VU and Nico - remastered again?

I am not asking this question rhetorically.

The analog to digital converters capture sound at a higher resolution than the older equipment. It all gets dithered down to 16 bit audio on the disc, but the newer converters and mastering equipment/software can bring in more fine detail of the original sound.

from the quietus
The Velvet Underground & Nico's seminal 1967 debut is getting an expansive, six disc reissue via Universal, set for release on 1st October. The Velvet Underground & Nico 45th Anniversary Edition contains the original album in both mono and stereo versions, Nico's Chelsea Girl, the sought-after Scepter Studios material, Factory rehearsals and their __ set from Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio.

scepter / factory and valleydale are all heavily bootlegged.

would still be nice to have them on an official release though.

Chelsea Girl could use a remaster too

yeah, will be nice to have cleaned up versions of that stuff. would be nice if there was a DVD of some of the film footage of the band from around that time too, but that'd probably make an expensive box even more expensive.

Valleydale is amazing. I don't really need an umpteenth version fo the album but cleaned up live shit? I'm there.

will the CDs be shaped like bananas though.

& yeah, the "melody laughter" valleydale excerpt on peel slowly sounds better than the boots for sure.

Cool I'm just slowly readiing through the Unterberger day by day so have just bee reading about some of this material. Would be nice if they mopped up all the early recordings including the various 65 & 66 demoes with this. Not sure how much of that stuff there is.

& would love that Columbus set in best possible sound. Think somebody in Japan remastered it some years back but don't think I've heard that version. But the 9 minute Dresden style version of Run, Run, RUn has always bee a favourite.

Does this mean that Cale is lightening up on vetoing releases of early live stuff then? Will there be a Gymnasium '67 forthcoming?

is it cale who vetoed the early live stuff? thought it was lou "grumpypants" reed.

Thought it was Cale. What live stuff has been officially released has largely been after he left with the exception of the 10 minute excerpt of Melody Laughter on Peel Slowly & See I think.

Certainly think he was supposed to be the one who vetoed the projected release of Gymnasium as the 2nd in the bootleg series.

really? he was the one who put out booker t from the gymnasium on a soundtrack way back when, I think. maybe he didn't think that they would pay him enough or something. i suppose if this new box does well enough, a wl/wh box w/ the gymnasium recordings will be next.

The Velvet Underground & Nico 45th Anniversary Edition Tracklist:
Disc One:
The Velvet Underground & Nico (Stereo Version):
01 .Sunday Morning
02. I’m Waiting for the Man
03. Femme Fatale
04. Venus in Furs
05. Run Run Run
06. All Tomorrow’s Parties
07. Heroin
08. There She Goes Again
09. I’ll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel’s Death Song
11. European Son

Alternate Versions:
12. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Alternate Single Voice Version)
13. European Son (Alternate Version)
14. Heroin (Alternate Version)
15. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Alternate Instrumental Mix)
16. I’ll Be Your Mirror (Alternate Mix)

Disc Two:
The Velvet Underground & Nico (Mono Version):
01. Sunday Morning
02. I’m Waiting for the Man
03. Femme Fatale
04. Venus in Furs
05. Run Run Run
06. All Tomorrow’s Parties
07. Heroin
08. There She Goes Again
09. I’ll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel’s Death Song
11. European Son

The Singles (Mono):
12. All Tomorrow’s Parties (July 1966)
13. I’ll Be Your Mirror (Alternate Ending, July 1966)
14. Sunday Morning (Alternate Mix, December 1966)
15. Femme Fatale (December 1966)

Disc Three:
Nico’s Chelsea Girl:
01. The Fairest of the Seasons
02. These Days
03. Little Sister
04. Winter Song
05. It Was a Pleasure Then
06. Chelsea Girls
07. I’ll Keep It With Mine
08. Somewhere There’s a Feather
09. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
10. Eulogy to Lenny Bruce

Disc Four:
Scepter Studios Sessions:
01. European Son (Alternate Version) *
02. The Black Angel’s Death Song (Alternate Mix) *
03. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Alternate Version) *
04. I’ll Be Your Mirror (Alternate Version) ^
05. Heroin (Alternate Version) *
06. Femme Fatale (Alternate mix) ^
07. Venus in Furs (Alternate Version) ^
08. Waiting for the Man (Alternate Version) ^
09. Run Run Run (Alternate Mix) ^

* from tape
^ from acetate

The Factory Rehearsals (January 1966):
10. Walk Alone
11. Cracking Up / Venus in Furs
12. Miss Joanie Lee
13. Heroin
14. There She Goes Again (with Nico)
15. There She Goes Again

Disc Five:
Live at Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio:
01. Melody Laughter
02. Femme Fatale
03. Venus in Furs
04. The Black Angel’s Death Song
05. All Tomorrow’s Parties (Lou Reed)

Disc Six:
Live at Valleydale Ballroom, Columbus, Ohio:
01. Waiting for the Man
02. Heroin
03. Run Run Run
04 The Nothing Song

Well now. Might have to get that. Just now came across Neuronium w Nico's Vuelo Quimico on Amazon--mp3 only, but could apply suitable booster. Think it's worth the effort? I've got the LP, but don't remember it so well.

And in another 5 years, for the 50th anniversary...?

that'll be when the nico hologram plays with Lou at Coachella.

Embedding has been very erratic for me lately, so if this doesn't, give it a click.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exFokKr-WEg

damn thats a killer version, bass is all up front

Thanks Luke - love this . Nobody enunciates the English language quite like Nico - the brightest and best of the Aryan Master-race singing girls - though she also plays a mean harmonium - have been a huge fan of this extraordinary musician/singer for 40+ years.

mickigoe 1 year ago

The first two discs look very like the recent 'deluxe' 2CD edition.

Recently, I burned a 'scepter' disc, but looked around for a suitable front for the 'sleeve'..

There is a nice pic on the plaNET site of Moe's acetate, where Sterling did cover art for it..

http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/andsoon/studio/vu_scepter_acetate_cover.jpg

And now they've found the tape? There's a couple of 'jumps' on the existing version of "European", so...

I love the story of how the Scepter sessions were long regarded as lost until some random guy discovered a mysterious acetate in a box of records at a yard sale, labelled "The Velvet Underground - Apr 25 '66". He bought it - for 75 cents.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/2b/VU_1_acetate_label.jpg/160px-VU_1_acetate_label.jpg

He put his 75¢ find on eBay, where it sold for over $25,000. Probably made his day

Although last time I checked it was still posted here and there.

Aside from the Super Deluxe edition, The Velvet Underground & Nico will be available in a brand-new two-CD Deluxe Edition which includes a stereo version of the album along with a separate disc of the Factory rehearsals and Scepter Studios sessions.

Ah, alright! Deal!

note

Right, today is the day.

It was on the shelves in the local HMV last week I looked at it but wondered if I could find a better price than €16.99.
Does have a lot of bonus material I really want though.

But am hoping to get the full box set at some point. Didn't see any of those around though, wanted an ogle. Not sure where HMV would have them these days, they've recently restructured their sales area.

Excuse me whilst I remaster my anus
― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, April 7, 2003 11:19 PM

lost purple haze lyrics

I didn't expect this to be on Spotify, but it is. Nice, 'cause at this point it's the sort of thing I want to hear but not necessarily own.

how's the live set sound?

ok listening now, they haven't worked any miracles, but it's a slight improvement over the bootlegs i've got.

huh, thx, that might be the deciding factor for me not to trade in the wonderful sounding deluxe edition from a couple years ago

well, i haven't listened to the rest of it -- just the valleydale ballroom set (which is an aged audience recording). don't know how the remastering of the actual album stands up to that deluxe VU & nico from 2002.

regardless of the sound quality, the valleydale tape is sooooo good, esp. the two epic tracks.

Similarly stoked that this is on spotify. I've never even listened to the scepter stuff, i think.

my mom got me this super deluxe thing for my birthday! thanks, mom! it's a nice looking set.

uh.....HB, tylerw!
i can't imagine i absolutely need it but keep us posted

What listenable boots incl the Valleydale performances?

I have a boot of it called EPI/1966. Not hugely worse in sound quality than the version on the mega boxset.

Turns out some of the Scepter Sessions are identical to the album tracks...but mastered from the acetate. Weirdly redundant, but still glad I have the set. Live stuff is great, as is the mono mix.

weird, was just listening to this on spotify this morning

thanx EZ---wonder if EPI/1966 is the same as the 2-LP1966--?(!)

general consensus on the Valleydale show seems to be that the best version up til now was "If It's Too Loud For You, Move Back", a double CD that was from Japan iirc

thanks--some of it's in the Peel Slowly And See box too, right?

yeah there's an edit of "melody laughter" on peel slowly...valleydale does sound better on the box set.

little disappointing that the full warhol rehearsal tape isn't on there? at least according to the VU site, the complete thing is

All Tomorrow's Parties
Men of Good Fortune
Walk Alone (3:28)
Buddy Holly jam (1:15)
Venus in Furs/Crackin' Up (3:50)
Blues jam (5:15)
R & B jam (2:22)
Run Run Run intro into Miss Joanie Lee (11:48)
Day Tripper into Boom Boom Boom Boom (6:18)
European Son
Venus in Furs
Heroin (6:10)
Prominent Men
Green Onions (5:57)
There She Goes Again (Lou Reed vocal) (3:29)
There She Goes Again (Nico vocal) (4:18)

But there's no men of good fortune or prominent men on there. where my men at?! those ones aren't on any of the bootlegs either...curious. would be interesting to hear VU doing men of good fortune.

prominent men is one of my favorite VU songs

probably the least VUlike of all their songs

true enough. but it's still a good song. actually, i really like that whole pre-VU & Nico recording, little of which sounds like anything that followed.

yeah that rehearsal tape on peel slowly is more of a piece with the fugs and holy modal rounders than anything else. would be interesting to hear a full band rendition of
prominent men.
other shame about this super deluxe edition is that they didn't include a dvd w/ say, symphony of sound and the assorted random bits of VU footage from the period.

listening to this album a lot thanks to reish box set. kind of crazy how out of tune everything is on it -- the vocals, the guitars, even the drums somehow ... not a complaint obviously, this is one of my favorite albums ever. makes me think more albums should be out of tune.

only just discovered that this is Nico:

http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/MODE/mode22.html

lots more of her fashion photographs here:

http://smironne.free.fr/NICO/mode.html

sorry that should be:

http://covers.box3.net/newsimg/dvdmov/max1316068497-front-cover.jpg

Wow.

This seems to be the the only VU thread running that hasn't mentioned the WPIX appearance, so consider it mentioned.

http://i50.tinypic.com/a3ghtx.jpg

this is sort of interesting re: the early velvets possible influence on london psych = http://www.sydbarrettpinkfloyd.com/2012/12/PinkFloyd.html

acetate keeps on giving.

i suppose if this new box does well enough, a wl/wh box w/ the gymnasium recordings will be next.

― tylerw, Tuesday, July 24, 2012 10:49 AM (1 year ago)

as usual tylerw otm but how did he know?!
and holy crap wl/wh mono is a INSANELY finfine mix