Back, oh, a decade or so ago, a friend turned me on to heroin. That is, the song "Heroin" and other tunes by the Velvet Underground. (The first song was actually "What Goes On," but that wouldn't have provided a joke.) As two college kids in the pre-mp3 age, we communicated via mix tapes. Mostly, he sent me weird pop and alternative from his collection, and occasionally I sent him Beatles bootlegs from mine (and occasionally what passed for weird pop from my very, very pedestrian collection).
Anyway, I finally bought a Velvets album (off iTunes, no less), their self-titled release. (Not their first release, by the way, their third. I like artists who self-title non-debut albums, like the Beatles and... erm... Sheryl Crow.) I had just recently dropped some dimes on albums by Bruce Cockburn (an excellent purchase) and the B-52s (jury's still out) in the quest to get the iTunes 500 millionth song. But I woke up last night with the Velvets in my head and just had to give Apple more money.
I'm glad I did; I'm listening to the Velvets right now, and they're amazing. While the recording of "What Goes On" was not the one I was familiar with (apparently it comes from a live album), it's still excellent. I had only heard the R.E.M. cover of "Pale Blue Eyes," not the original, which is much sparser.
Now I'm trying to determine whether I should buy their debut, The Velvet Underground and Nico. It'd be a no-brainer, but in iTunes, the only options are either the "deluxe" set at $30, or buying the "partial" album by song only (11 tracks at 99 cents each). The thing is, as far as I can tell the whole album is only 11 tracks anyway, so what's this "partial album" crap? Readers more knowledgeable than me about the Velvets are invited to comment. (So are the rest of you.)
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2 comments:
Possible answers:
*The first album has song about drug use, sadomasochism, and other topics that may be considered unsavory enough to lead to iTune censorship. I strongly doubt that's the case, but it's a potential.
*VU&N's been out in a few permutations now (disc 2 on the box, the whole album in mono and stereo, bonus tracks); this may have the 11 tracks on the original release and not the extras tacked on in more recent years.
Anyway, it's a more adventurous album than their third, due in part to the presence of John Cale instead of Doug Yule, and is definitely worth your coin. I'd go with the 11 tracks at 99 per, as the deluxe version means buying the same songs in mono and stereo with only minor changes.
And yes, the "What Goes On" you're familiar with comes from the album "1969 Live with Lou Reed," and it features perhaps the best rhythm guitar work of Reed's life. But hey, don't put your collection down too far - you were sending me Phish songs back in '92, don't forget...
Yeah, I actually bought the live What Goes On, too.
It looks like the 11 tracks are all the original songs, so I think I'll go with that. Thanks for your input!
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