Loaded [Original recording remastered]

Velvet Underground | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Warner Strat. Mkt.
• ASIN: B000002LVB
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (131 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,913 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Proto Punk

Track Listings

1. Who Loves The Sun

2. Sweet Jane

3. Rock And Roll

4. Cool It Down

5. New Age

6. Head Held High

7. Lonesome Cowboy Bill

8. I Found A Reason

9. Train Round The Bend

10. Oh! Sweet Nuthin'

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While John Cale certainly gave the first couple of Velvet Underground albums a signature sound, his departure enabled Lou Reed to do exactly what he does best: write kick-ass, stripped-down rock songs. On Loaded his talent comes to full fruition. Who can imagine a world without "Sweet Jane" and "Rock & Roll," arguably two of the greatest rock tunes ever penned? The brilliance of those songs is so bright, it's easy to overlook a couple of other Reed masterpieces: the tender, epic discourse of "New Age" (which highlights his assured sense of poetic wordplay: "And when you kissed Robert Mitchum / Gee, but I thought you'd never catch him!") and the extended sweet blues romp of "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'." On Loaded the Velvet Underground--who before had hit the sonic ceiling experimenting with shattered chords, feedback, screeching violas, and what Reed once claimed was "the fastest guitar playing ever"--eschew the dark side of noise for clarity. Check out the ringing chime that begins "Who Loves the Sun" and the sterling (no pun intended) guitar riff that drives "Rock & Roll." This is not to say that the old ragged punch of the original Velvets is completely gone. Moe Tucker still beats a mean set of skins; there's no stopping Sterling Morrison's train-wreck rhythm guitar on "Train Round the Bend"; and "Head Held High" achieves near-"Sister Ray" moments of madness. --Tod Nelson

Product Description

This is the one with Sweet Jane; Rock & Roll; Oh! Sweet Nuthin'; New Age , and more of the last tracks by an iconic rock band.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Loaded Indeed! November 15, 2003

By Patrick W. Schubert

Format:Audio CD

This record has always seemed to divide many velvets fans. To some, its the band's greatest achievement, to other's, its a failed attempt to pander to mainstream tastes. As with most things in life, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. "Loaded" is, in many ways, a blatantly commercial pop record. But, is this necessarily a bad thing? It's not as if "Loaded" is lacking in substance. "Sweet Jane", "Rock and Roll" and "Oh! Sweet Nothing" are timeless, expertly crafted songs that just happen to be alot more accessable than much of the group's earlier material. It's just a shame that Moe Tucker was not on hand to lend her minimalistic, one-of-a-kind style of drumming to this album.

This 2-CD set is, in this Velvets fan opinion, absolutely essential. Even if you own the box set, you owe it to yourself to pick this up. It contains a treasure trove of previously unreleased material that is uniformly excellent. I love how disc two features an alternate version of "Loaded" in the same running order as the original. If you are considering purchasing this album, by all means, skip the standard CD version and instead spring the little bit of extra money for the "Fully Loaded" edition. The sound and packaging are superior and you get about 80% more material. Its well worth it.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A pop masterpiece, but not an experimental one. August 11, 2005

By Michael Stack VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Revered or dispised by fans, I'm one of those who finds "Loaded" to be one of the masterpieces of its generation. Granted, Lou Reed abandoned all the things that made the old Velvet Underground what it was, but this is a good straightahead rock record, full of fantastic songwriting, sarcasm, and brilliance.

So what makes "Loaded" so good? Stunning songwriting ably supported by sympathetic musicians. Reed, at the height of his powers as a rock and roll composer pulled off at least two classic songs that have worked their way into the collective unconsciousness in "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll". These two pieces have been imitated so heavily and fiercely that they sound familiar the first time you hear them, and both of them have a little something, quite undefinable (Reed claims in the case of "Sweet Jane" that it's the extra chord that quickly sweeps by in the progression, I think it's an unnerving amount of passion in the vocal presonally) that makes them perfect.

The rest of the album doesn't quite live up to them, but it's full of superb songs, from the Beatlesque "Who Loves the Sun" to the sarcastic "New Age" and "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" to the the explosive "Held Held High" and the churning "Train Round the Bend". There are no real low points on the record, it's in fact all quite good. Highly recommended.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars loaded with (more) hits June 28, 2000

By C. D. Moore

Format:Audio CD

"Loaded" was Lou Reed's rock and roll masterpiece, an album that dropped the screaming guitars, overt drug references, and weird (but beautiful) experiments in favor of a stripped down reinterpretation of three-chord rock and roll. In many respects, "Loaded" foreshadowed the back-to-basics aesthetic of the garage and punk movements of the 70s (see the first albums by the Ramones, the Modern Lovers, and the Pretenders, for example).

"Loaded" (available in the VU boxed set and in its original format as a single disk) with its occasional nods to pop culture and musical fads (something the Velvets specifically avoided on other releases) sounds a little dated, and the mix of the original album was admittedly weak (Reed has repeatedly voiced his displeasure with the mix in print), but the songs and performances are still remarkable.

Considering the "for fans only" quality of many of the outtakes and extras available on the VU boxed set, "Peel Slowly and See," I was absolutely thrilled to find such a strong collection of songs on the "Fully Loaded Edition." The extended versions of "Sweet Jane" (which includes the lost verse "heavenly wine and roses seem to whisper to her when she smiles"), "Rock and Roll," and "New Age" are all nice additions, but I really got off on some of the alternate or early versions of the songs. "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" sounds like an entirely new song with Lou doing a crazy Jagger-esque vocal over a rumbling piano. The early version of "Cool it Down" sounds sparse, but Lou is as playful as I have ever heard. The inclusion of other "lost" songs such as "Love Makes you Feel Ten Feet Tall," "I Love You," "Satellite of Love" (which later appeared on Lou Reed's solo albums) are also a nice touch.

"The Fully Loaded Edition" avoids the problems of most alternate mix collections by including the source album in its (nearly) original format. Buying the "Fully Loaded Edition" for the original "Loaded" is no sin, but a large number of the alternate tracks are strong enough to stand alongside the band's best work. This is one of the few alternate mix/outtake albums that would actually be of interest to only casual fans (the others: "The Basement Tapes" and "Another VU").