Get ready to forget everything you thought you know about cashgrabby reissues of classic albums, affluent dads, and 40-something work-a-holic bachelors! Old-but-still-cool rock & roll band The Velvet Underground, commonly referred to among most in-the-know music circles worldwide as “America’s U2,” is breaking the mold once and for all with the pending re-release of their magical, lightning-in-a-bong, “who needs that John Cale guy anyway?” 1969 self-titled album The Velvet Underground! Holy fuck, are you ready for this?! Grab a Perrier water and let’s dig in!
So yeah, first things first. Just when you thought you were done spending your disposable income on “CDs” for your “disc changer” in your “SUV” after the first and second time they did this, the Polydor/Universal label has you by the balls again. Or at least, they WILL this coming November 24, when they roll out this mammoth, 65-track, six-CD beast, formally titled The Velvet Underground – 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition.
Per your current life-status’ unwavering demand that you constantly be surrounded by nice shit, this thing is comin’ at you “housed in a case-bound book” containing liner notes from Rolling Stone’s David Fricke. It also contains “several different mixes” of the album, including a remastered stereo mix by original label MGM’s house engineer Luis Pastor ‘Val’ Valentin, as well as a set of previously unreleased 1969 recordings from the Record Plant in New York City that were supposedly going to comprise the band’s fourth album (most of which either ended up on the VU’s Loaded or one of Reed’s first couple of solo releases). Oh and of course, there’s also a slew of unreleased 1969 live recordings from The Matrix. You know The Matrix, right? Just pretend you do.
The remastered Valentin stereo mix is also coming out as a single- and double-disc (yeah, don’t worry, we’re still talking CDs here) version, with the latter containing a “12-track audio bonus disc featuring the best of the Live at The Matrix set.
So yeah, back to the six CDs, though. The first one is that Valentin mix I mentioned above. The second one contains “The Closet Mix,” bafflingly described by Lou Reed as a way to “get directly to somebody, unfiltered… So, if you listen to the record, it’s like sitting across from you.” Doesn’t that sound NOT DUMB?
Moving right along, the third disc features the “promotional mono mix” of the album, including a mono version of the first single, “What Goes On” b/w “Jesus.” The fourth is the previously unreleased “lost album” stuff, and the fifth and sixth contain all the live shit. See the complete tracklisting down below for a more complete look at what you’re throwing your money at in exchange for those CDs that remain so fucking indispensable to your particular demographic. Or don’t, and just throw it. I mean, you know you’ve got it.
The Velvet Underground 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition:
Disc 1: The Val Valentin Mix
01. Candy Says
02. What Goes On
03. Some Kinda Love
04. Pale Blue Eyes
05. Jesus
06. Beginning to See the Light
07. I’m Set Free
08. That’s the Story of My Life
09. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours
Disc 2: The Closet Mix
01. Candy Says
02. What Goes On
03. Some Kinda Love
04. Pale Blue Eyes
05. Jesus
06. Beginning to See the Light
07. I’m Set Free
08. That’s the Story of My Life
09. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours
11. Beginning to See the Light (alternate “Closet Mix”)
Disc 3: Promotional Mono Mix
01. Candy Says
02. What Goes On
03. Some Kinda Love
04. Pale Blue Eyes
05. Jesus
06. Beginning to See the Light
07. I’m Set Free
08. That’s the Story of My Life
09. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours
11. What Goes On (mono single version)
12. Jesus (mono single version)
Disc 4: 1969 sessions for unreleased fourth album
01. Foggy Notion (original 1969 mix, unreleased)
02. One of These Days (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
03. Lisa Says (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
04. I’m Sticking With You (original 1969 mix, unreleased)
05. Andy’s Chest (original 1969 mix, unreleased)
06. Coney’s Island Steeplechase (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
07. Ocean (original 1969 mix)
08. I Can’t Stand It (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
09. She’s My Best Friend (original 1969 mix, unreleased)
10. We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
11. I’m Gonna Move Right In (original 1969 mix)
12. Ferryboat Bill (original 1969 mix)
13. Rock & Roll (original 1969 mix)
14. Ride Into the Sun (new 2014 mix, unreleased)
Disc 5: Live at The Matrix
01. I’m Waiting for the Man (unreleased)
02. What Goes On (unreleased)
03. Some Kinda Love
04. Over You (unreleased)
05. We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together (unreleased)
06. Beginning to See the Light
07. Lisa Says
08. Rock & Roll
09. Pale Blue Eyes (unreleased)
10. I Can’t Stand It Anymore (unreleased)
11. Venus in Furs (unreleased)
12. There She Goes Again (unreleased)
Disc 6: Live at The Matrix
01. Sister Ray
02. Heroin (unreleased)
03. White Light/White Heat
04. I’m Set Free (unreleased)
05. After Hours (unreleased)
06. Sweet Jane
• The Velvet Underground: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Velvet_Underground
• Polydor: http://www.polydor.co.uk
More about: The Velvet Underground
