Blogcritics: Comments on the velvet underground

Comment by HW Saxton Jr.

Sat, 24 Jan 2004 01:23:30 EST

Nice job there Steven.Even though The VU has been perpetually in the glow of the spotlight since their demise,I can't think of any other band that honestly & truly lives up to the hype. Lou writes some of the most beautiful ballads, then turns around and can knock you ass over elbows with his rockers.The whole band deserves credit though.Moe T's drumming is of the "simple" but deadly school. Charlie Watts and Jery Nolan (N.Y.Dolls) both come to mind when digging Moe.John Cale is a talented multi-instrumentalist and song writer and Sterling Morrison is easily one of the most underrated of all guitarists around. They were,have been & probably always will be considred ahead of their time.The fact that they're the topic of discussion right now attests to that fact. Too bad the VU reunion didn't go so good but given the purported egos of both John and Lou it really was not a surprise.They sounded good,(IMO)in view of their limited rehearsals and all the time between their last gigs as a band and the present.They most certainly did not sound stale or anachronistic. I have to agree that ""Loaded"" is the least inspired or inspiring of their original first four LP's. I think that it has a couple of overlooked gems though in the rocking "Head Held High" and in the very pretty "Who Loves The Sun?".They weren't happy as a band.Also,they weren't quite excited about the directions they were pushed towards by the label they were on and by ego clashes going between Lou and the crew.It reflects in the album which is unfortunate.They could still rock yer socks off, as is shown on "Live 1969". This LP was recorded just prior to the commencement of the "Loaded" sessions & despite the somewhat dodgy sound still f**king rocks like mad. For proof dig on "White Light,White Heat" and the medley "Sweet Bonnie Brown/It's Just Too Much", as good as anything they had recorded up to that point in their career.Years ago I basically wrote off R n R as my tastes have been changing with age,preferring the more esoteric sounds of progressive Jazz,Funk and Blues and anything that might fall in between,such as Jazzy Funk Funky Blues,Bluesy Jazz,etc LOL.But when craving a Rock n Roll fix I can always listen to the VU which to this day sound as good as the first time I ever heard them,some 30 years ago. I honestly can't say that many of my other RnR discs can still hold up as well,with the possible exceptions of "Get Your Ya-Ya's Out" by the Stones,"Raw Power" by The Stooges & a half dozen other discs like maybe the "Marquee Moon" LP by Television which is Velvets influenced,"Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan(an influence on the VU)and the overlooked classic third Big Star LP (once again,there is more of that Velvet influence.)Anybody that's never got the chance to check out the Velvets for one reason or another would be wise to. As for me I think I'd start with the 3rd Lp and go backwards from there,if I had never heard the Velvets before.As great a song as "Sister Ray" is, it's not the song to break a Velvets neophyte in with as it can be somewhat intimidating.Well, anyways nice job Steven and rock on.....

Comment by Rodney Welch

Sat, 24 Jan 2004 00:41:46 EST

Good piece. In defense of Loaded: it also has "New Age" -- which I personally put in my VU Top Five -- and "Oh! Sweet Nuthin.'" Also, while I can kinda take "Sister Ray" now and then, I don't have much use for a lot of the more atonal stuff: "European Son," "Black Angel's Death song," "Lady Godiva's Operation," etc. I love them at their most wild and rhythmic: "What Goes On," "White Light/White Heat." And, with Eric, I'm a major fan of 1969 -- in fact, that was the first VU I bought (although not the first Reed) -- it has a wonderfully spontaneous, you-are-there feel that you just don't hear on other live albums, except, of course, the ones it influenced.

Comment by Jonathan

Fri, 23 Jan 2004 19:55:05 EST

Hmm, I think I'll give them a listen. I've never really heard of them, I'm 17 give me a break. I'll get back to you on if I like 'em or not..

Comment by Eric Olsen

Fri, 23 Jan 2004 17:11:01 EST

Great job Steven, agree with you all the way -nothing like that first one although I love the terrible sound of Live '69 for some reason. As I've written more than once, Lou was never the same. I think "Sunday Morning" is as beautiful as "Pale Blues Eyes," but those are the two.

Comment by Jim Carruthers

Fri, 23 Jan 2004 16:35:45 EST

I have to admit I'm a major VU fan, I have both CD issues of the third "Velvet Underground" album on CD, I have the "Live at Max's Kansas City", the box set, the reunion, the books, etc. Plus Mo Tucker's solo albums, and so on. What an amazing band. Bonus fun fact, they inspired Jonathan Richman who was a fan in Boston in the late 60s.