"The Velvet Underground": Speculative 3rd LP 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box

Amazon sent me two by mistake so my son gets the extra freebie for Christmas.

 

the Rolling Stone article linked by Dee Thomaz mentions a mono mix having "come out, but they don't say when -- it's ambiguous as to whether they just mean the Sundazed. Anyway, I thought that when Sundazed put out their box, they had to explain the mono mix of the 3rd album as having come from some promo-only source, sort of a fold-down plus sweetening. Many here were skeptical that it wasn't just Sundazed who were doing the fold-down. Maybe they got a copy of your tape!

 

! Unlikely as the 3rd on it was bad quality, pretty muffled. When I first played the 2 tapes I remember thinking it was weird that the bootleg live stuff sounded great, hissy but full, and thinking why has someone put copies of studio stuff on bootleg tapes ? (on the first tape was the mono VU & Nico, but only side 1!). I only even noticed they were mono by fluke because it was around the time I had bought my first ever pair of OK headphones, so was spending a lot of time listening to stuff on them as opposed to the terrible "kids' hifi" speakers I had at that time.

The tape with 3rd mono on it looked like a tape that had been for sale at some point, as it had a typical b&w photocopied band photo cover as bootleg tapes usually had at that time, in England at places like Camden Market or Portobello Market.

So who knows what they were, could have been goldmine stuff, could have been crap or just doctored copies of 1969: Live LP material ? Why would someone bother adding say, reverb and looping already released live tracks though ? Especially as I guess it would have been tricky to do in the pre-home computer age. Anyway, who knows.

 

Having read a BBC News article a while back about working for amazon, I'd guess someone gets fired for that

 

Sound intriguing.

Sterling Morrison had acetates of Jesus, I'm Set Free, Beginning and After Hours which sound mono to me. The version of Beginning on the acetate has very different sounding vocals at the end. There was also a mono single of What Goes On and Jesus. I wonder if these were on your tape?

Or the tapes could likely have been sourced from the VUAS collections, in which case you might have had a copy of Tape #1 which features 'alt' mixes of 3rd (except Murder Mystery) and are therefore going to be from Val Valentin version which was impossible to hear at the time. Who knows if that tape was made in stereo or mono?

There's a 'guitar-screaming What Goes On' that is from the Live at la Cave, 1968 gig and is on VUAS Tape #5. Not sure if you mean this 'cos it's mono and not 9+ minutes but the guitar screams as in screams. It's on the PSAS boxset, so easy to verify. I guess it could be one of the later ones that were increasingly extended in duration but they no longer had that insane guitar sound then and Yule's organ was featured.

 

I know Amazon can be a PITA at times, but I'd be inclined to contact them with a view to returning the duplicate item. It's not cool, IMO, to keep something sent to one in error.

 

Amazon is a faceless corporation. I say keep it. You're more likely to expose an employee's error by returning it than you are by keeping it.

 

The liner notes quote a catalog number and contemporary release date for the mono version. They aren't in front of me, so this post isn't particularly helpful.

 

So, it's not stealing?

 

Maybe get a refund for the extra one - it's a wash. That's what I'd do. What are you going to do with 6 copies of the 3rd album?

 

They won't notice. They make billions a day. An 80 CD/book won't matter to them (both formats are dead anyway). Hell, I tried to return a CD once they refunded me and told me to keep the CD. They don't care. This is small stuff to them. They've got $1000 TVs to sell. Enjoy your free gift from Amazon.

 

i thought the mono mix was actually a stereo fold down.....i bought the box mainly for the remixed "4th" album and the two live discs......

 

whether or not they won't notice or not kind of misses the point.not saying i would return it per say but at least i would consider such action......not just be so glib etc.......

 

the copy i ordered just shipped from GB it will shipped via ship i am sure but under $60........new!

 

March 1969, MGM E 4617

 

It's not stealing, then, as long as they don't notice? Thanks for clarifying. I'll try that one in Tesco on my way home.

 

They mailed it to you. You didn't physically take it. If it were some poor slob on eBay then yeah, sure...return it. But I don't think you should feel guilt over something like what Amazon has done. But I guess that's just me. I'm a criminal. I'm about to loot a Wallgreens. Hands up don't shoot.

 

You only need to need to read about the tactics that Amazon uses to negotiate with book publishers to get some relief from the terrible feeling of guilt of having received a free copy of this boxset.

 

According to this MGM discography, The Velvet Underground was the first MGM album to only be issued in stereo. So there may have been a mono mix prepared?
http://www.bsnpubs.com/mgm/mgm46014800.html

 

It is, but one that was subjected to further tweaking. Whether or not fans think that the results are worthwhile in their own right is a matter of personal taste. But here's what Sundazed said about it on Facebook when their vinyl box was announced (thanks to Marry A Carrot for assembling these quotes earlier in this thread):

"The mono master for the 3rd album was created from the stereo master, but was NOT a typical fold-down. It's a unique and essential listen."

"No, because in theory, it IS a fold-down. But not a simple matter of collapsing left and right. Work was done to make the mono a bit different sounding, and more radio-friendly."

"The mono was issued to radio stations upon release..."

 

Not sure they really succeeded !

 

Nope. Not in any way shape or form.

 

Or read up on Gawker's continuing coverage of how they treat their employees.

 

So maybe I missed it but will any of the live material be released on vinyl?

 

There haven't been any announcements yet.