"Velvet Underground" super deluxe or "Complete Matrix Tapes"

Amazing price. And the 1969 disc is essential. Well done.

But yes, you need the Matrix box too. I wish they'd have used, say, Live at The End of Cole Ave for the live show on this set instead.

 

Yeah, I'm real glad to be getting the "1969" disc. I never even picked up the "VU" or "Another View" albums, so I will have a good number of tracks that I don't even have yet, plus I am hoping that the tracks that I DO already have on the PSAS box set will sound much more "authentic" than the 80's mixes that were used on the "VU" albums, and subsequently, on the PSAS box set.

I'm sure I will get the "Complete Matrix Tapes" one day, but for now this will hold me over for awhile. I'll probably just be on the lookout for a good deal on a used copy. As for now, it's actually kind of nice that my "1969 Live" 2CD set will not be completely redundant!
Far from it, in fact.

And yes, I agree that it would have been nice if they used the Cole Ave. show on this set instead. It would have severely diminished the "redundancy" factor between this set and the Matrix Tapes set.

 

Both.
"Because, well well just because..."

 

Wow, "I Can't Stand It" sounds SO much better here than the 80's remix from the VU/Peel Slowly and See sets.

I knew it would, but this is the way it always should have sounded!

 

Couldn't agree more. In fact, I really don't think there isn't a single track* on the disc that doesn't benefit from how it's presented on this set. But "I Can't Stand It" is a particularly outstanding example.

*Well, maybe "Ocean." But that's only because VU used the same vintage mix.

 

I am enjoying this set a lot, but does anyone else find the bass frequencies (particularly on the "1969 Sessions" disc) a little too overbearing?

 

Yes. I felt this way with the two album masterings as well (the stereo ones, I don't pay attention to the fold down).

 

Yeah, I feel that the bass is too overdone on the closet mix as well, my preferred mix of the album. Too bad.

 

The PSAS remains my preferred choice for the Closet Mix, I am not sure bass alone is the issue, but I think the quieter mastering on PSAS sure works better for that mix. I suppose the '69 cuts on PSAS would have less bass; I can't keep up with the mix differences etc. between the two, but I am not overly thrown off by the bass-- which I agree is there in spades-- on the 45th.

 

The new stereo remasters are good, but I still prefer the MFSL for the first two, the Ludwig and PSAS for the S/T, and the original CD for Loaded. They are just right, IMO.

 

Wow, I never heard such a . . . "civilized" sounding version of "Sister Ray" before!

I am loving the live discs, and as I feared, I think I now want the "Complete Matrix Tapes" set.
Which would make all but the "1969 Sessions" CD from this set redundant for me.

 

must be the same seller as me. I got mine for $35 brand new. its amazing the velvet underground weren't a hugely popular band but have one of the best catalog reissues in history. get the boxsets for all of the albums plus the matrix release and the peel slowly boxset. crazy good stuff

 

2 new Boston Tea Party Bootleg LP/CDs on the rounds. Same old material but super-sexy retro-60s graphics. Pretty sure the Boston Tea Party '69 was a bit more down-to-earth than that.

 

The Complete Matrix Tapes isn't that expensive is it? I don't remember what I paid for it, but it wasn't that much compared to what one get. Excellent stuff, well worth owning anyway.

 

i think in america its pretty costly

 

Matrix/4CD: $43 USD (incl. shipping) from a remarkably rated, high volume overseas seller...

The Velvet Underground - The Complete Matrix Tapes (NEW 4CD) »

EDIT (12 minutes later): Thus ends my most successful moratorium on new music purchases ever (my last expenditure was pre-order of REM's OOT deluxe in early October). I own VU-SD and never thought to look at the Matrix b/c of the high cost, but the O/P's question prompted a fortuitous search. Incidentally, the total cost is $43USD at current exchange. WOOT!

 

Oh darn....Sound City Beaches, right here in the US, is even cheaper - and I've done business with them a number of times. How did I miss that? ($38USD total). Oh well. At these prices, Matrix Remorse will be a thing of the past!

VELVET UNDERGROUND - COMPLETE MATRIX TAPES (RECORDED 1969) - 4 CD SET 602547549013 | eBay »

 

You trust that seller?

 

MT: Yes! I purchased a number of classical boxes and just about my entire VU collection from SCB (album deluxe editions & Max's - 5 in all) ...(v. Amazon)... based on price competitiveness. Great service and communication each time. Tell them Kate sent you; I guarantee it won't mean a thing!/p,k

 

I haven't heard any of the super deluxe sets, I just have the Peel Slowly box (which I like).

But I'm listening to Matrix Tapes right now and <wow> that's a good one, highest recommendation.

 

I want a new boxset. It's called the Cale Years. It uses the Ludlow/Broom street demos remastered, selections from the shoebox of material that Tony Conrad taped, the other Gymnasium show with Walk It and Talk It, and anything good from Cale's basement.

 

At the moment, The Matrix Tapes box is $41.87 on Amazon (with numerous U.S.-based third party sellers offering it for even less).

 

I was just trying to figure out if there is a difference between the expensive versions (~$139+) and the reasonable (~$30-40) versions... other than price, apparently not.