“Hey Mr. Rain” by The Velvet Underground

Either version counts as one of their best songs. It’s so hypnotic and brilliant; amazing production. I can’t believe that it was never included on an album proper.

 

Agreed. Love it.

 

Hey...good tune.

 

Could have fit in easily on White Light lp with Cale's grisly viola.

 

Hey Listerine - would have made a good commercial.

 

Oh yeah! "Hey listerine....won't you freshen my breath? Hey listerine, won't you freshen my breath? I been tryin baby oh so hard to get my breath fresh and clean."

 

It's cool but not a top VU outtake for me at all. Neat attempt at trying to mate La Monte Young (Cale) with slipshod blues (Reed). Kind of half baked. Decent enough but I can absolutely see why it was left off any album AND the first collection of outtakes! (V.U.).

When you compare to outtakes like Stephanie Says, She's My Best Friend, Ocean, Temptation Inside Your Heart, Foggy Notion, Ride Into the Sun, Sad Song, Satellite of Love, etc etc I mean come on man!

 

When I saw the band play a long Sunday matinee set at La Cave in 1969, they stretched "Hey, Mr. Rain" out to about 15 minutes. Even without Cale, it was breathtaking. And according to the VU experts, that was the only time they played it on the tour, and probably the last time they played it live.

 

I saw them in Edinburgh, 1993 — the first gig of the reunion tour — and this song was one of the highlights of the set, for me. Not that it’s a personal favourite, and it certainly isn’t one of the band’s most well-known tunes, but because Moe Tucker’s drumming was so powerful and, as noted above, hypnotic.

 

OK, I'm jealous !

 

For me, this song was the only redeeming feature of the 1993 reunion shows: this is truly what the first incarnation of the band was about! I am absolutely mesmerized by the viola/guitar interplay between Cale & Reed that goes on above the solid backdrop provided by Morrison & Tucker (the forceful drumming is a major improvement over the near-understated playing on the 1968 demos/outtakes) in the Paris footage.

Basically the band had two arrangements for the song: one 'long' rendition lasting approximately 7 to 8 minutes and an 'extended' workout that could go on for 15 to 17 minutes. John Cale subsequently indicated in interviews that the latter might have been overdoing it and a bit indulgent, but that is not how I see it. So yeah, I too am incredibly envious of jkauff who caught the 15 minute version in 1969!!

 

Never liked either version of MR. Rain and was really disappointed when the VU Two album came out, the first volume having been so excellent.

 

Have you heard the new mixes of the songs on the White Light/White Heat reissue from a few years ago? I think they sound fantastic, but presumably can't approach how amazing that vintage performance @jkauff was able to witness.

 

V2 from Another View

 

No, I actually like the Doug Yule era best.

 

And yet here you are. Must be a subconscious yearning for John Cale's VU

 

Does anybody knows if 'Hey Mr. Rain' (Version I & II), 'Stephanie Says' and 'Temptation Inside Your Heart' were the last official recordings with John Cale? Cheers,

 

They recorded Beginning To See The Light too.

Stephanie and Temptation were Feb '68
Rain I & II and Light were May '68

Supposedly Cale is on one of the Ocean outtakes recorded at the time of Loaded. I can never remember which one.

 

Love the song, both versions. The early band sans Nico but with Cale at their best. Another View seems to often be viewed as the red-headed stepchild in the Velvets discography, but this song makes it a must-own for me.

 

Not a bad tune. Something about it sounds almost Romanian.

I always thought it was a rewrite of 'Temptation' - musically, at least.

 

Thanks for the reply. What about 'Coyote'? Is this an obscure Reed/Cale '60s collaboration or it was an effort for the '93 reunion only?

 

Well, I never thought of it that way. But, now you mention it.

Wouldn't both tracks have been recorded at the "Lost Album" Session?

 

Yes, very interesting observation

 

So far there's no evidence it came from the 60s - especially as we now have a list of unused songs from those years. Someone else may have a more definitive answer, but I've always assumed it was a modern collaboration.

The 'lost album' sessions were from the post-Cale era. The songs in question were recorded May '68 and are the last known studio work with Cale, before he was ousted in Sept '68. There's no evidence they were even for an album.

I love the two 'Rains' as well, but personally I think it was the recently released mixes that really revealed them as special.

 

Looks like I was wrong about the last date with Cale. @Syscrusher just noticed an entry in the Lou Archive that suggests they recorded in July of '68. Five tracks from '3rd'. If the date is correct there are now five songs from '3rd' with Cale on them!

The Velvet Underground: "Never Get Emotionally Involved With A Man, Woman, Beast, or Child"