V U Nico Velvet Underground

There have been some good records, but most did not alter the world of music. There have been numerous that did and here is my top 10. (Please feel free to argue and let me know your top 10. It is all subjective after all.) These either changed the direction of music or were the pinnacle of their genre. each record comes with a brief comprehensible statement which I will exaggerate on later posts.

1. Tutti Frutti (Little Richard)

There are a heap of early rock and roll records that could assert to have laid the basi principles for what was to follow. However Tutti Frutti is my choice for it is sheer power and energy. Coupled with with the fact that this was a major hit for a black artisan at a time when that was closely unheard of means that Tutti Frutti just has to be on my list.

2. Move It. (Cliff Richard)

Sir Cliff. This is widely acknowledged as one of the introductory rock and roll records made outside of the USA. No matter that S.C.R. was a pale shadow of Elvis, this record told the youth in Britain that we could play real rock and roll and make it ours. there are those that would argue for Rock Island Line by Lonnie Donegan but for my cash this record deserves it is place in history.

3. Revolver (The Beatles)

Revolver is perhaps the most contentious inclusion in this list. There is no Sgt Pepper, no White Album, in this list, this is The Beatles at their best. This is the pinnacle of good, attentiongetting pop songs, never equalled and ofttimes copied. It is likewise the only Beatles album I own…

4. Trout Mask Replica (Captain Beefheart)

Suddenly it was alright to meld Blues and Jazz and shake them both up to fabricate something not of this world. It was also alright to use free form lyrics, stream of knowingness writing. It was alright to be an artisan and to work in rock. With this album rock came of age.

5. Velvet Underground and Nico (VU &; N)

The cliche is that not numerous persons purchased this album but everyone who did started a band. Well, I purchased this album when it was freed and did not commence a band. The list of those that now assert this as a major influence makes the inclusion of this, flawed, magical album inevitable, and deserved.

6. Horses (Patti Smith)

1975 and music is boring. Born of a passion for Hendrix, The Who, and other rock acts from the 60′s Patti Smith launched herself on the album buying public with this stunning debut. the breadth of her resourcefulness and the execution of that imagination is a sensation. Punk attitude with an artist’s honesty. Simply a will have to have album.

7. Thriller (Michael Jackson)

before Thriller most albums spawned one or two singles. After Thriller albums would be packed with possible singles. For better or worse this album changed the music industry for ever. (Personally, I think it was for the worse, and I hate this album).

8. King of the Delta Blues (Robert Johnson)

RJ was not the father of the blues as some claimed in the 60s, but he was a very close relative. The reason that this album has to be included in this list is not that it was distinguishable when the tracks were recorded in 1937. The reason is that this album changed white music evermore when it was freed as a double album on CBS in 1967. It was the primary time that most of us white kids had heard real, established blues. That so numerous of us still listen to it and that the music still speaks to the following generations proves how influential this record was, and is. It led directly to the revival of the fortunes of John Lee Hooker, Muddy waters and the rest. If ever a record changed the world of music it is this one.

9. Apache (The Shadows)

Love it or hate it (guess which camp I am in!) This record changed the face of music in the UK. Hank Marvin was voted the best guitar player in the NME for years. Strat rock in the UK was born and innumerable budding guitarists purchased Bert Weedon’s ‘Play in a Day’…

10. My Favourite Things (John Coltrane)

I had not heard this record for years. About 18 months ago I walked into the studio to prepare for my radio show. The proceeding programme was on and this was on. I was stunned at how good this still sounded. There is talent at work here. JC takes a little unimportant and routine song and turns it into something sublime. This made improvisation not only worthy of acceptance or satisfactory it made it rudimentary for any musician. If only more musicians were as good at it as JC.

Well, that is my list. What is yours?

V U Nico Velvet Underground Picture

V U Nico Velvet Underground Photo

V U Nico Velvet Underground Pic

V U Nico Velvet Underground Image

Most helpful client reviews

40 of 40 humans found the following review helpful.
Despite a few flaws, an necessary purchase
By Daniel Maltzman
The Velvet Underground is probably one of the most written when it comes to bands of all-time. Their influence and talent is well-known so I won’t bore the reader with tired truisms with regards to the band. Instead, this review will be very meat-and-potatoes, focusing on the content, and masters and cons of this box set.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
Most Worthy – like Marty McFly, waaaaaaay before their time
By Rich Latta
Each V.U. album featured (all the originals are here)is riveting, seminal and legendary, each demanding their own review so I will focus on the extra stuff in this box. I will NOT focus on the innumerable bootlegs and other material out there that did not make it in this set.

DISC 1: early home demo recordings for the most part utile to fans who obsess over the group, but very interesting. “Heroin,” great, indispensable song that it is, sounds good. These versions are more or less folksier yet still intense and Lou Reed plays around with dissimilar lyrics. Watch out for aborted takes!

“Waiting for the Man” sounds downright Ten Pan Alley. Reed even blows a harp on it. “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams” had potential even even though the Velvets abandoned it. “Prominent Men” isn`t bad either even though it was left behind for better material as well. “Venus in Furs” sounds like a strange tune from the Middle Ages at this stage and it is stunning to listen “All Tomorrow`s Parties” with it is folk/country origins laid bare. In addition, it`s a kick to listen John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed interact amidst takes. One gets the impression that Reed was the man in charge right from these early days.

DISC 2: Starts with a single version of “All Tomorrow`s Parties,” but who wouldn’t want to savour the longer album version? “Melody Laughter” is a essential document from an early Exploding Plastic Inevitable performance, which was a travelling extention of Andy Warhols wild and weird world. It`s only an novice audience recording, but also one of the coolest things in this box. The music is a meandering journeying without a map and rather a bit longer than an old copy I have. 2 tracks from Nico`s solo debut CHELSEA GIRLS are good songs featuring actual Velvets and are thence included.

DISC 3: offers a handful of demos that show more potential but their crude, raw condition renders them a difficult listen. However, the “Here She Comes Now” demo is a dense and hazy alternate version that is worthy of regular listening. The “Guess I`m Falling in Love” live cut offers a nice, loping performance, but I`ll always take the studio version which altogether rocks out even with no vocals (and I don`t see why Lou doesn`t just add a lot of to the track now – he`s still a Velvet!) “Booker T” grooves. And in a good deal of better, more just parallel world, “Stephanie Says” is a number 1 single and timeless classic around the globe. You in all likelihood won`t listen to the weak “Temptation” more than a few times, and I prefer version 2 of “Hey Mr. Rain” (version 1 is featured here) which has distorted guitar elements and a more insistent vocal. The lyrics are kinda lame, but Cale`s viola is trippy.

DISC 4: My favored Velvet track, “Foggy Notion” is one of their rockin`-est tunes. All the extra-album studio tracks on this disc have been freed and are already classics. The 2 live tracks are outstanding and the “Countess From Hong Kong” demo is a lounge-y little beauty punctuated by another rare aspect of Reed on harp.

DISC 5: the mother load of nuggets: 7 studio treasures that haven`t seen daylight before this box came out (unless the liner notes are lying). “Satellite of Love” sounds like a joyous rocker here, in spite of it is soul-eating subject matter – jealousy. In the liner notes Lou beats himself up for using “Winkin, Blinkin and Nod” (it would later become “I`ve been told/that you`ve been bold/with Harry Mark and John” on the daintier TRANSFORMER version). But he must give himself a break because: 1)the names ridicule the men she`s been “bold” with. 2) they could be code words. and 3) they`re funny. Yes Lou, naming closely each day of the week in a song IS lame, but it`s suitable for this song because it illustrates how unfaithful the love interest has been.

“Ocean” may be even more majestic than “All Tomorrow`s Parties” and features a brief return of John Cale. “Ride into the Sun” is a finelooking song of quiet longing sung sweetly by Doug Yule. As low as Yule`s stature has sunk in V.U. history, he was undenyably a wizard of melody and that’s evident all over discs 4 and 5.

In addition, there are 2 more guerrila recordings. One ended up on LIVE AT MAX’S KANSAS CITY and the other, from the same show, is antecedently unreleased. Again, crude recording, magnificent music. Considering how nonpopular the Velvets were for the duration of their time, we`re lucky giving careful consideration to how much of their music has survived.

Addendum: The idea of a lost Velvets album is a tantellizing myth for Velvetheads. For the sheer fun of it, I`ve constructed my own lost V. U. album and it`s surprizingly merged with unifying themes. In fact, I think it`s a strong challenger for their best album! Not sure what to call it though . . .

LOVE`S LABOUR`S LOST VU

Side 1

We`re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together
Guess I`m Falling in Love (studio version without vocal)
I Can`t Stand It
Lisa Says
Sad Song
Oh Gin
Foggy Notion
Ride into the Sun

Side 2

One of These Days
Hey Mr. Rain (version 2)
Walk It, Talk It
Satellite of Love
Stephanie Says
Ocean
I Love You

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful.
Best American Band
By jgc
Was the Velvet Underground the biggest American band? With all due respect to the other severe challengers (Beach Boys, Creedence, Ramones, Talking Heads, REM, Pavement), you have to go with VU. Their career touches the deepest roots of rock’n'roll and the most nether edges of the avant garde, with equivalent command. Dion fits into their system as much as Warhol. What other band encompasses so much?

Despite a few caveats, this splendid box set is VU’s one-stop buying goods place if ever there was one. First, the drawbacks: the band’s live recordings are under-represented, tasty out-takes that did appear on earlier compliations have been mysteriously dropped, and Lou Reed has decisive to go with the so-called “Closet Mix” of the third album (sorry, Lou, but I gotta disagree with you — it defintely *isn’t* the superior version). That said, this is still a mind-blowing edifice of outstanding American music. We all know that each of the band’s four official releases is a masterpiece, and it sure is commodious to get them all in one buy (especially if, like me, you’re replacing old vinyl copies). But what may surprise a good deal of folks is how outstanding the antecedently unreleased material is. These cuts are very generous, accounting for more than half of the set. There are early, VU versions of songs that later turned up on Reed’s solo albums, such as “Satellite of Love” and the glorious “Ocean.” But there are also crazy little songs, left in the vaults for years, that astonish me with their inventiveness, humor, and detail — from the bass line on “The Way That You Live” to the viola on “Sheltered Life.” The bonus tracks attached to the ‘WL/WH’ and ‘Loaded’ disks are so good, in fact, that they threaten to upstage their hosts. Bottom line, folks: Like Dylan’s ‘Basement Tapes,’ the out-takes here transcend the genre and are as necessary to VU’s bequest as the official releases.

Lou is consecrated sufficient to furthering his reputation — he doesn’t need any aid from me — but I’ll chime in nonetheless: this a great American artist, caught in his (short-lived) prime.

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