Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. I'm Waiting for the Man
2. It's Just Too Much
3. What Goes On
4. I Can't Stand It
5. Some Kinda Love
6. Foggy Notion
7. Femme Fatale
8. After Hours
9. I'm Sticking With You
10. Sunday Morning
11. Sister Ray

Disc 2:

1. Follow the Leader
2. White Light/White Heat
3. Venus in Furs
4. Heroin
5. Sister Ray

Disc 3:

1. Rock & Roll
2. New Age
3. Over You
4. Black Angel's Death Song
5. I'm Waiting for the Man
6. Ride into the Sun
7. Sister Ray/Foggy Notion

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39490 in Music
• Released on: 2001-10-16
• Number of discs: 3
• Formats: Box set, Original recording remastered, Live

Customer Reviews

Look beyond the lo-fi sound, it's HISTORICAL
Velvet Underground fans will be in hog heaven with this 3 disc set. Each disc is over 70 minutes long, each concludes with a marathon version of "Sister Ray."

If you've heard the long available "Live 1969" Vols 1 and 2, you have an idea what kind of audio quality to expect. These are not soundboard recordings. The Velvets were an obscure band and we're lucky there were fans like Robert Quine with the presence of mind to record them at clubs.

This is certainly NOT the way to become acquainted with the band if you are new to them. Get all their studio albums (they only released four) first. But if you're already a fan and are contemplating whether to spring for this set, fear not.

Highlights for me: Maureen doing back-to-back renditions of her showcase songs, "Afterhours" and "I'm sticking with You"... A previously unheard song, "Follow the Leader"... A terrific 11 minute rendition of "Ride into the Sun" that may be the definitive version... A smoking take on "White Light"... Of course, the aforementioned marathon takes of "Sister Ray" (one lasts 38 minutes!)...

But I'll stop rambling... Suffice it to say, this is great music from a band that sounded like no other. This is the first in a proposed 3 volume set, so BUY IT-- I would hate to see the rest of the series cancelled due to poor sales!

Finially the Velvets get Extended
This three CD box set finially sets the record straight for the Velvet Underground's claim as the greatest avant-guard live rock band of all time. The REAL bootlegs have proven this for years. Legends of the Velvets doing a 44 minute version of Sweet Sister Ray, into a 25 minute Sister Ray, have up to this point, never been documented on any of their official live albums. That's too bad, because they were ten times better live, than on their studio output. This set is not the best sound quality that you could hope for. I'd place it between LIVE 1969 and LIVE AT MAX'S KANSAS CITY for sound. But for content, it beats everything else out there. Finially, you can hear Lou play 17 minute extemporaneous pieces like FOLLOW THE LEADER, melding poetry slams and rock jam sessions. Or hear BLACK ANGEL'S DEATH SONG live, or Moe do both her numbers as a setpeice. But the real reason for buying this gem, is the 38 minute SISTER RAY. It shows the band doing what they did best...exploring the musical unknown, through the synthesis of LaMonte Young's fluxus downtown NYC influence, Bo Didley rock, and Bill Burrough's junkie cut up visions of cinematic literature. It's amazing how Sister Ray perfectly blends heroin mental chaos, dark humor, murder,and every other social taboo that Lou's genius could throw into a 38 minute journey of sonic film noire. Not only did the Velvet Underground start punk, alternative, gothic, and trance music, in many ways, they were its most perfect example of the genre. Here is the textbook, the formula. Peel the banana and step inside.

The wait is over.
The Quine Tapes showcases the Velvet Underground's beautiful noise and improvisatory music in a way that that the previous best official live record, "1969 Live," only hints at.

Here we have three versions of Sister Ray of varying lengths and styles, as the VU improvises upon the central riff of the "White Light/White Heat" recording. Only one version, recorded in early 1969 in St. Louis, resembles the studio version in a significant way.

Here we have a wicked version of "White Light/White Heat" with guitar work by Reed to rival the explosive chaos of "I Heard Her Call My Name." This version is infinitely better than the recording on "1969 Live." Here we have oustanding versions of songs from "The Velvet Underground & Nico," including "Black Angel's Death Song," "Heroin," and "Venus in Furs."

Having said all of this, the recordings made at The Matrix (CDs 2 and 3) are better than those made at The Family Dog (CD 1). The latter suffer from too much bass and from tepid songs sung by Mo Tucker. The magesterial 1969 Live version of "What Goes On" is superior to the Family Dog version as well.

Finally, there are many quotidian moments that bring pleasure. Lou and Sterling discussing who should play solo on "White Light/White Heat." Lou reciting the opening lyrics for "Black Angel's Death Song." A female voice asking "What time is it?" during the opening bars of one of the best, if not the best, live version of Heroin ever recorded.

Play CDs 2 and 3 LOUD. You will experience the same blissful combination of joy, headache, and stupor that results from listening to "I Heard Her Call My Name." The unbelievable guitar work by Lou and Sterling will make you forget that Cale's Viola parts are absent, substituted by Yule's hammond organ.

This is a must own.