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"...He's Got The Works..."
I can think of only two other
albums like The Velvet Underground's debut that have influenced so much and so
many - and had such a staggering and lasting cultural impact - "Sgt.
Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" by The Beatles and "Never Mind The
Bollocks..." by The Sex Pistols. When I worked at Reckless in the West End
we kept at least 100 copies of the Velvet's debut on new 180grams reissue vinyl
for eager punters to snap up on a daily basis - without question the biggest
selling reissue album we ever had. No other LP short of Floyd's "Dark Side
Of The Moon" or Nirvana's "Nevermind" has had such a devoted and
long-lasting following.
And for those who can't
afford (nor want) the Super Deluxe 6-Disc version that came out in October 2012
- this 2CD Deluxe Edition gives a scratchy arm all the needles it'll need. Here
are the Femme Fatales and Andy Warhols...
Released June 2002 -
"The Velvet Underground & Nico: Deluxe Edition" by THE VELVET
UNDERGROUND & NICO on Universal/Polydor 314 589 624-2 (Barcode 731458962427)
is a 2CD Deluxe Edition with the Mono and Stereo Versions of the album with
Nine Bonus Tracks and breaks down as follows:
Disc 1 (60:18 minutes):
1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting For The Man
3. Femme Fatale [Vocals by
Nico]
4. Venus In Furs
5. Run, Run, Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
[Vocals by Nico]
7. Heroin [Side 2]
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel's Death
Song
11. European Son
Tracks 1 to 11 are the
STEREO VERSION of "The Velvet Underground & Nico" - their debut
album released March 1967 in the USA on Verve V6-5008 and November 1967 in the
UK on Verve SVLP 9184 [For Mono Variant see Disc 2]
12. Little Sister
13. Winter Song
14. It Was A Pleasure Then
15. Chelsea Girls
16. Wrap Your Troubles In
Dreams
Tracks 12 to 16 are from
"Chelsea Girl"- the solo debut album by NICO released October 1967 on
Verve V6-5032 (Stereo) and finally released in the UK in September 1971 on MGM
Select 2353 025 (Stereo)
Disc 2 (77:33 minutes):
1. Sunday Morning
2. I'm Waiting For The Man
3. Femme Fatale [Vocals by
Nico]
4. Venus In Furs
5. Run, Run, Run
6. All Tomorrow's Parties
[Vocals by Nico]
7. Heroin [Side 2]
8. There She Goes Again
9. I'll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel's Death
Song
11. European Son
Tracks 1 to 11 are the MONO
VERSION of "The Velvet Underground & Nico" released March 1967 in
the USA on Verve V-5008 and November 1967 in the UK on Verve VLP 9184 [For
Stereo Variant see Disc 1]
12. All Tomorrow's Parties
(Single Version),
13. I'll Be Your Mirror (12
and 13 issued July 1966 as the A&B-sides of a US 7" single on Verve
VK-10427. Both tracks feature NICO on Lead Vocals, are in MONO and were not
issued in the UK as a single. "I'll Be Your Mirror" the 'single
version' features an alternate ending to the cut on the LP)
14. Sunday Morning (Single
Version)
15. Femme Fatale (Single
Version) (14 and 15 issued December 1966 as the A&B-sides of a US 7"
single on Verve VK-10466. "Femme Fatale" features NICO on Lead
Vocals, is in Mono and was not issued in the UK)
Compiled by BILL LEVINSON
and remastered by BOB LUDWIG and JEFF WILLENS - they've done a fantastic job
with an album that is notoriously lo-fi on purpose (Produced by Andy Warhol
with Nico credited as a 'Chanteuse'). The foldout flaps of the digipak feature
reviews of the album from various trade papers of the time, album credits,
suitably blurry photos of the band beneath the see-through trays and a 28-page
booklet that has classy black and white snaps of the group's famous shows
(mostly live shots) and some studies of Nico. The Dave Thompson liner notes
(Pages 3 to 12) go deep into the album's explosive history, there's lyrics to
all the songs and original US issues (Universal 314 589 624-2) even has a
'peelable' banana on the front flap to repro the rare first pressings on vinyl
(now worth a King's ransom).
Flower-power ladies, loved
up hippies and peace-in-our-time acid droppers got the fright of their lives
when "The Velvet Underground & Nico" was released in the spring
of 1967. It painted a seriously dark picture of a counter-culture that was
already writhing in sweaty withdrawal. Drugs and their all-pervasive effect of
everything you hold dear permeates almost every song - scoring them ("I'm Waiting For The
Man"), doing them ("Venus In Furs") and then selling your body
and eventually your soul to get more ("Run, Run, Run"). And all of
this despair is wrapped up in jagged melodies, droll voices (American and
German) and distorted guitars that sound like they're being tortured by CIA
operatives determined to find a Communist.
But I suspect that like
"Bollocks" - the real reason the album has endured so long is
precisely because it's so brutally honest - where one track is actually called
"Heroin" - and the others barely disguise such a controversial
subject matter. And yet there's inexplicable prettiness too - the gorgeous
opener "Sunday Morning" sung by Lou Reed as if he hasn't a care in
the world - while Nico scores massively with three vocal beauties - "Femme
Fatale", the ragged piano of "All Tomorrow's Parties" and the
delicate "I'll Be Your Mirror". Even now it's an extraordinary piece
of work and 'influential' barely touches on its true impact down through the
decades. It also has something you can't invent - it's effortlessly cool...
Of the two versions I
actually find the MONO mix to be more powerful and direct (unavailable since
its 1967 release) - the wild soloing of "Heroin" is so stunning and
the jangly guitar of "There She Goes Again" much cleaner as it
escapes your speakers. And with Sterling Morrison, Lou Reed and John Cale all
contributing to the NICO solo tracks - it's hardly surprising they bookend Disc
1. The flute and dry nature of "Chelsea Girls" with "Bridget all
wrapped in foil..." matches the Velvets album perfectly while the
eight-minutes of the (admittedly hissy) "It Was A Pleasure Then"
feels just as druggy as anything on the "Banana Peel" debut.
Will we ever know its like
again? Will I ever find an unpeeled 'banana sleeve' in a dollar bin or carboot
sale - no is the answer. But at least with this superb Universal DE Edition you
can get to understand what all the fuss and iconography is about.
"$26 in my hand...more
dead than alive..." Lou Reed sings on "I'm Waiting For The Man".
Well in 2019 you'll get your fix for a lot less now - and in this case - it's
worth every blood red cent...
