuit with only one member left, often from the rhythm section.

 

It's a Doug Yule solo album, really. And if it had been marketed as such it would have fared a lot better than it did, because it's a good album. Not up to VU standards, but quite enjoyable. Steve Seznick thought the name was enough to carry the album. Of course, as usual, he was wrong.

 

Repeat of question:

Can ANYONE help me here?

I have the 1st pressing of the third album that has one side each of the two mixes.
I have the peel slowly and see box that has the closet mix

I want a copy of 3rd album with the Valentine mix. It looks like the disc was remastered in 96.

Sound quality-wise, should I try tio find a second pressing of the original mastering or go with the 96 remaster? I've read all the VU threads here and it's not clear which are prefered, the original masters or the remasters.

Help!

 

The 96 master I've got sounds okay but half the tracks are indexed in the wrong places so it's near impossible to play individual tracks on the thing.

Anyone else had this problem?

 

That I agree with.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the VU contractually owe an album to Atlantic?
If so, Doug Yule actually did Lou a favor and prevented him from being sued.

 

No ("Squeeze" is not even on Atlantic). Atlantic put out Brigid Polk's cassette tape of "Live at Max's" on Cotillion to fulfill their contract.

 

what is your opinion about the reissue of VU&N mono of 2005 ?
is it worth getting considering the prices reached by the original from 67

 

I would go with the original USA pressing. I preferred it over the remaster.

 

Don't know if the sarcasm is just going over my head, but I'm sort of a VU fanatic. I first heard them as a teen in the late 70s and they literally changed my life. I would say that SQUEEZE isn't even worth hearing, much less owning.

 

I'm a Squeeze fan too. If you like the last 2 full band VU albums, then it is certainly worth hearing. Doug played a bunch of instruments on those albums (especially Loaded). And he sang some of those tunes too. So it is an extension of VU.

Best song is "Crash" in my opinion. Some other really cool tunes too. Some I like even better than Lou tunes from the self titled.

 

I don't care for Squeeze, personally. Heard it a handful of times, have no urge to hear it ever again. Nothing horribly wrong with it, really, just kinda blah. Others apparently like it. It's up to the individual, I guess.

 

i finally heard squeeze once or twice a few years ago. i did notice the similarities between it and loaded, which i love, but sadly i don't remember much else

will this ever see the light of day on cd??

 

The box has got a lot of the stuff you need, but you may want to check out a regular CD of the 3rd album for the alternate mix and the Fully Loaded 2 CD set for the outtakes. Also, there's the mono mix of the first album on the Deluxe Edition. The live recordings from the 1967-70 era are all pretty bad in terms of quality and are only interesting for diehards who already own everything. Personally I like the live album from the band's 1993 reunion, but I know I'm in the minority here.