Velvet Underground: Live 1969 vs. Grateful Dead: Live/Dead

Although in my case, playing music louder usually helps.

OK, there is someone here who has heard "Live 1969" and likes nothing from it *backs slowly out of room*

I wouldn’t worry about it, the VU are not a big college town band.

The jams they play would not excite you.

(xp) He didn't like their new direction

There was always the minority take:
live VU can be awesome but 69 live is dull as dishwater imo. I know lotsa people love that jangly pastoral VU style but to me it really amplifies a lot of weaknesses in Lou's writing, weaknesses that can be submerged in pure volume.

― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Sunday, May 24, 2015
Don't agree that it's just jangly or that there are important weaknesses in Lou's VU songs, but either way, the Gymnasium set is a satisfying Cale-era onslaught, prob still posted here and there.

― dow, Sunday, May 24, 2015 10:23 AM (six years ago) bookmarkflaglink

"heavenly wine and roses seems to whisper to me when you smile"

Delmore Schwartz lols from the grave at that line

― Joan Crawford Loves Chachi, Sunday, May 24, 2015
Agree that it's almost Lou's worst VU-era line, though at least sounds drunk, like the guy waitin' for Jane may well be, so in context not too bad----"remember that the city is just a flower made out of clay" is the one that makes me want to dig him up and kill him again.

(Don't remember why I mentioned the Gymnasium set just then, but yeah it's very strong in its way duh)

dow -- do you prefer the Matrix Tapes to the Quine Tapes?

Minority take from known contrarian shocka

dow -- do you prefer the Matrix Tapes to the Quine Tapes?

Preferring the Quine Tapes truly would be contrarian.

What if I like them both?

I like them both.

Was wondering, figured as much.

dow not the contrarian, that was Chachi Aerosmith, but you probably already knew that.

Enjoy the Andy Griffith whistling during “I’m Waiting for the Man” but that’s the first track on both so it’s still a tossertossup.

xpost I'm another liker of both Complete Matrix and Quine Tapes---been a while, but seem to recall thinking that The Complete Matrix was more revelatory.
Would like to hear the show w 14-minute "Run Run Run," mentioned on Velvet Underground Trainspotting Question.
ditto The Velvet Underground ETC, and the other one incl. Reed apprenticeships---The Velvet Underground And So On?

In another news, not sure if I can justify liking Sterling’s spidery, fiddly playing but not ever having been able to acclimate to Jerry’s. Unless maybe it has something to with drummers, vocalists,”lyricists, etc.

Put Jerry on your shoulder.

Which locution first appeared here: Guess I'm Polling in Love: The Lou Reed Memorial Velvet Underground (and solo material) Ballot Poll Thread

xp Maybe it's the rhythm guitar? Lou's amphetamine groove rolling through songs like a bowling ball vs. Bobby's spacey sketches batting the songs around like a beachball.

Yes, thanks, I thought about that as well, good description.

Some good Garth Hudson-lite stuff from Doug on Matrix “Black Angel’s Death Song.”

And the bass is played by…Sterling?

Some lineup on “Venus and Furs” I guess. Sorry, never paid attention until just now.

Velvet Dead convergence was sometimes said of early live Television (also
15 60 75 The Numbers Band's 1976 live debut album,Jimmy Bell's Still in Town). Think Verlaine mentioned being an xpost John Cippolina fan or appreciator, like Sterling, don't recall comments about Garcia or Dead.
Thee man himself showed up on Man's live Maximum Darkness:
Rumours that Micky Jones had to over-dub Cipollina’s guitar, as it was out of tune, before the album could be released,[4] are greatly exaggerated. Only one track, "Bananas", had to have his playing removed/replaced, per Deke Leonard: "Everything ... which sounds like Cipollina is Cipollina."[5] O U Wiki Kid!

I had to stare at that for a long while looking for an ‘e’ to make sure it wasn’t the drummer Mickey Jones, who I recently discovered was there near the beginning when Joe Osborn discovered The Carpenters.

That's (sic) in main Man article too---Wiki doesn't have one for him specifically, but Man entry goes on to detail several of his later bands. like the Flying Pigs (also backed a "Welsh Elvis impersonator"). Thought he was Mickey or Mick Jones of Foreigner, but def. not. Good with Man, though!

(Terry Williams had no prob playing w druggy jammy Man *and* Rockpile, so too bad he wasn't in later VU.)

(Feel like deep down in his pounding-like-a-hammer heart of hearts he preferred playing on the ginormous kit with Direct Straits)

(Hah, Fab Fat Fingered Slip!)

Man... the extended solo on "White Light/White Heat (Version 1)," track 23 of Complete Matrix Tapes, is just terrific.

I absolutely prefer Quine Tapes to Live 69, by a wide margin

This bluesy, cough-syrup slow "Sister Ray" solo (Matrix Tapes, track 30) is also unlike any other VU I remember hearing before!

Need to revisit Quine Tapes after this, it's been a long time

This Sister Ray is astonishingly good

oh it's 36 mins long? this is the stuff, fam

yeah I registered to the whole set recently and it totally ruled

the long slow "Waiting For My Man" is A++ as well

"re-listened" jeez

how is this even a question?

(xp) Those are both on "Live at the Matrix" where they don't sound like shit though? I think?

They sure sound good (thru my headphones) on this Complete Matrix Tapes set(?)

live at the matrix sounds great!

the long version of what goes on is so so good

tom

(xxp) Oh I thought you were talking about the Quine Tapes recordings?

no, sorry, Matrix Tapes

(huh - there is a weird edit at the very end of Sister Ray, where suddenly the audio quality does drop significantly?)

The tape had run out and the guy recrding it had to swap to a new reel - what you're listening to in the gap actually is the Quine Tapes version that's been spliced in to fill the gap.

The 36 minute "Sister Ray" is great even though Lou takes an 11 minute solo which mostly consists of twanging the lowest notes on his guitar like a monomaniacal Duane Eddy.

Thx for the info! (yeah, if that's what the Quine Tapes sound like, I can see why they're not... preferred)

Some people seem to prefer them!

A lot of the Quine Tapes are from different venues (I think?) and it has some tracks which were missing from the Matrix Tapes which, in an ideal world, should have been on there - like a long "Ride Into the Sun", iirc?