Someone's certainly, strategically profiting from those releases and I'm pretty sure it's not Cale or Tucker.
When was the last time all four albums have seen a proper reissue at the same time? I feel like the 1967 album gets pressed every year, but the other 3 seem to only slip through the cracks every once in a while. Is this the last time? It looks like all of the reviews for this are terrible. Is it a rights issue?
seeing as how it's material that has previously been released officially, this is not so much a bootleg as a pirate release.
True, but if nobody is interested in releasing it officially on vinyl, and people are clearly willing to buy it officially, it gets into a moral grey area. It’s a shame Moe and John won’t be getting anything out of it, but the label wasn’t interested in letting them have anything anyway since they haven’t released it on vinyl during a huge vinyl and velvet underground interest resurgence.
Nothing new here but I stumbled on this amazing article written by Bill Bentley, who knew both Sterling and Lou - working for the latter circa NEW YORK. Fantastic, long read: I Guess That I Just Don’t Know
All kinds of assumptions can be made but that's all they are when it comes to these kinds of releases. Who's behind them, who benefits who wants them who doesn't. Who cares? In the scheme of things they mean nothing. 300 copies is a drop in the ocean. They're here, and soon they'll be gone. They are for the hardcore folks who have disposable cash. Maybe folks in the VU family are seeing something from them, maybe not. But it's nickle and dime stuff.
There’s currently Abbey Road half speeds of the first 3 albums in print. I just bought all 3. They’re just average sounding to me, but then again they’re marketed as just standard typical reissues, for $20 each, they’re fine. Loaded is the album that seems to be hard to find legitimate reissues of. Rhino did it but that’s been what, 10-15 years ago now? The Sundazed mono box licensing ran out in 2019 so that’s now OOP, but at least the stereo versions of those albums are still easy to find.
Yeah I have the Half-Speed AR of 1969's self-titled just because it went on sale at some point. I didn't notice at first, but ever since someone pointed out that the bass is too loud, I can't STOP hearing it LOL. I think Loaded is out of MGMs control since it was their first outside of them, on Cotillion/Atlantic I believe. There was a gold-colored pressing of Loaded a year or two back, but that was ripped apart on Discogs.
I have not listened to my s/t copy yet, but you’ve got me wondering about the base now too! I’ll listen tonight. Yeah I haven’t heard good things about the Loaded reissues from rhino, i was unaware of a recent gold version though. It really sucks that none of these have been reissues from tape either since at least the mid 80s, maybe even late 70s. I try to keep my collection as close to the master tape as I can, and unfortunately the cost of entry is $100+ for each album at this point to get originals which are unfortunately the best sounding versions in my experience. Surely there exists tapes at least for some of these, Sundazed showed tape boxes when they remastered the monos in 2012. The Atlantic tapes should be fine too, and since Loaded was issued in the UK soon after release, there should at the very least be a UK copy tape that should be only a generation away from the US tape. I didn’t mean to go off on a tangent here, I just think it’s really a shame that a band that has actually finally gotten some popularity even among casual listeners recently is so hard to get good versions of their albums on LP.
Haha no worries, I totally feel you. I don't understand how a band as popular as VU can have such spotty vinyl. I think whoever is in charge of them just sees easy dollar signs and goes cheap. It sucks because the fans are clearly very passionate (your profile pic, for instance, is a good example ). I was hoping that that Todd Haynes doc would pique interest in a repress or even remastering campaign, but we'll have to see. Slightly related to your master tape comment, I work at a record store and got a chance to listen to a VG+ original press of White Light/White Heat, and I'm happy to say it sounds just as abrasive and lo-fi as any other version I've heard... but I'm also not a huge fan of that album, so maybe I'm not the best judge
Even the deluxe edition of WL/WH from a few years ago sounded like it usually does...it was recorded that way and nothing can change it, for good or bad.
Yes, who cares about a 300 ltd release. Mo, John, Sterling's widow, Laurie. They must all be getting a steady income and probably won't mind 300 copies if this stuff coming out. A drop in the ocean in terms of their income. And let's face it – members of the band were the sources for many of the bootlegs in the past - Reed included. Also - all those old 'legs helped keep the legacy alive. Anyway, now I'm contributing to a discussion that will probably get this thread closed down.
Yeah unfortunately WL/WH is pretty much stuck how it is, not much to improve the sound quality. That being said, my favorite way to listen to it is a VG at best original West Coast pressing. Crank it and enjoy it for what it is! I have to say, that style of recording was actually ahead of its time. Punk, and later bedroom pop/music recorded on laptops from the 2010s/20s sounds just as low quality, but people enjoy it the same! I also would have thought with the documentary, there would be at least SOMETHING from the VU themselves put out on vinyl. All we got was the first album, covered by various artists. I don’t really understand who that was supposed to appeal to. Besides streaming it once, hardcore fans probably generally wouldn’t care enough to go and buy it and listen again, and casual buyers would probably not realize what it even is. A strange release really.
True about WL/WH. Gotta lean into the crunchiness. Don't even remind me about that covers album... so bland. Should've just done a random mix of VU tracks, not a track-for-track of the first album. You hit the nail on the head, no one would seek it out. What's the point? It's a total waste of time for everyone. I almost completely forgot about it, and you had to remind me !!!! The soundtrack album was also very unimaginative. Nothing really new or interesting. I wish there were more tracks by artists that inspired them...maybe one disc of inspirations and one disc of under-appreciated tracks? Just seemed all over the place and pointless overall.
It looks like a new VUAS company may have been set up four months ago, with Kostek as the owner: What Goes On/Velvet Underground Appreciation Society in Palm City, FL
Interesting. From Milstein's post on the Velvet Forum sounds like he didn't know about this, and/or making it clear it's got nothing to do with him.
I got to know Phil a little bit back in the early 80's when I worked in a record store in Boston that he was a regular at. Always a very interesting guy.
Closest Mix of S/T from same folks now available at Forced Exposure. I have 2 copies of the original so I'll be passing.
But out of stock. This was released back in May. I like the way it uses a colour version of the cover.
They must have just restocked it fixed the listing. Can’t imagine what they used as a source for that pressing though. Well I can - a CD. For vinyl diehards only I reckon. And I have to say I think he’s a bit mad using his address on these. I ordered my 1966 LP from FE and now there’s problems with new UK shipping regulations. I’m sitting tight, hoping they can sort it out.
