Customer Reviews

Another View

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4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
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As a fan, I rate this higher than your average listener probably would. For me it's essential although VU, their other compilation of non-album tracks, is much more so. I can understand why someone might accuse the Velvet's instrumentation of being rudimentary or why they might dislike Lou Reed's occasionally (and gleefully) overextended voice. But the Velvet Underground is loved for being raw, unflinchingly real, positively fearless and sometimes even darkly humorous. Lou Reed wrote about whatever he wanted including the drug life and other subjects that guaranteed alienation from the mainstream of the 60s. Today, the world has finally caught up with them and they've even been inducted into the Rock n Roll hall of fame.

"We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together" - a perfect opener, this one is very upbeat and straight to the point. Spirited strumming, hand claps and "Na, na, nas" all add to the fun. *****

"I'm Gonna Move Right In" - a laid-back and groovy shuffle, this instrumental track showcases Sterling Morrison's ample improvisational skills. Someone pointed out to my initial surprise that VU were occasionally similar to their perceived musical opposites The Grateful Dead. I dare say it's true, the main justification for that comparison being Mr. Morrison's playing. *****

"Hey Mr. Rain (version 1)" - If New York City art-punks were prone to rain dancing during times of draught, this is what they might play: a strange loping tune with trippy viola from original Velvet John Cale. ***1/2

"Ride Into The Sun" - This track is simplicity itself and exquisitely pretty. Quite different from the song it would later become with vocals by Doug Yule who became Cale's replacement. The version with the Yule vocal appears on the PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE box set and is very good as well. At this stage, "Ride" is an instrumental sounding a bit like a variation of the classic "Sweet Jane" which shares some of the same chords. ****1/2

"Coney Island Steeple Chase" - a decent rocker, but far from their best. I have a strange suspicion that majorly altered states of some kind were involved in this recording due to the general lazy feeling about it. But for all I know "altered states" were an integral part of all their records . . . ***

"Guess I'm Falling In Love" - one of their hardest rockers. Too bad they never laid down the original vocals with this recording, but it's still great. ****1/2

"Hey Mr. Rain (version 2)" - similar to version one but better due to a quicker pace, more insistent vocals, additional guitar flourishes and a more intense stab at viola from Cale. ****

"Ferryboat Bill" - A thumping little keyboard driven oddity that churns along until it's repeatedly interrupted by a couple bars of doo-wop style "do-n-do-dos." As a curiosity I like it, but can't objectively rate it too high. **1/2

"Rock n Roll" - a worthy alternate version from the one that appeared on LOADED featuring a crystalline guitar despite the rather poor recording quality found on this song as well as most others on ANOTHER VIEW -- but the Velvets were avid experimenters and that often extended to the recording process itself. You gotta accept the occasional shortcomings in their quest for sonic genius which they accomplished more often than not. ****1/2

An aside: as an obsessive Velvethead, I like to mull over the "Great Lost Velvet Album" that might have been. The band has a great wealth of non-album tracks to choose from. I think my version of the ultimate "Lost Album" could have/would have been as good as any official album they released! Just for the fun of it, here it is:

Love's Labour's Lost VU

Side 1

We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
Guess I'm Falling In Love (instrumental version)
I Can't Stand It (PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE remaster)
Lisa Says (PSAS remaster)
Sad Song
Foggy Notion (PSAS remaster)
Ride Into The Sun (PSAS version)

Side 2

One Of These Days (PSAS remaster)
Hey Mr. Rain (version 2)
Walk It, Talk It
She's My Best Friend
Satellite Of Love (PSAS version)
Stephanie Says (PSAS remaster)
Ocean (PSAS version)
I Love You

Even the leftover cuts (from the material I'm considering) would provide a rewarding and fun collection of B-tracks and alternate takes that would tickle any Velvethead pink:

Rock n Roll -> Ride Into The Sun

Side 1

Rock n Roll (ANOTHER VIEW version)
Hey Mr. Rain (version 1 - PSAS remaster)
I'm Gonna Move Right In
Temptation Inside Your Heart (PSAS remaster)
I'm Sticking With You (PSAS remaster)

Side 2

Ocean (VU version)
Oh Gin
Coney Island Steeple Chase
Ferryboat Bill
Andy's Chest (VU version)
Ride Into The Sun (ANOTHER VIEW version)

Most Velvet fans want all their recordings. I know I do. In order to do this, you must buy all four studio albums, including the Fully Loaded version of Loaded, Peel Slowly and See ( Box Set ),Live With Lou Reed Vol. 1 and 2, Live at Max's Kansas City, Live 1993, VU, and this CD, Another View. Of all the others named, this album is the least essential. All the songs are good, but not great like almost everything else the velvets did. If you are a big fan and/or a completist, this album is essential.

Only one of these tracks "Hey Mr. Rain (version 1)" made the box set, so do yourself a favor and add these essential tracks to your collection. On top of its musical benefits, it shows even more that Moe Tucker might just be the coolest person in the universe.

ANOTHER VIEW is the sequel to VU, the first set of previously unreleased songs by the influential New York group. While not as consistently strong as VU, some of the pieces here, like both versions of the vague, unsettling "Hey Mr. Rain" and the silly "Ferryboat Bill" are undeniably essential to a Velvet Underground fan's collection.

After VU justly became one of the group's most beloved albums, Verve took another scoop into the vaults. But it was clear they had exhausted all the best material on VU, so here we're left with an admirably planned, but gratuitously executed collection of scraps. The psychedelic-Arabic blend "Hey Mr. Rain" (presented in two different versions - the second is slightly weaker, with heavy guitar blasts that break the mood) is a fine song, featuring one of John Cale's most eerie viola performances; "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together" is a lightweight but fun burst of rock energy; and the vocal-free demo of "Guess I'm Falling in Love" at least has a good guitar track. But in other cases they dig too deep. I mean, does the world really need instrumental demos of "I'm Gonna Move Right In" or "Ride Into the Sun"? The reason why "Guess I'm Falling in Love" works, even as an instrumental demo, is because it looks to be the start of a good song. "Move Right In" and "Ride Into the Sun," on the other hand, look to be the start of mediocre songs. "Ferryboat Bill" is one of the group's most annoying songs, and "Coney Island Steeplechase" is only slightly better. And the alternate version of "Rock and Roll" is kind of boring - stick to the original, which absolutely rules. Unlike VU, this is inessential, but it does have great cover art and a few good songs.

The album is the second of two releases of previously unreleased tracks with John Cale and from the "lost album," which is material done for MGM Records, but placed in a vault to gather dust when VU was released from its recording contract.

The trio of Cale songs are Hey Mr. Rain (versions one and two) and the instrumental version of Guess I'm Falling in Love. The standout number is Coney Island Steeplechase.

This is not the place to start for those wishing to hear what made VU an iconic group. It is a means to hear the band at work in the studio, which is interesting, but may not be appreciated by those seeking "completed" tracks that were fully prepared for release.

ANOTHER VIEW is the sequel to VU, the first set of previously unreleased songs by the influential New York group. While not as consistently strong as VU, some of the pieces here, like both versions of the vague, unsettling "Hey Mr. Rain" and the silly "Ferryboat Bill" are undeniably essential to a Velvet Underground fan's collection.

Great release of previously unreleased songs - when i play this it always get's me singing/dancing along to it - Lou & the band blow me away - these songs just back that up - my personal favourites are "Coney Island Steeplechase" and the rocking track "Guess I'm Falling In Love" - this instrumental song shows Velvet's influence on other bands was huge. I just wish Another View had more tracks because it's that damn good!! NYC Baby

I started listening to the Velvet Undeground right around the time this collection was issued, so when I heard these songs I didn't think of them as a collection of extras for the completist, just another album from a band I liked. 85 years later I still feel that way. And that's the short and long of it.

As much as I love The Velvet Underground, and I do love them, I could never really get into the whole cult of undiscovered recordings. People have a fetishistic attachment to the kind of thing "Another View" purportedly offers, but I've never understood it. Admittedly, I really liked "VU" and "Live At Max's Kansas City", and let me say for the record that "VU and Nico" is my favorite album of all time, and I would go so far as to say that "White Light White Heat" is a close second...but "Another View"? I could go either way.
As for the particulars, here goes: first there's "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together". It's pretty good, has that late VU bouncy vibe. Could very well be a "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" b-side. Then there's "I'm Gonna Move Right In", the first of three (!) instrumental tracks. Why three? Who knows. "Ride Into the Sun" is certainly the most inexplicable of the three, sounding more like a full-formed (if uninspired) Stones song that they forgot to record the vocals to. "Guess I'm Falling In Love", the last of the three, is more typical of early-VU (Consulting the liner notes, I see it was recorded in '67, the earliest of any AV track) and recalls "Sister Ray" in its pummeling overdrive. Truth be told, it could very well be an earlier, curtailed recording of "Ray" wherein John Cale's keyboard was unplugged.
As for the non-instrumental tracks...well, its a bit of a hodge-podge. The two versions of "Hey Mr. Rain" are understandable, if a bit needless. Both were recorded in '68 and recall early VU, inasmuch as they both feature a viola. "Coney Island Steeplechase" is an interesting inclusion, insofar as it more reasoundingly echoes The Strokes than any other VU song I can remember. Much to my chagrin, "Ferryboat Bill" did not so much recall "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" as it did...i dunno, The Doors? The vocals and composition on Bill also have a distinctly post-VU Lou Reed flare, for what that's worth. Finally there's an early recording of "Rock and Roll", which I liked far less than the "Loaded" version. It's one of those great simple songs that, if you break it down to its constituent particles, sometimes doesn't sound so great.
The interesting thing here, of course, is the fact that any review of this album is completely moot. You'll either never hear about it and never purchase it, or you'll buy it out of an obligatory devotion to the band and cherish it no matter the quality of the music. If you're borderline, however, as I am, I'd check out "VU" or "Live at Max's Kansas City" first.