Sister Ray Genius or Wankery

Genius even without the music!

Angus MacLise isn't on this track.

It's not the longest song in the world, but it sure feels like it. Even Joy Division couldn't make it listenable. White Light is one of my favourite albums of all time, but inevitably everytime I try to listen to "Sister Ray," I think "Is it over yet?" only to see the CD display read it's at the three minute mark.

I still like the songs that fit more easily on mixtapes though.

Kris: I haven't heard that version of "Space Truckin." What's it like? Where do you find it?

And then it's hard not to hear Dylan (and, through Dylan, Appalachian) drones in stuff like "Black Angel's Death Song."

Fritz, you're right of course, though I'd say that (especially) the Chocolate Watchband were almost up there with the Velvets in quality (the Watchband's Rhino best-of is far more consistently good than the LPs I've heard of the Electric Prunes, Seeds, Sam the Sham, and so forth).

Get thee Quine Basement Tapes NOW!! Three (count 'em) versions of Sister Ray as nature originally intended. Exquisite.

made me laugh, anyway...

Both Joy Division and New Order seem to use the song as an excuse to play whatever they want and call it "Sister Ray".

the only track on the whole album i get bored with is "the gift," which sounds amazing the first 3 or 4 times you hear it but stands up to repeated listening about as badly as most spoken-word stuff.

i'll go w/ both, too. because it IS the song that made me rethink my view on the VU. i'd had Nico for a long time, then after avoiding this song for a long time, i finally sat down w/ it, headphones, a six pack and new pack of smokes. by the end of the song, 1/2 the cigs were gone, 2/3 the six pack, and i couldn't make it any louder without hurting myself (which i still managed to do). i never heard that song the same after.
it's too much/and not enough at the same time. everything is going everywhere and then it even manages to sound brittle while pummeling yr skull! the breakdown kills me everytime.
side note- in a "punk" bar one night heard this song twice in a row. people were NOT pleased but i didn't do it! i swear!!!

btw- the Quine versions are pretty damned great!!! the build-up of it.

The original "Sister Ray" is pure awesomeness. Not really too artsy or inhumanly great, just really fun to rock out to. It may be excessive and quite noisy for the early 1960's, it is oh so fun to just let loose to. And the creepy parts where Reed is stuttering out the lyrics, barking things like "Move it along!" are just so perfect.

"IIIIIIIIII'm searchin' for my maaaaaaaaiiiiiinliiine, cooooouuuuuldn't hit it siiiiiiiiiiiiiidewaaaaays..."

HI DERE 1968!

That is Sterling's guitar in the left channel, yes? Would imagine so because that's the one doing the little fills in between lines of the verses at the beginning. Anyway, at various points the soloing maybe stops or loses intensity or something but that rhythm playing is still so gnarly. There's really not a bad moment throughout.

People talking about Sister Ray makes me want to put it on and turn it up!

(Especially the mono verve LP version! Rargh!)

Jennifer Warnes as well...

I liked Brick when I saw it, closing it w/this put it over the top and I was all :D :D :D

For what it's worth I made it a point to listen to this again yesterday and it didn't appeal to me as much as it did the first time.

"God this is so long"

Genius genius genius. It'd be bettered tho by "I heard Her..." if Lou hadn't fucked up the mix

xpost IT IS NOT LONG, DRINK A BEER

Debatable that Lou "fucked up" the mix

It's like aggressive ambient music in a way, you get a bit drunk with a friend and stick this on and occasionally you both look up and go "oh man!" etc, otherwise you just talk (this is obv only ONE way to take it, I used to listen to the whole thing w eyes closed as a 13 yr old and kinda loved it)

xpost is that debated? His guitar's the best thing on the song, but it'd be nice to have it backed up more.

"Kinda loved it" isn't true really, I just did love it. There's so much to listen to. Kinda wish I still had the time or energy to do that kinda thing now.

His guitar's the best thing on the song, but it'd be nice to have it backed up more.

u mad - the way the guitar FLATTENS everything else on the track every time it comes in is GENIUS

Except when it's flattened by Cale's organ, which is pretty much all the way through the track.

"I Heard Her Call My Name" not "Sister Ray"

It's genius for the first couple seconds, ABSOLUTELY! It's like a blitzkreig! But when he keeps soloing I wish there was more of a rhythm section that I could hear him playing with/against. Marcello I don't hear too much organ on I Heard Her Call My Name

xpost OBV

But when he keeps soloing I wish there was more of a rhythm section that I could hear him playing with/against

Remix it! I did! Bit of editing software and hey presto!

How's it sound?

Great!

Yeah but better? I always wanted that track to be like SR in miniature, kinda, just Lou vs. Everyone. Fuck I should just try and do it myself, I guess.

It's fun. I think the guitar is all in the centre of the stereo mix so just bung up the other edges of the mix, the rhythm guitar really comes through

I have the mono LP.

What, Formica Blues?

Showoff (xp)

I'm sure Geir thinks that "Sister Ray" would be greatly improved if Cale's amelodic rhythm dominate organ were replaced by Jools Holland's boogie woogie piano magic. And maybe remove old miseryguts Lou Reed's vocals and replace with Ruby Turner's Soulful Passionate And Honest Wailing.

There is nothing that could have saved "Sister Ray". Maybe the rest of the album, but not that one. John Cale leaving after that album was good for their music, though, most of the tracks on the last two albums are either wonderfully melodic or at least completely OK.

Argh! That freaking Jennifer Warnes album Cale produced! Damnit, I never found that thing and I wanted it really bad about a year ago. If you know how to get it, email a Bimble. OKTHXBYE

awesome

There is nothing that could have saved Geir Hongro. Maybe the rest of the world, but not that one. Cutting his ears off was good for music, though.

"Geir had intuitively grasped every nook and cranny of her psyche- she needed him, he wasn't there."

"too busy s[CONTROVERSIAL MOD EDIT]ing dong"

I find it naive in the extreme that people try to judge VU in terms of "melody". It's another approach, you have to try to hit it sideways (even if you can't). Otherwise, just stick to Mel Torme.

this song kicks ass btw

Mel Torme liked to recognise the tune, that's true.

Right:

Couldn’t hit it sideways

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/812I-kp8SSL._SL1500_.jpg

Lol

shoots him down dead on the floor
oh, don’t you know you shouldn’t do that
don’t you know, you’ll stain the carpet?

I originally was going to post that line.

That last line anyway

Did someone go on a little Velvets binge last night?

I haven't heard this song in years, but like, literally every line of it is burned into my psyche in a way that I can never get out ("wants to know a way to earn a dooooll-lar").

Why have I always been so fascinated by heavy drugs music, when I don't actually *like* drugs?

Ha, how did you guess?

a killer groove surely.
exemplary investigation of a repetitive riff.
Gets really down for a track without a bass, or at least the WL/WH version doesn't since Cale is on keyboard and Sterling is on guitar.
Gymnasium is the version without a keyboard isn't it? so is Cale playing bass as he would tend to when not playing viola or keyboard?
I know one version from around then lacks keyboard and been a while since I listened to the live set.

Yule era versions do something different with it, less relentless assault.

a little bootleg comp i put together — https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/post/770395543451140096/sister-ray-in-the-70s-something-special-to-close

Lou's solo Sister Rays, 1972-1980

Wow, I had no idea he actually did "Sister Ray" in the 70s!

he did! wasn't brought out of storage all that often but it was cool / weird when it happened.

This is what I call an unbeatable Christmas present.

So good. Thanks for putting this together.

Rad!!

thanks, Tyler! super rad!

thanks for this! never heard a lou solo "sister ray" i liked by i'm always ready to give more a try :)

I love the Lou picture you’ve chosen for this

Is it from a government Don't Do Amphetamines campaign?

I always think of this as the ur example of Lou on amphetamines show

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRG-arffGWA