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31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Despite a few flaws, an essential purchase, January 23, 2006
The Velvet Underground is probably one of the most written about bands of all-time. Their influence and genius is well-known so I won't bore the reader with tired truisms about the band. Instead, this review will be very meat-and-potatoes, focusing on the content, and pros and cons of this box set.
"Peel Slowly and See" (1995) is a five disc box set and includes all four Lou Reed era albums that were commercially released while the Velvet Underground was an active band; "The Velvet Underground and Nico," (1967) "White Light/White Heat" (1968) "The Velvet Underground" (1969) and "Loaded" (1970). While the first disc is a collection of demos, disc 2-5 each contain a complete album, with a lot of bonus material. The bonus material includes live cuts, demos, and finished studio tracks that were recorded between the third album "The Velvet Underground" and the fourth and final Lou Reed era album "Loaded," (this material can be found on the "lost" Velvet Underground album "VU" (1985) and its follow-up "Another VU" (1986).
If you are a fan of the Velvet Underground "Peel Slowly and See" is highly recommended. While it would be cheaper to just pick up the four studio albums individually, it is better to spend a little more money on this set and get a ton on bonus songs ($60.00 as opposed to $40.00). The demos are great, as you get an inside look at history being created and it's cool to hear songs as works-in-progress. The live songs sound great and should no doubt please fans of the band. The bonus material, selections from "VU" and "Another VU" stand as some of the band's best recordings and are generally just as good as what's on the first four albums.
While the value of the material on this set is indisputable, the way the box-set is compiled is flawed. Except for "Loaded," each disc does not start with the studio album, which is a bit annoying, but not really a big deal as the tracks of the albums are in order and you can just start the CD where the album begins. The biggest flaw, however, is that this set only contains selections from "VU" and "Another VU." It would have been far more desirable if both albums were included in their entity, so the consumer would have the complete works of the Reed-era available in one place.
It also would have been great if the Velvet Underground's fifth, post-Reed-Morrison-Tucker; now out-of-print album "Squeeze" (1973) had been included. While "Squeeze" has a reputation of being utterly awful, it is still part of the band's history and should be available. I have recently acquired a bootleg CD of "Squeeze" and it's nowhere near as bad as people say it is. While it is nowhere near as brilliant as the band's other work, (it's basically a Doug Yule solo album, Deep Purple's Ian Paice plays drums) it's still pretty cool in its own right and should be available for fans to hear.
One criticism of this set that I don't agree with is that it contains a "closet mix" of the band's third self-titled album, which sounds a bit stuffy compared to the original release. This isn't really a problem though, as the non-"closet mix" is still in-print and readily available. Both versions are worth owning.
Despite a few flaws in the way this set in set-up, it's still most definitely worth owning, as it contains all four albums and a vast array of bonus material.
Here is what I recommend you do:
Buy "Peel Slowly and See," along with "VU," "Another VU" and the non-"closet-mix" of "The Velvet Underground" in order to get a complete collection.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Worthy - like Marty McFly, waaaaaaay before their time, January 3, 2004
Each V.U. album featured (all the originals are here)is riveting, seminal and legendary, each demanding their own review so I will focus on the extra stuff in this box. I will NOT focus on the countless bootlegs and other material out there that did not make it in this set.
DISC 1: early home demo recordings mostly useful to fans who obsess over the group, but very interesting. "Heroin," great, crucial song that it is, sounds good. These versions are somewhat folksier yet still intense and Lou Reed plays around with different lyrics. Watch out for aborted takes!
"Waiting for the Man" sounds downright Ten Pan Alley. Reed even blows a harp on it. "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams" had potential even though the Velvets abandoned it. "Prominent Men" isn`t bad either although it was left behind for better material as well. "Venus in Furs" sounds like a strange tune from the Middle Ages at this stage and it is stunning to hear "All Tomorrow`s Parties" with its folk/country roots laid bare. In addition, it`s a kick to hear John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Lou Reed interact between takes. One gets the impression that Reed was the man in charge right from these early days.
DISC 2: Starts with a single version of "All Tomorrow`s Parties," but who wouldnt want to savour the longer album version? "Melody Laughter" is a crucial document from an early Exploding Plastic Inevitable performance, which was a travelling extention of Andy Warhols wild and weird world. It`s only an amateur audience recording, but also one of the coolest things in this box. The music is a meandering journey without a map and quite a bit longer than an old copy I have. 2 tracks from Nico`s solo debut CHELSEA GIRLS are good songs featuring actual Velvets and are thus included.
DISC 3: offers a handful of demos that show more potential but their crude, raw condition renders them a difficult listen. However, the "Here She Comes Now" demo is a dense and hazy alternate version that is worthy of regular listening. The "Guess I`m Falling in Love" live cut offers a nice, loping performance, but I`ll always take the studio version which totally rocks out even with no vocals (and I don`t see why Lou doesn`t just add some to the track now - he`s still a Velvet!) "Booker T" grooves. And in some better, more just parallel world, "Stephanie Says" is a number 1 single and timeless classic around the globe. You probably won`t listen to the weak "Temptation" more than a few times, and I prefer version 2 of "Hey Mr. Rain" (version 1 is featured here) which has distorted guitar parts and a more insistent vocal. The lyrics are kinda lame, but Cale`s viola is trippy.
DISC 4: My favorite Velvet track, "Foggy Notion" is one of their rockin`-est tunes. All the extra-album studio tracks on this disc have been released and are already classics. The 2 live tracks are great and the "Countess From Hong Kong" demo is a lounge-y little beauty punctuated by another rare appearance of Reed on harp.
DISC 5: the mother load of nuggets: 7 studio treasures that haven`t seen daylight before this box came out (unless the liner notes are lying). "Satellite of Love" sounds like a joyous rocker here, despite its soul-eating subject matter - jealousy. In the liner notes Lou beats himself up for using "Winkin, Blinkin and Nod" (it would later become "I`ve been told/that you`ve been bold/with Harry Mark and John" on the daintier TRANSFORMER version). But he should give himself a break because: 1)the names ridicule the men she`s been "bold" with. 2) they could be code words. and 3) they`re funny. Yes Lou, naming almost every day of the week in a song IS lame, but it`s appropriate for this song because it illustrates how unfaithful the love interest has been.
"Ocean" may be even more majestic than "All Tomorrow`s Parties" and features a brief return of John Cale. "Ride into the Sun" is a beautiful song of quiet longing sung sweetly by Doug Yule. As low as Yule`s stature has sunk in V.U. history, he was undenyably a wizard of melody and thats apparent all over discs 4 and 5.
In addition, there are 2 more guerrila recordings. One ended up on LIVE AT MAXS KANSAS CITY and the other, from the same show, is previously unreleased. Again, crude recording, excellent music. Considering how unpopular the Velvets were during their time, we`re lucky considering how much of their music has survived.
Addendum: The idea of a lost Velvets album is a tantellizing myth for Velvetheads. For the sheer fun of it, I`ve constructed my own lost V. U. album and it`s surprizingly cohesive with unifying themes. In fact, I think it`s a strong contender for their best album! Not sure what to call it though . . .
LOVE`S LABOUR`S LOST VU
Side 1
We`re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together
Guess I`m Falling in Love (studio version without vocal)
I Can`t Stand It
Lisa Says
Sad Song
Oh Gin
Foggy Notion
Ride into the Sun
Side 2
One of These Days
Hey Mr. Rain (version 2)
Walk It, Talk It
Satellite of Love
Stephanie Says
Ocean
I Love You
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best American Band, September 14, 2001
Was the Velvet Underground the greatest American band? With all due respect to the other serious contenders (Beach Boys, Creedence, Ramones, Talking Heads, REM, Pavement), you have to go with VU. Their career touches the deepest roots of rock'n'roll and the most nether edges of the avant garde, with equal command. Dion fits into their scheme as much as Warhol. What other band encompasses so much? Despite a few caveats, this magnificent box set is VU's one-stop shopping place if ever there was one. First, the drawbacks: the band's live recordings are under-represented, tasty out-takes that did appear on earlier compliations have been mysteriously dropped, and Lou Reed has decided to go with the so-called "Closet Mix" of the third album (sorry, Lou, but I gotta disagree with you -- it defintely *isn't* the superior version). That said, this is still a mind-blowing edifice of great American music. We all know that each of the band's four official releases is a masterpiece, and it sure is convenient to get them all in one purchase (especially if, like me, you're replacing old vinyl copies). But what may surprise some folks is how great the previously unreleased material is. These cuts are very generous, accounting for more than half of the set. There are early, VU versions of songs that later turned up on Reed's solo albums, such as "Satellite of Love" and the glorious "Ocean." But there are also crazy little songs, left in the vaults for years, that astonish me with their inventiveness, humor, and detail -- from the bass line on "The Way That You Live" to the viola on "Sheltered Life." The bonus tracks attached to the 'WL/WH' and 'Loaded' disks are so good, in fact, that they threaten to upstage their hosts. Bottom line, folks: Like Dylan's 'Basement Tapes,' the out-takes here transcend the genre and are as essential to VU's legacy as the official releases. Lou is dedicated enough to promoting his reputation -- he doesn't need any help from me -- but I'll chime in nonetheless: this a great American artist, caught in his (short-lived) prime.
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