THE VELVET UNDERGROUND – THE VELVET UNDERGROUND LP – EXC/VG+ A1/B1 UK LOU REED

The Velvet Underground
(Polydor Records  1974  2354033)
Matrix No’s: A1/B1 – UK Pressing

Vinyl in Excellent/Very Good+ condition
(there are some surface marks & a few light scratches which do give some pops/clicks but sound quality is excellent overall)

Sleeve in Very Good+ condition
– some wear to edges & some rubbing

The Velvet Underground was a rock band formed in New York, America, by singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise (who was replaced by Moe Tucker in 1965). Despite achieving little commercial success during its existence, the Velvet Underground is now recognized as one of the most influential bands of all time for its integration of rock music with the avant-garde. The provocative subject matter, musical experimentation, and often nihilistic attitudes explored in the band’s work would prove influential in the development of punk rock and alternative music.

The band was active between 1965 and 1973, and between 1992 and 1993, and was briefly managed by the pop artist Andy Warhol, serving as the house band at the Factory and Warhol’s Exploding Plastic Inevitable events from 1966 to 1967. Their debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico (with German born singer and model Nico), was released in 1967 to critical indifference and poor sales, compounded by distribution problems caused by a compensation claim by a Warhol actor for the use of his image on the back cover, but over time has been critically acclaimed – it was called the “most prophetic rock album ever made” by Rolling Stone in 2003. Cale left in 1968 to be replaced by Doug Yule; Reed, Sterling and Tucker left in 1970, with Yule taking over the band name to record a final album in 1973, and to tour the UK, before ending the band that same year. Reed, Cale, Morrison and Tucker reformed in 1992 to play one song at a Cale/Reed concert in France, then officially reunited as “The Velvet Underground” to do a European tour beginning in Edinburgh in June 1993, but broke up at the end of the year.

In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked the band No. 19 on its list of the “100 Greatest Artists of All Time”. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996 by Patti Smith.

Tracklist