Good point. I'dl be fine with some material being duplicated as long as this music stays in print. In a day and age where the music market is flooded with many choices new and old, I'm quite happy to see a preservation of the legacy of The Velvet Underground.
I doubt they would use the Guitar Amp tape. Yes, the freeman tape was a bit of a stretch, but still hoping it gets released some day. What about a show that features 'Some Kinda Love' from the Peel Slowly Box? Can't remember where that was from..
That was Max's (the 2CD version) and will be on the Loaded box. My favorite performance from the show!
From January 22, 1969 in Unterberger's book. "Four decades later, former Tea Party manager Steve Nelson reveals that he has recently heard newly mastered live recordings of three VU shows at the club from late 1968 and early 1969, and says that they are notably superior to other recordings of the band from the same period." "Nelson says, 'I've been sort of dying to have them released...I will say that to me, those are the best Velvet Underground live performances recorded anywhere." Must Release!
Couldn't agree more about the Freeman tape. Sadly, if it didn't happen on the Loaded box, hard to imagine the circumstances how it'd be released now (especially since it now seems a Max's box is off the table). Unless Freeman chooses to post it online after it falls out of copyright?
Now that you've posted that, I recall reading it. Is he misusing the term "mastered"? Mastered for WHAT?
The full quote I posted is "I'm sort of dying to have those released. But apparently it's tied up with various kinds of things with personnel and record companies and all that drivel. " So he must of got the tapes to a record company, heard them mastered and then nothing. They gotta just be waiting for all this other stuff to be released. He could be talking about the demise of the Bootleg Series and now that these new deluxe sets seem to be selling we'll get the whole lot. Here's hoping.
If they are "notably superior" in terms of performance, they could be the Professor Tapes (performance quality being subjective). If they are "notably superior" in terms of sound quality, they are surely something else.
Keyhole seem to have released most of the other listenable live tapes (La Cave, Cole Ave x 2, BTP x 2 and Hilltop) as semi-legit bootlegs. And by semi-legit I mean that Amazon seem quite happy to list them and don't appear to have been slapped down yet. Are there really better quality versions of these out there for "official" remastering?
Even if that wasn't a serious insult, the prevailing opinion on forums such as this one, is that an ignorance of the minutia of bands unreleased recordings and matrix numbers equates with a one not being a "real" fan. I'm sure you were kidding, but the cold reality is many would not be, and would actually condemn someone who admitted their lack of knowledge, even though they truly loved the music. Funny how back in the 70s, the "real" VU fans probably wouldn't know a thing about the Matrix Tapes, yet now that knowledge can be disguised as a passion for the music.
My bad - that one's not on Keyhole. I thought it was. It's the same sort of packaging http://www.discogs.com/Velvet-Underground-The-Hilltop-Pop-Festival/release/2556315
The best description of them currently available: http://www.richieunterberger.com/vuexc10.html But in short, if you like LIVE 1969, you'll probably love The Matrix Tapes. They include most of the performances from that album, but in considerably higher quality. Plus much, much more additional material.
One small element I'm curious about is the fact the Matrix Tapes apparently include two versions of "Afterhours." Don't get me wrong, I love the song and the Matrix recording heard on the 3rd LP box was a true delight. But it doesn't seem to be a song that inspired much interpretation or variation from The Velvets. And yet Abram clearly felt a need to preserve two performances, at a time when tape was expensive and he reluctantly discarded many of his other VU recordings. I wonder if the alternate "Afterhours" might be a real surprise?
Well it's the first day after the long weekend so maybe we will hear something something official. A press release, a carrier pigeon or perhaps someone screaming into a tin can on a string. Anything would be nice, the promotional machine for this release is contained to this thread so far.
For a while the set was as high as #130 or so on the Amazon music sales list. It's since dropped significantly. An announcement would surely rectify that (hint, hint...). Twitter has noted the thread, with: Erik Highter @EZSnappin Sep 5 The Steve Hoffman forum is all over this hypothetical Matrix Tapes box set: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/the-velvet-underground-the-matrix-tapes-4cd-box-set.461616/…
Great post. I believe this strongly too. The same principle applies to so much other great music by other artists as well.
Thanks. I know that show is available from Keyhole, and I've been tempted many a time to order that and the others from that label... But with all this deluxe VU release activity I've been hoping for official editions instead. I hope people are right about the copyright thing and that we'll see some more stuff come out (officially) soonish!