They also demonstrate the influence of Ornette Coleman in Reed’s playing, and the liberating philosophy Coleman would come to call Harmolodics. The tape circulated for years as a Japanese bootleg, an interesting fact, notes a Rate Your Music commenter, “considering this bears more similarity to recordings from the likes of Les Rallizes Dénudés than most of the Velvet Underground’s other material.” The recordings may have well paved the way for the explosion of Japanese psychedelic rock to come. On the other hand, nowhere else can we hear the nuance, ferocity, and outright insanity of Reed’s playing so amply demonstrated on the majority of this document. “It is frustrating,” Unterberger admits, “to hear such a one-dimensional audio-snapshot of what is clearly a good - if not great - night for the band” (who were far more than one of their parts). Songs like “Candy Says” and “Jesus” - on which Reed does not create sublime swirls of noise and feedback - chug along monotonously without their melodies. Except for Mo Tucker’s glorious, but muffled thumping and some of Sterling Morrison’s excellent guitar interplay, the rest of the band is hardly audible. It should be evident thus far that these recordings are hardly a comprehensive document of the Velvet Underground in early 1969. Over and undertones, feedback, string buzz, the scratch of fingers on frets and the crackle and hum of tube amps combine to create a monolithic blast of metal machine music.” Known as the “legendary guitar amp tape” and long sought by collectors and fans, the bootleg, which you can hear above, “serves as a testament to the brilliance and innovation of Reed’s guitar-playing - both qualities that are often underrated, if not overlooked entirely, by critics of his work,” as Richie Unterberger writes. The mic jammed in the back of Reed’s amp, a Head Heritage reviewer writes, produced “a mighty electronic roar that reveals the depth and layers of Reed’s playing. “The entire set was recorded by a fan directly from Lou Reed’s guitar amplifier,” MetaFilter points out. Whoever taped the Velvets (in their second incarnation) on March 15, 1969, on the last night of a three-show engagement at The Boston Tea Party in Boston, MA, seemed to think so. (Let’s pass by, for the moment, whether VU without Reed warrants a mention…)Įach iteration pioneered essential underground sounds - dirgy Euro-folk rock, strung-out New York garage rock, junkie ballads, psychedelic drone, experimental noise - nearly all of them channeled through Reed’s underrated guitar playing, which was, perhaps the most important member of the band all along. The Velvet Underground with Doug Yule after Cale’s departure. The Velvet Underground with John Cale and 3. ![]() On the strength of that single and songwriting gems such as "Perfect Day" and "Satellite of Love," the album cemented Reed's status as a star whose music will be played for decades to come.What was the Velvet Underground? A Kim Fowly-like art project that outlived its impresario’s interest? A main vehicle for Lou Reed, rock’s egomaniac underdog (who was no one’s ingénue)? Was it three bands? 1. "Walk on the Wild Side came from Transformer, Reed's second solo album that was produced by David Bowie and released in 1972. In a career that spanned New York's Andy Warhol-era experimental art scene and included the unlikely hit "Walk on the Wild Side," Reed never lost his sense of urban grit and cool. A third self-titled album, produced without Cale, included the mournful "Pale Blue Eyes." The band's first two albums, The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) and White Light/White Heat (1968), became touchstones of art-rock for generations that followed. Bassist Doug Yule later replaced Cale in the lineup. "Anyone listening to a bass guitar and regular guitar coming out of the same amp - it couldn't have been a really great listening experience."Īlong with Cale on viola, bass and other instruments, the band's core personnel included drummer Moe Tucker and guitarist Sterling Morrison. ![]() "We were not user-friendly at all," Cale told NPR in 2000. In a remembrance of Reed, NPR's Neda Ulaby quotes his Velvet Underground co-founder and longtime collaborator John Cale explaining that the band didn't care to make things easy for their listeners:
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