The Velvet Underground

New York City Legends THE VELVET UNDERGROUND Released Their Self-Titled Third LP 50 Years Ago…

Posted on by JL

Great albums from the past…

backtimebw

28 February 2019

Band: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Album: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND – the band’s third LP

Released: 1 March 1969 – 50 years ago

ROLLING STONE‘s legendary journalist LESTER BANGS wrote: “The songs on this album are about equally divided between the subjects of love and freedom. So many of them are about love, in fact, that one wonders if Lou Reed, the malevolent Burroughsian Death Dwarf who had previously never written a complimentary song about anybody, has not himself fallen in love… On the whole I didn’t feel that this album matched up to White Light/White Heat, but it will still go a long way toward convincing the unbelievers that the Velvet Underground can write and play any kind of music they want to with equal brilliance.” Full review here.

TURN UP THE VOLUME says: Not as experimental (John Cale had left in the fall of 1968) and controversial as their previous two LP’s but here’s solid proof that Lou Reed had a natural born ‘pop’ songwriting talent and was ready for his brilliant solo career. Top LP.

Album in full…

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THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Biography

5 Masterpiece Albums Turning… 50 In 2019

Posted on by JL

Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…

Here come Five Masterpiece Albums, selected
by Turn Up The Volume turning 50 next year!

– The Stooges by THE STOOGES –

Stream here…

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– ‘The Velvet Underground’ by THE VELVET UNDERGROUND –

Stream here…

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– ‘Let It Bleed’ by THE ROLLING STONES –

Stream here…

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– ‘Trout Mask Replica’ by CAPTAIN BEEFHEART & HIS MAGIC BAND –

– ‘Abbey Road‘ by THE BEATLES –

Stream here…

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The COWBOY JUNKIES Covered THE VELVET UNDERGROUND’s SWEET JANE Back In 1988 Just Touchingly…

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Relaxing musings for the laziest day of the week… touchingly…

Back in 1988 alt country & folk band COWBOY JUNKIES covered THE VELVET UNDERGOUND‘s classic SWEET JANE with a delightful heart and soul touch.
Magnificent and timeless performance…

COWBOY JUNKIES: Facebook – Website

THE VELVET UNDERGOUND Released Turbulent Album ‘WHITE HEAT/WHITE LIGHT’ 50 Years Ago Today

Posted on by JL

Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…

30 January 2018

BAND: THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

ALBUM: WHITE LIGHT / WHITE HEAT

RELEASED: 30 January 1968 – 50 years ago – their second and final LP with John Cale

ROLLING STONE says: “Of all of The Velvet Underground’s officially released studio and live albums, ‘White Light/White Heat’ is by far the noisiest and most difficult. “No one listened to it,” said Lou Reed of the LP in 2013, just a few months before his death. “But there it is forever – the quintessence of articulated punk. And no one goes near it.” The album’s ugly and aggressive sound was an intentional reaction against the flower-power vibe of the “Summer of Love”. Though generally thought to be about methamphetamine, “White Light/White Heat” may also have been partly inspired by Lou Reed’s interest in metaphysics. With its needle-pinning assault of overdriven instruments, and lyrics about methamphetamine abuse (the title track), botched medical procedures (“Lady Godiva’s Operation”), grisly violence (“The Gift”), cries from beyond the grave (“I Heard Her Call My Name”) and heroin-dealing drag queens (“Sister Ray”), White Light/White Heat was all about pushing the boundaries of sound and taste.”

TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: Experimental noise adventure or ‘arty farty’ shit, or both?
I don’t know, I wasn’t there, but I don’t care. Put this pandemonium on your headphones, turn up the volume and you’ll experience the sound of the foreplay, orgasm and after-sex madness of Apocalypse Now’. Special, indeed. Legend goes that producer Tom Wilson spent more time chasing women than actually overseeing the album. I just think he was kicked out of the studio by the band itself who just didn’t want anybody other than themselves in there, already enough big ego’s to start with. Anyway, about 2203 bands were influenced by this pitch-black havoc trip. I’m quite sure Lou Reed‘s idea for ‘Metal Music Machine‘ popped up right there and then…

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THE VELVET UNDERGROUND: Website – Facebook – Discography

10 Memorable Albums Turning 50 in 2018!…

Posted on by JL

When I went back in time to find out which outstanding
longplayers still sound spectacular today after 50 years I
was really surprised that some of them actually turn fifty
as you hear their influences daily in 21st century music.
Here’s my selection. Ten classics! Ten stunning survivors!…

1/ ‘ASTRAL WEEKS’ by VAN MORRISON
Rolling Stone wrote: “Van Morrison never sounded more warm and ecstatic,
more sensual and vulnerable, than on his enigmatically beautiful solo debut”
Released:  29 November 1968
Listen: here

2/ ‘BEGGARS BANQUET’ by THE ROLLING STONES
Time Magazine: “England’s most subversive
roisterers since Fagin’s gang in Oliver Twist”
Released: 6 December 1968
Listen: here

3/ ‘THE KINKS ARE THE VILLAGE GREEN PRESERVATION SOCIETY’ by THE KINKS
Rolling Stone: “Each new hearing is a combined joy of renewal and discovery”
Released: 22 November 1968
Listen: here

4/ ‘WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT’ by THE VELVET UNDERGOUND
All Music wrote: “It’s easily the least accessible of VU’s studio albums, but anyone
wanting to hear their guitar-mauling tribal frenzy straight with no chaser will love it.”
Released: 30 January 1968
Listen: here

5/ ‘GRIS-GRIS’ by DR.JOHN
Rolling Stone: “A swamp-funk classic. ‘Gris-Gris’ blends
New Orleans R&B, voodoo chants and chemical inspiration.”
Released: 22 January 1968
Listen: here

6/ ‘THE BEATLES / THE WHITE ALBUM’ by THE BEATLES
All Music wrote: “None of it sounds like it was meant to share album space together,
but somehow The Beatles create its own style and sound through its mess.”
Released: 22 November 1968
Listen: here

7/ ‘OGDENS’ NUT GONE FLAKE’ by THE SMALL FACES
All Music wrote: “The ballsiest-sounding piece of
full-length psychedelia to come out of England in 1968”
Released: 24 May 1968
Listen: here

8/ ‘DANCE TO THE MUSIC’ by SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE
Rolling Stone: “Overall the album is uneven, but its highs are intense,
prolonged and ecstatic. Seductive melodies and horn lines tickle your mind.”
Released: 27 April 1968
Listen: here

9/ ‘ELECTRIC LADYLAND’ by JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE
All Music: “Jimi Hendrix takes his funk and psychedelic sounds to the absolute limit.”
Released: 16 October 1968
Listen: here

10/ ‘MUSIC FROM BIG PINK’ by THE BAND
Rolling Stone: “The rustic beauty of The Band’s music and the drama of their own
reflections on family and obligations made ‘Big Pink’ an instant homespun classic.”
Released: 1 July 1968
Listen: here

BECK Turns THE VELVET UNDERGOUND’s ‘Venus In Furs’ Into A Turbulent Vibe…

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‘Venus in Furs’ covered by BECK

When BECK touches other artists’ great songs he add a cracking vibe only he can create. Here’s his turbulent rendition of VENUS IN FURS from that outstanding debut longplayer of THE VELVET UNDERGROUND (released 50 years ago – 12 March 1967)

When THE KILLS Cover THE VELVET UNDERGROUND…

Posted on by JL

Many artists have covered songs by that highly influential and legendary 60s New York gang THE VELVET UNDERGOUND. One of the best renditions (so far) is by THE KILLS. Jamie Hince‘s squeaky, sharp-edged guitar blues swagger combined with the sultry voice
of charismatic singer Alison Mosshart is just perfect for that mysterious, dark VU sound. The duo recorded their version of PALE BLUE EYES as one of the B-sides for single ‘The Last Goodbye’, a track from their ‘Blood Pressures‘ album (2011). Here’s the gloomy result…

Sometimes I feel so happy,
Sometimes I feel so sad
Sometimes I feel so happy
But mostly you just make me mad
Baby, you just make me mad
Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Thought of you as my mountain top
Thought of you as my peak
Thought of you as everything
I’ve had but couldn’t keep
I’ve had but couldn’t keep
Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

If I could make the world as pure
and strange as what I see
I’d put you in the mirror
I put in front of me
I put in front of me
Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Skip a life completely
Stuff it in a cup
She said, Money is like us in time
It lies, but can’t stand up
Down for you is up.
Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

It was good what we did yesterday
And I’d do it once again
The fact that you are married
Only proves, you’re my best friend
But it’s truly, truly a sin
Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes


‘Pale Blue Eyes’ was on the VU’s self-titled, third album (1969)…

Swedish Band MANKIND After Meeting THE VELVET UNDERGOUND’s Man…

Posted on by JL

coverblack

I recently discovered this Swedish band called MANKIND. Judging by their new single ART PROSTITUTE (featured on this week’s Seven In The Mix!) this quartet moves in mysterious ways. Those dark, obscure, psychedelic ways I really like. The B-side of the aforementioned new track – a cover of The Velvet Underground ‘s I’M WAITING FOR MY MAN – will show you exactly what I mean. Their extended version is something special. I’m absolutely sure that the band recorded this jam in one take AFTER they met THE MAN! Oh yeah, the first four minutes sound sloppy and stoned. Also loud, nasty and damn cool. And then a sort of The Doors’ The End outro comes on and lasts for about six minutes as if nobody had any idea when to stop. Final result: a doped VU cover! Experience the Stockholm madness here (warning: don’t watch the clip from too close or you might get seasick or high)…

MANKIND: Facebook – Soundcloud

mankind
The Stockholm Underground…