The Velvet Underground Scepter Studio Sessions & Show # 512

Discovering a rare piece of music from a band is an extremely rare occurrence, but it does happen. That’s what happened to a Velvet Underground fan from Montreal, Canada when he visited a garage sale in New York City in 2002. What he found was an acetate from the first studio sessions that The Velvet Underground did in April 1966 at Sceptor Studios, prior to completing The Velvet Underground & Nico album. The acetate originated from studio engineer Norman Dolph and was purchased at the garage sale for a mere 75 cents. The recordings were digitally transferred and put online in all their raw hiss and pop glory, but a bid was put in on e-bay for this rare document of The Velvet Underground’s first studio recordings in 2006. A bid was put in for around the sum of $155,000 dollars, but the bid turned out to be a fake and the buyer did not pay. It was put up on auction again and sold for around $25,000. The recordings were eventually released officially, but more on that later.

What makes these recordings unique is that they differ from the original recordings that would be released on the Velvet Underground & Nico album in 1967. The acetate features different mixes of the already released songs and alternate versions and takes of already released songs. There were only nine songs found on the acetate, they were cut on April 25th, 1966, shortly after the recordings which took place from April 18-April 23, 1966. The actetate was made to serve as demos of some sort in hopes of getting a record deal with Columbia Records. Columbia wound up passing on the band. The Velvet Underground were eventually picked up by Verve. “European Son” is extended here and goes beyond the length of the officially released studio version by the band. “All Tomorrow’s Parties”, “Femme Fatale”, and “I’ll Be You Mirror” all feature different mixes and are noticeable in terms of vocals/vocal harmonies, while songs such as “I’m Waiting For The Man”, “Venus In Furs” and “Heroin” are completely different takes from the album versions entirely. Not counting the alternate versions of the three just aforementioned tracks, the remaining six tracks from these sessions were used after some remixing and editing on the 1967 album, commonly referred to as the “banana album” due to Andy Warhol’s album art.

The Scepter Studios recordings from this acetate were eventually cleaned up and released as part of the 45th anniversary 6 CD super deluxe edition of The Velvet Underground & Nico in 2012, along with numerous other bonus tracks and live material. The Scepter Studio sessions were also released as a Record Store Day limited edition vinyl release in 2013. But, these recordings serve as a document of glimpses of works into a band in progress. The discovery of these recordings also prove that you never know what you might find if you stumble into a garage sale.

Saturday Night Playlist:

1. Link Wray - Big City After Dark
2. Dream Dates - The Mess You’re In
3. Cousins - Other Ocean
4. Fuzz Kings -Republican Haircuts
5. Blitzen Trapper - Fletcher
6. Neil Young - My Hometown
7. Wanda Jackson - Tunnel Of Love
8. North By North - Break Some Bones
9. M.G & The Escorts - A Someday Fool
10. Cool Rays - Diary Of You
11. Wylde Rattz - Take LSD
12. She Wolf - Going Back Home
13. The Cramps - Lonesome Town
14. Cream - From Four Until Late
15. Nature Boys - No Subject
16. Mystics - Can’t Be Happy
17. Paul Jacobs - A Place To Stay
18. Tele Novella - Stephanie Says
19. The Carbonas - Count Me Out
20. The Modernettes - Confidential
21. The Spy’s - Machine Shop
22. Paul Westerberg - Got You Down
23. Paul Westerberg - Silent Film Star
24. Pow Wows - Plastic Factory
25. The Replacements - I’m In Trouble
26. Black Lips - Dog Years
27. The Almighty Defenders - Ghost With The Most
28. Dead Ghosts - I Sleep Alone
29. Plimsouls - Zero Hour
30. Nervus Rex - There She Goes
31. Velvet Underground - Heroin (Different Take) (1966 Scepter Session)

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for June 7. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Velvet Underground's The Gift & Show # 439

In 1968, The Velvet Underground released their second full length album entitled White Light/White Heat. The album was drastically different than the bands previous release which was The Velvet Underground & Nico. While their first album is more delicate in its song structures, White Light/White Heat is more destructive absorbing noise and volume in what John Cale once described as “anti-beauty”. The album is known for its longer jam based songs and fuzzy guitars.  It would also be the last album to feature John Cale as a member as tensions grew amongst Reed and Cale and that sense is heightened in the song dynamics found on this album. In addition to the well known songs on this release such as the title track which addresses use of amphetamines, the pre-Stooges sounding “I Heard Her Call My Name” and the infamous “Sister Ray”, there is another track found here that definitely adheres to the bands early sense of the avant garde and experimentation and that is a song entitled “The Gift”.

“The Gift” is a bit different to other songs the band had done up to that point and would later be taken into a more extreme point in the song “Sister Ray”. The song is actually a short story that was written by Lou Reed in his college days, but read overtop of music provided by the band. The words are read overtop of the music by John Cale in a Welsh accent in a deadpan manner and the story itself reflects a college oriented relationship and lifestyle having the feeling of early J.D. Salinger New Yorker stories. The difference is the ending of the story which is quite shocking and unexpected, as was the bands music to some. Before we get to that I’d like to discuss the music for “The Gift” which in fact was developed from a jam that the band used to play during their live shows entitled “The Booker T”, named after Booker T of Booker T Jones & The MGs. The eight minute song features a prominent fuzz bassline over an intense fuzzy distorted guitar jam. While White Light/White Heat features other songs with similar dynamics what sets this song apart from the others on the album and makes it different is the fact that there aren’t traditional lyrics in the this song. The band could have easily could have put words overtop of the music to tell a story, but they did the opposite putting a story overtop of the music.

The songs content is an example of the bands literate background, literally. This story sucks the listener in with its tale as we hear to story of a love sick student named Waldo. He decides that in order to see his girlfriend who he has a long distance relationship with he will mail himself in a cardboard box. We learn of Marsha’s infidelity and when the box arrives Marsha, Waldo’s long distance girlfriend has difficulty opening it. She then acquires a sheet metal cutter from the basement and slices through the box and its contents inside and the story ends right there leaving the listener to wonder what event would transpire next after its jarring conclusion. The song teaches a strange, morbid yet valuable lesson. It teaches us through its avant garde style why it is not a good idea to mail yourself or people for that matter in a cardboard box. Throughout this story we also learn of the characters strange self-centredness, Waldo is obsessed and clingy, Marsha is uneasy with this and Bill the man who she commits her infidelity with is indifferent to her. We sense their ignorance and indifference to each other and each character cares primarily about no one, except themselves which results in a dramatic outcome and conclusion. It makes us feel as Marsha says in the story “all icky” even before the ending.

And while the song “Sister Ray” is often focused on more, this song was pre-planned in comparison. “Sister Ray” evolved from a jam in the studio in one take, while “The Gift” evolved from a previous jam and a story written well before that. It is just an example of how different and innovative The Velvet Underground were compared to other bands at the time. And while they have four albums (not counting their outtake albums and the one without Lou Reed titled Squeeze), this is just a small example of what makes this band stand out and still relevant even many, many years after being a band. I will leave you with a quote by guitarist Sterling Morrison that can both be applied to this song, the bands status in 1968 and the album White Light/White Heat:

“We were all pulling in the same direction. We may have been dragging each other off a cliff, but we were all definitely going in the same direction. In the White Light/White Heat era, our lives were chaos. That's what's reflected in the record."

This Week's Play List:

1. Devo – Wiggly World (Live At The Walker Minneapolis, MN 1978)
2. Devo – Satisfaction (Live At The Walker Minneapolis, MN 1978)
3. The Nils - In Betweens
4. Threads of Fybre – Mama
5. The Shadows of Knight – Oh yeah
6. The Seeds – Pushin’ Too Hard
7. 13th Floor Elevators – You’re Gonna Miss Me
8. Toy Love – Don’t Ask Me (Live At The Gluepot 1980)
9. Gang of Four – Damaged Goods
10. Johnny Quest & The Rosebushes – Breaking Glass
11. The Reply – Give What You Can
12. The Falcons – Jokers Wild
13. Boxcar Guitars – This Heat, This Heat
14. Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – Shuffle Your Feet
15. The Stig – Block It Out
16. Tuff Darts – Here Comes Trouble
17. The Staccatos – You Only Live Once
18. Velvet Underground – The Gift
19. Alex Chilton – The Letter (Live In London 1980)
20. The Hoots – In My Room
21. Actual Water – Three O’Clock Kids
22. Link Wray – Growling Guts
23. Radio Birdman – I-94

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for January 15. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

Velvet Underground Special...Show # 300!

This week Revolution Rock aired for its 300th time on the CJAM airwaves.  To celebrate this event this weeks show focused on the music of the highly influential Velvet Underground. This week I will discuss the song Sister Ray.

Sister Ray (from White Light/White Heat 1968)

This is an avant-garde song that is featured on the bands 1968 album White Light/White Heat and is over 17 minutes long. The music is credited to the entire band and was apparently written by Sterling Morrison, John Cale, and Maureen Tucker during the bands Exploding Plastic Inevitable tour with Andy Warhol while Lou Reed was in the hospital with hepatitis. The song itself was recorded in a single take in September of 1967 at Scepter Studios in New York City. During the recording of the song the bands engineer at the time has been rumoured to have started the recording and then apparently told the band to come get him when they were done. On the recording Lou Reed covers vocals and guitar, Maureen Tucker is on drums, Sterling Morrison is on guitar and John Cale plays an organ that was amplified through a distorted guitar amplifier, there is no bass. Morrison’s guitar was also switched to the bridge pick up for the recording to give according to him `"extra oomph". The song comes off displaying elements of Garage and Psychedelic Rock music in a fashion that is not unlike The Stooges at times. This song was also a live favourite and when played it usually lasted for half and hour or more, it would end their sets.  Lyrics to the song can be described by a quote from Lou Reed himself in The Stranger in which he said:

"'Sister Ray' was done as a joke--no, not as a joke, but it has eight characters in it and this guy gets killed and nobody does anything. The situation is a bunch of drag queens taking some sailors home with them, shooting up on smack and having this orgy when the police appear. The jam came about right there in the studio. We didn't use any splices or anything. When we did 'Sister Ray,' we turned up to 10 flat-out, leakage all over the place. [The producers] asked us when it would end. We didn't know. We were doing the whole heavy-metal trip back then. If 'Sister Ray' isn't an example of heavy metal, I don't know what is."

More information on The Velvet Underground can be found in a previous post I did on the band, What Went On: The Story of The Velvet Underground

VU Play List:

1. Sunday Morning
2. Femme Fatale
3. Stephanie Says
4. Temptation Inside Your Heart
5. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together
6. Coney Island Steeplechase
7. Who Loves the Sun
8. Beginning to See the Light
9. New Age
10. Heroin
11. What Goes On (Closet Mix)
12. White Light/White Heat
13. Guess I'm Falling in Love (Live)
14. Satellite of Love
15. I'm Waiting For the Man (Different Take)
16. After Hours
17. I Can't Stand It
18. Sister Ray

To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for May 18. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.

What Went On...The Velvet Underground Story and Show # 219

The initial beginnings of The Velvet Underground are rooted in the meeting of two people Lou Reed and John Cale. In late 1964, Lour Reed then a song writer for Pickwick records met John Cale. Cale a Welshman who moved to New York to study classical music, developed an interest in rock music via Reed and the two formed a group called The Primitives. Cale and Reed had similar musical connections, both willing to experiment with music. Prior to meeting Reed, Cale worked with composers John Cage and LaMonte Young who were known for their experimental musical compositions. Two Lou Reed compositions were released via Pickwick Records as the band The Primitives. The band contained Lou Reed (guitar/vocals), John Cale (bass/viola/organ/vocals), Sterling Morrison (guitar), and Angus MacLise on drums. The two singles the band recorded were "The Ostrich", and "Sneaky Pete", both released in the fall of 1964; The group also went by the names The Warlocks and The Falling Spikes initially.

Before even playing their first gig drummer Angus MacLise left the group stating that accepting money for art was being a sellout, they quickly got a new drummer Maureen Tucker (who was a sister of a friend of Morrison). The group would settle on the name The Velvet Underground after John Cale found a book of the same name when moving into his New York City Apartment. The book itself was by Michael Leigh and about the sexual underground in the 1960s. In 1965, the group recorded a demo tape which Cale gave to Marianne Faithful so that she would give it to Mick Jagger. Nothing ever came of this exchange, but the demos did appear on the bands 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See.

The band were quite different for their times. First Reed's compositions lyrically and musically were like nothing anyone had ever heard before ranging from topics such as urban life, drug use, to sexual exploits. Musically the music reflected Reeds and Cale's love of experimentation drawing on influences of pop and garage rock; Reed also was a fan of Jazz. The bands early sound would later be known as an early incarnation of what to was become punk rock. While Cale and Reed would experiment with different tuning to develop droning sounds, drummer Maureen Tucker also had a style of her own, which is an important factor of the bands sound. Her drum kit was not the usual kit you would find a drummer playing. Her bass drum was upturned, she mostly played the toms, and hardly used cymbals. Tucker played drums not only with drums sticks, but also with mallets. Her style was influenced by early Bo Diddley and Babatunde Olatunji. It can be described as simple and enticing.

After witnessing Velvet Underground perform live, artist Andy Warhol became the groups manager. Warhol assisted the group in getting a recording contract with MGM and also used them in his travelling arts and music ensemble known as the Exploding Plastic inevitable. Andy also encouraged the group to let Nico (female model/singer/actress) join. She appeared on the group first album singing on three tracks ("All Tomorrow's Parties, I'll Be Your Mirror", and "Femme Fatal"). The album, which would be titled Velvet Underground & Nico was recorded in April of 1966. Three songs were later re-recorded when the band signed to a subsidiary of MGM Records, Verve Records ("I'm Waiting For the Man, "Venus in Furs", and "Heroin"). The album was officially released n March of 1967. The album contained eleven tracks such as "I'm Waiting for the Man", "Sunday Morning", "Venus in Furs", "Run, Run, Run", and "There She Goes Again", all showcasing the bands new and experimental rock form. The albums artwork was done by Warhol, it was a yellow banana with a peel slowly and see tab on it. When peeled a pink banana lay underneath. The album did not do well commercially due to its unconventional sound and a legal dispute with artwork on the back cover of the album. A lawsuit was filed when a picture from film maker/Cinematographer Eric Emerson sued the band stating that he did not give permission for them to use a still from his film Chelsea Girls. Eventually the case was settled, but the result was the album being pulled off of the shelves ruining any chance at commercial success for the group. The Velvet Underground & Nico is often known as "the banana album".

After the bands first album, Velvet Underground's relationship with Andy Warhol and Nico worsened. As a result after their 1967 tour the group fired both Warhol and Nico. During live performances the band experimented with jams which would have a large influence on their next album. White Light/White Heat was recorded in two days in 1968 and was noticeably different compared to the bands debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico. The album sold poorly, but did manage to make it into the Billboard 200, at #199. The album musically was a distorted, rough, and dirty sounding album. The album featured songs such as "White Light/White Heat", a song about amphetamines, "The Gift" an eight minute distorted jam, with a short story recited over top by Cale in a Welsh accent, "Here She Comes Now" was an avant-garde pop song, "I Heard Her Call My Name" is a distorted song that sounds not unlike the Stooges, and the sixth and final track on the album was "Sister Ray", a 17 minute jam.

Both Covers for White Light/White Heat released in 1968

The albums cover featured a faintly visible skull in the background, the rest of the album was covered in black. The background was actually a picture of a tattoo of a skull on someones arm. The photo was taken and distorted by Billy Name, a friend of Warhol's. An alternate cover was made for the UK featuring abstract toy soldiers on a white background. Around this time tensions were growing amongst the bands two key song writers Lou Reed and John Cale. It was not just their lack of commercial success, but also the different directions that both Cale and Reed wanted to go in. After one more recording session in 1968, Cale was fired and the group continued without him. The bands third album would be titled The Velvet Underground and was released in 1969. It would feature Doug Yule as replacement for John Cale. The albums sound differed. Without Cale the experimental element of the band was not as dominant and it came off with more of a pop sound. Another reason for the albums change in sound could be related to the fact that all of the bands Vox amplifiers and guitar fuzz box pedals were stolen while they were on tour, resulting in them having to buy new equipment. The album is viewed by some to contain Lou Reed's best compositions. Songs such as "Candy Says", "Pale Blue Eyes", and the rocking "What Goes On". Other interesting tracks include "Murder Mystery" an almost nine minute song with a story read over top, similar to "The Gift".

The album also had two mixes since the album was produced by the band themselves and an engineer, Val Valentin. The first mix was done by Reed and called "The Closet Mix" by guitarist Sterling Morrison, the other mix was done by engineer Val Valentin. Reed's mix of the album was used for initial US releases of the album and Valentin's mix was used for the UK releases. After the albums initial pressings all other issues of White Light/White Heat used Valentin's mix. The complete "Closet Mix" can be found on the Peel Slowly and See box set. The albums artwork was a picture of the group, taken once again by Billy Name. The album failed to chart, it would also be The Velvet's last album for MGM.

The band spent a large amount of 1969 touring, and going in and out of the studio. These recordings would later be issued on outtake compilations (VU (1985) and Another View (1986)), and on the Peel Slowly and See box set. It should also be noted that the majority of the recordings on the outtake compilations VU and Another View, were recorded while the band were still on MGM Records and were originally intended for a fourth Velvet Underground album that was to be released in 1969. When the band switched record labels, the tracks were forgotten about. These recordings feature John Cale on some tracks and Dog Yule on some tracks. Also some of these songs were later re-recorded by Lou Reed for some solo albums. The band also recorded a live album titled 1969: The Velvet Underground Live, but it wasn't released until 1974. The bands next album would be titled Loaded.

MGM Records president Mike Curb wanted the label to be rid of any bands that had references to drugs so he dropped Velvet Underground and some other groups too. As a result the band signed to Atlantic Records. The album was titled Loaded because the label said that they wanted an album loaded with hits. So the band attempted to do so. The album was not a commercial success, but like the other three Velvet Underground albums, it was unique and original. The album contained songs such as "Rock & Roll", "Sweet Jane", "Head Held High", and "Oh, Sweet Nuthin". The album would not feature Velvet Underground drummer Maureen Tucker because she was pregnant. Instead the group used Doug Yule, Billy Yule (his brother) and a variety of session musicians for the albums drum tracks; Tucker is credited on the album despite her absence. Like all of The Velvet's albums, the artwork for Loaded was another interesting aspect of their album. The artwork was done by Stainslaw Zagorski. The cover was a picture of pink and green smoke rising from a subway entrance. Some have said that the change in artwork featuring pink smoke instead of a banana or a faint skull in the background, also represented the bands change in musical direction. Whatever was said about the album it is still a unique Velvet Underground album that shows the world that they had commercial capabilities without straying far from their original vision.

Reed quit the band just before the albums release. This was due to a number of factors, one being the lack of development within the band, the other being pressure put on by the bands manager Steve Sesnick. Reed has also stated that he was unhappy with the way the album was edited. The album was reissued in 1997 with several bonus tracks and outtakes. In 1995 the band released a comprehensive box set titled Peel Slowly and See. Reed would pursue a more successful solo career and The Velvet Underground would continue shortly with Doug Yule fronting the group, they would last until 1973.

In 1993 the original line-up reformed (including Cale) for a European tour and live album. The band would quickly disband due to Reed and Cale disagreements/arguments. In 1995 guitarist Sterling Morrison passed away and the band reformed once more for their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. At their induction the group performed a song written for Morrison titled "Last Night I Said Goodbye to my Friend".

While The Velvet Underground did not achieve commercial success during their time as a band, the effect that they have left on the world cannot go unnoticed. They have been said to have influenced more people to start up bands of their own than sell their albums. Since they have disbanded they have gone on to influence rock music greatly, not only with their music, but lyrics too. The band have been cited as a major influence on the 70's punk and new wave movement and were a band that were definitely ahead of their time.

To view a post that I did on Lou Reed, you can visit my Rock n' Roll Animal post.

Songs played this week:

1. Iggy & The Stooges - Search and Destroy
2. Neon Boys - That's All I Know
3. The Sonics - Boss Hoss
4. Ugly Ducklings - Nothin'
5. The Jury - Who Dat?
6. Those Rogues - Girl
7. Underworld - Go Away
8. Gruesomes - Dementia 13
9. Minisnap - Crooked Mile
10. The Velvet Underground - I"m Waiting For the Man
11. The Velvet Underground - One of These Days
12. The Velvet Underground - Head Held High (Early Version)
13. The Who - Circles
14. Billy Bragg - A New England
15. 101ers - Keys to Your Heart (Version 2)
16. The MC5 - Looking At You
17. Compulsive Gamblers - Don't Haunt Me
18. The Mark Inside - You Can't Take Her With You
19. The Hoa Hoa's - Mixed
20. The Organs - Let the Bell's Ring
21. The Pretenders - Boots of Chinese Plastic
22. The Clash - Police on my Back (Live at Shea)
23. Pointed Sticks - The Witch
24. The Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
25. Nirvana - Son of a Gun

To download this week's show visit the CJAM archives and select the files 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM on October 21, 2008.

Velvet Videos:

I'm Waiting For The Man
Sunday Morning
Venus In Furs
White Light/White Heat
Sweet Jane (Live 1993)
Last Night, I Said Goodbye to my Friend

Also Next week CJAM will be having it's annual pledge drive. CJAM is a non-profit campus and community based radio station, if you would like to show your support for CJAM you can make a pledge by visiting CJAM's home page.