Gold [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Velvet Underground

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 14, 2005)
• Original Release Date: June 14, 2005
• Number of Discs: 2
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Polydor / Umgd
• ASIN: B0009NZ3ZK
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #41,266 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Japanese only SHM-CD (Super High Material CD - playable on all CD players) pressing. Universal. 2008. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Send your check or money order to K-tel now - or call our 800 number!!!, August 22, 2005

By	hi_bob - See all my reviews

Could somebody _please_ explain to me how the he11 "Temptation Inside Your Heart", an amusing but eminently forgettable song, winds up on here instead of "I'm Sticking With You"? Or how about the live version of "Guess I'm Falling in Love", from the boxed set - isn't it time the general public got to hear that gem? And, why, in an era where the majors are cross-licensing like never before in a desperate attempt to save their collective hides, *WHY* couldn't they have ponied up the dough for the album versions of "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll"?


(long silence)


Guess that's what happens when you treat bands and their music like disposable product, to be folded up and stuffed into identical packages. The garishly ugly cover photo here really seals the deal.

It's a shame, because this group could use a decent compilation, and, by and large, the choices here aren't bad, save for the rather gigantic errors mentioned above.

Disk 1 neatly solves the problem of what to include from the classic "banana" debut by including everything, save for what are probably the two most, um, "challenging" songs in the group's catalog. _White Light/White Heat_ is an album that should be heard in its entirety, but for purposes of compilation, the three tracks here do fine.

Disc 2 is where the trouble is. The "grey album" is neatly condensed for casual listening, and six of the seven "V.U." tracks included clearly do belong, but "Temptation..." is one more dog than this set can afford, given the major letdown that lies at the end of the disc (the absence of the _Loaded_ material).

Well, anyway, it's nice to see the good ol' V.U. included in the same series as the Jackson 5 and Olivia Newton-John, so that the world can be reminded what a great pop singles act they were. Cheerio!


p.s. - I think if you order three of these, you get a free salad shooter

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Universal's "Gold" series shines... , December 18, 2005

By	dvdtrkr (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews

Sony had been putting out the "Essentials" for a while, and I guess Universal realized that people wanted something that had the hits and deep cuts.

The "Loaded" cuts are left off due to being on Warners (although the 1 CD greatest "hits" had "R&R" and "Sweet Jane" and "Peel Slowly" had all of the albums, this is more about the Verve era). However, this collection in my humble opinion is worth it because it has the live cuts from "1969" (which wasn't part of the box set or the hits pack) containing the slower, loose version of "Sweet Jane" and a couple of the Nico cuts from "Chelsea Girl" (and "VU"/"Another View")that "Loaded" isn't really missed that much, it just makes the VU collection somewhat incomplete...but then again there are songs from Verve that were left off.

I like the collections Universal and Sony are putting out in their respective "Gold" and "Essentials" series. It's not really a "greatest hits" series or the quick buck as much as recognizing a great band that is in Universal's catalog and assembling a group of songs that are the hits as well as fan favorites. For most great bands, you need 2 CDs to cover the territory needed.

This is a great intro into the Velvets before picking up the CDs, or those that want some Velvets for the road trip (although this is disturbing stuff to listen to at 3AM on a dark road). Most diehards will download their own "best of". Lou Reed's "NYC Man" is recommended for the wider overview.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All you may need..., January 9, 2007

By	Ray K (New York City) - See all my reviews

At least it is all I need since I own Loaded. This is truly a well put together overview of basically all the Velvet's albums minus Loaded. Practically all of the first album is included in this 2 & 1/2 hour compilation. The 2 discs also include tracks from Nico's solo disc, tracks from VU & live tracks of Loaded's best tracks. Great booklet, photos, essays, etc. Also it is a great value. I guess all that hype is true. Although it took me a while to come around, I'm beginning to see the light.