Velvet Underground & Nico [Deluxe Edition] (CD - 1969)

The Velvet Underground: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, piano); Doug Yule (vocals, organ, bass); Maureen Tucker (vocals, percussion); Sterling Morrison (guitar, background vocals).

Originally released on MGM (4617).

Velvet Underground & Nico: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); Nico (vocals); Sterling Morrison (guitar, bass, background vocals); John Cale (electric viola, piano, bass, background vocals); Maureen Tucker (percussion, background vocals).

Recorded at T.T.G. Studios, Hollywood California; Sceptor Studios and Mayfair Sound Studios, New York, New York in April & November 1966 & April-May 1967. Originally released on Verve (5008).

Personnel: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar, electric guitar); Sterling Morrison (guitar, background vocals); John Cale (electric viola, piano, celesta, background vocals); Maureen Tucker (percussion).

Audio Mixer: Gary Kellgren.

Audio Remixers: David Greene; Gene Radice.

Liner Note Authors: Dave Thompson ; Jonas Mekas; David Antim; Richard Goldstein; John Wilcock.

Recording information: Mayfair Sound Studios, New York, NY (04/1966/05/1967); Spector Studios, New York, NY (04/1966/05/1967); T.T.G. Studios, Hollywood, CA (04/1966/05/1967).

Editors: David Greene; Gene Radice.

Photographers: Billy Linich; Nat Finkelstein; Lisa Law.

Arrangers: Larry Fallon; The Velvet Underground.

Velvet Underground's self-titled third album seemed like the debut of a new band. John Cale had left (replaced by Doug Yule) and the group became, for all intents and purposes, Lou Reed's back-up band. The songs actually sounded like rock music and John Cale's screeching musicality was reworked into songs that featured Sterling Morrison's most eloquent guitar accompaniment.

Reed's songwriting moved beyond the armed-to-disarm approach of the previous two albums towards a spiritual level of empathy with the human race--a change that wouldn't go unnoticed. The man who once begged someone to "nullify [his] life" ("Heroin") was now asking "Jesus" to "help me find my proper place," and whooping his way through the equally inspiring "Beginning To See The Light." To this day, every song on VELVET UNDERGROUND sounds like a breakthrough.

In short, VELVET UNDERGROUND showcased the human side of Lou Reed's songwriting. Unobstructed by walls of sonic noise, Reed's insight and genius was finally allowed to shine through.

Brian Eno once said that only a hundred people bought Velvet Underground records when they first came out, but those hundred people all went out and formed their own bands. The rest, of course, is history; the Velvet Underground was the catalyst that helped spark punk rock, and began the growth of an alternative branch within rock and roll's grand family tree. VU's was an unparalleled glimpse into the Summer Of Love's alter ego, complete with graphic, unapologetic descriptions of intravenous drug-use and risque sexual situations. Their 1967 debut, VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO, was a tour de force that may never be equaled for its sheer radicalism in the face of rock convention.

The Velvet Underground also mapped out unconquered sonic territories. Bassist John Cale was weaned on deconstructing classical theory--the perfect avant-garde foil to help bring Reed's terse songs to life. Even more noticeable when he would switch to electric viola, Cale's sound evoked the terror of Reed's compositions, with the bowed strings screeching like a runaway subway car. Drummer Maureen Tucker played like no one before her. Her frantic swipes could mimic a galloping rush in "Heroin," or work with the delicate, hesitant charm of "All Tomorrow's Parties." Guitarist Sterling Morrison was a master of his craft, ably switching from oddly Middle-Eastern plucking (the eerie "All Tomorrow's Parties") to head-on rock (the ultra-edgy "Waiting For The Man"), always adding just the right element to fatten the cacophony. VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO is one of rock's most significant debuts.

The "deluxe edition" of the Velvet Underground's classic debut album is somewhat disappointing in that it fails to offer any previously unreleased material, even as it expands its length from one to two CDs. The key bonus is the inclusion of both the stereo and mono versions of the album, which fill up most of disc one and disc two, respectively. To fill out the program, disc one also includes the five songs from Nico's first album, 1967's Chelsea Girl, in which Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Nico were involved in the songwriting; disc two adds the 45 rpm single versions of "All Tomorrow's Parties," "I'll Be Your Mirror," "Sunday Morning," and "Femme Fatale." To be frank, the differences between the stereo and mono versions are not major enough to be noticed by most listeners, although hardcore collectors will probably appreciate the opportunity to pick up a mono version rather than ante up for an expensive original mono LP. The five Nico songs, though quite good, are easily available on Chelsea Girl itself. Finally, the differences between the 45 rpm single versions and album ones are quite minor: "All Tomorrow's Parties" is heard in an edited version that reduces its running time by half, and "Sunday Morning" has a little bit of studio chatter at the very beginning. More significantly, "I'll Be Your Mirror" does not fade out as it does on the album, but goes on for five additional seconds, coming to a rounded ending on a guitar chord. That's about the most notable musical bonus on this package, and it's a pretty steep price to pay for two CDs worth of material (much of which many interested in the Velvet Underground will already have) just to hear that. The booklet has a reasonable overview essay and lyrics, but isn't that huge or detailed, and again offers little that intense fans of the album and band wouldn't already know. This is great music, of course, as many critics have noted, innovative in its lyrical exploration of drugs, sex, the psychology of romance, and urban decadence, musically explosive in both the assaultive avant-garde construction of its louder numbers and the magnificent melodies of its ballads, and filled with great songs like "I'll Be Your Mirror," "All Tomorrow's Parties," "Venus in Furs," "Femme Fatale," and "The Black Angel's Death Song" (not to mention the Nico solo tunes of an only slightly lower caliber, like "Chelsea Girls" and "It Was a Pleasure Then"). But it's not something that you really need if you already own The Velvet Underground & Nico, unless you're a truly major devotee. By the way, there is a limited edition version that, like the original LP, has a peelable banana on the cover, though the packaging (with the track listing on a plastic case) is set up so that you'll probably end up peeling it whether you want to or not when you slide the album in and out of the case. ~ Richie Unterberger minimize