1969: Velvet Underground Live, Vol. 2 [LIVE]

Velvet Underground

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Original Release Date: 1974
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Live
• Label: Island / Mercury
• ASIN: B000001FOE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #24,745 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #29 in	Music > Rock > Live Albums > Alternative Rock
  #35 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Live Albums > Alternative
  #97 in	Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Proto Punk

• This is item 2 in The Velvet Underground Live, 1969 Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
It's the rarest of live albums whose songs add anything to the majesty of the original studio recordings. This one adds immeasurable data to the Velvet's story. Without 1969: Live we might never have known that they were more than just an art outfit, that they could actually rock with fury. Check out Reed's strumming on "What Goes On" if you want to have your mind blown. None of these staples of the V.U. catalog can be truly known without hearing these fully formed, fleshed-out versions, so for history's sake alone we must treasure this. History's tragedy of course is that we get to hear the excruciatingly light applause--it sounds like there's only 10 people in the room at some points--after each course in ass kicking. They were wrongly under-appreciated in their time, and for this we must all pay forever by playing this record constantly. --Gene Booth

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This review should not be necessary, July 3, 2002

By	Len Czyzniejewski (Las Vegas, Nv United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Why they didn't just pack it together as one double CD is beyond me, as the original record was all one set. This just means I have to write two ***** reviews instead of one. But yes, Volume 2 is just as good as Volume 1, and they both are classics. In fact, I like a lot of the songs on this one ("Herion", "Sweet Bonnie Brown", "Pale Blue Eyes", "White Light/White Heat") better than the originals. In the case of "White Light...", it's probably because you get a longer version of a good thing.

This makes it the rarest of live albums, in that the material here is at least as good or better than the original. I also like that you can hear the band really get down and rock on a few numbers, just to show they are a ROCK band, and not the toys of the art crowd.

I thank those who released this, as it was a very hard to find work for awhile.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST Velvets Album, April 29, 2003

By	jcsalem (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This is one of the rare cases when volume 2 is better than the first. Of course, it would be best to buy both but if you have to pick one, pick this volume.

This is the album that made me really appreciate the Velvets. I love live music and this album really captures the band as they were meant to be heard -- Jamming, Moody, Rock and Roll. The first 3 songs especially (Ocean, Pale Blue Eyes, and Heroin) have reverberated in my musical memory for a very long time.

A GREAT FIRST VU ALBUM! If you know the Velvets or even just think you might like them, you can't go wrong with these live concerts.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars it's really lovely, February 26, 2006

By	Fred G. Sanford. (Staten Island NY) - See all my reviews

This LP in it's original Double-album form was one my favorites of the era (the early seventies being a little sparse and sometimes unoriginal), but when the CD's came out, they split the thing into 2 separate discs. So this one has lots of dreamy, drug induced pop ("pale blue eyes', "I'll be your Mirror') , and some atmospherics ('Ocean')as well as the classics ("Heroin, White Light/White Heat').
Good for fans, good for people who liked their studio stuff, also.