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"Good evening, we're your local Velvet Underground. I don't want any of you to enjoy the songs frivolously." Lou Reed, the Matrix, 1969.
Was the Velvet Underground (VU) one of the greatest bands of it's period? These tapes (from two nights of an 18 night West Coast stand) just may help you decide 'yes' if you're on the fence. Unlike the Quine Tapes which were low-fi recordings, this set of music is taken from clean soundboard sources that will be a revelation to VU fans that have only heard Quine's tapes. If you're reading this chances are you own at least one of the band's reissued editions, including the recent 5 CD set that includes 18 tracks from this Matrix set, so you already know about the sound quality. So you'll have to decide if having the extra music on this new set is worth it money-wise. Suffice to say this is the best sounding VU you'll probably ever hear. The music is a revelation (turn up the volume on Set 2's "Heroin" (Version 2) into "White Light White Heat" (Version1) for almost 20 minutes of rhythmic guitar intensity), heard now in good sound. Yes, there's a few songs that are repeated, but largely the performances will make you forget that fact--especially if you're a deep VU fan. The discs slip (tightly) into thick cardboard sleeves with nice graphics on the front and a track list on the back cover. The 23 page booklet has a long essay by David Fricke which is interesting and informative, along with a couple of b&w photos of the band on stage and a track list for each set.
The VU was never "popular" during their day--only a few people picked up on the band's lyrics/music and their visceral delivery. Liked by critics, sadly their music wasn't in step with the (then) current music most other bands were dishing out. That first album with the banana on the cover (I still have mine--"unpeeled") was kind of weird even for those times. And some of the song titles on their first few albums weren't accepted by a more innocent music-listening public--I never let my parents see those album covers in those days. And when you heard Reed's lyrics about sadomasochism and dope...well that was enough thank you. And besides "you couldn't dance to the music". And with a lot of West Coast bands getting all the attention, the VU was out in the cold.
But this live collection from the Matrix in S.F. (actually one of the band's favorite places to play on the West Coast) will prove that the VU had the rock 'n' roll goods. There was an old saying that few people bought VU albums, but those that did went out and formed their own rock bands. And when you hear these songs you'll get a better understanding of why that could be true. Down to a quartet without Cale's droning viola, the band plays song after song of stripped back, trance-like, rock 'n' roll, blowing some late '60s hippie minds along the way. Is the VU a S.F. dance band along the lines of the Grateful Dead? No. An r&b/blues/Haight street/guitar flash type of band like Quicksilver Messenger Service? Not really. This music grips you with an underlying current of menace like few other bands could do. Lurking just beneath the surface of these songs is a minimalist power, an edge, a toughness that's undeniable.
The street-wise, sometimes grim, no nonsense delivery--with Reed's unadorned vocals (along with Morrison and Yule on backing vocals), and that two guitars/rhythm section (with something new-- a "girl" drummer playing drums in her unadorned style!), and some good late '60s swirling organ courtesy of Yule--give these performances a real-deal, uncompromising sound--grim and compassionate and rock 'n' roll all at the same time. The band plays their music with a slowly changing swell of rhythm--beginning a song slowly, building things up, and then backing off, only to increase the momentum again. But saying all that, check out the vocal on "After Hours" on Discs ("Sets") 1 and 2 for a nice pleasant surprise. Picking out high points is a waste of time--we all will have our favorites--this music should be heard as one experience. But this isn't the Velvet Underground from the time of their first album---more like something closer to their third album with the edges lightly smoothed down. This is New York/street r 'n' r strained through a minimalist sieve.
It doesn't matter when you discovered the VU. Luckily I stumbled on their first album (and subsequently bought the next few albums) when first released on vinyl way back then--when I had to borrow my mother's car to drive to the record store. And I've been a fan of those first few albums since then. But even if you're relatively new to the band's music, this box set of live performances is something you probably can't afford to miss. No matter the length of the song, and there's some lengthy stuff here, this is the real thing--not rock filtered through hippie/tie-dye/incense/love beads/flowers--and I was in college in Palo Alto in the late '60s/early'70s during the height of the "Summer of Love", and love that period of music. But if you like rock 'n' roll with an East Coast/streetwise edge, give this a good listening. One of the better releases this year.
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Reviews with images
A Most Highly Recommended Artifact
When I first stumbled on news that original tapes had surfaced containing high quality soundboard recordings of the Velvet Underground's live sets from their short residency at San Francisco's Matrix Club, during the height of their (at that time) criminally overlooked career - in the late autumn / early winter of 1969, I was frothing at the mouth with rabid anticipation. A considerable amount of wait time was to be expected before these recordings were to be set free from the inevitable legal wranglings. Was it worth the wait? Well, let's just say that in spite of the loftiest of expectations, these recordings quite simply still blew me away. Beyond the Velvet Underground mythos, these tapes were evidence of a hard working band tweaking and experimenting with arrangements of familiar tunes and turning them into something more personal, more direct. Playful banter from Reed makes these captured sets feel even warmer, but it's the reinterpretation of these songs, long embedded in our consciousness from repeat listens, and the fresh treatment the band applies, together with the intimate club setting made evident through the stunning clarity of these live recordings, that differentiates this release from the other Velvet Underground live albums, both official and bootlegged. A most highly recommended artifact indeed.
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Steve Parsons
As close as it gets to being there!
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Ein faszinierendes Zeitdokument ...
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