The Velvet Underground - 1969: Velvet Underground Live With Lou Reed (2024) [Official Digital Download 24/192]

1969: The Velvet Underground Live is a live album by the Velvet Underground. It was originally released as a double album in September 1974 by Mercury Records. The September 1988 CD re-release was issued as two separate single CD volumes, with one extra track per disc. Since many of the band's studio albums were out of print in the United States from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, 1969 was one of the more popular albums by the band, and is a fan favorite. Spin magazine's Alternative Record Guide included it in the top 100 alternative albums of all time in 1995.

During 1969, the Velvet Underground toured the United States and Canada, playing well over 70 dates. By this time, the band had picked up a sizeable fan base and every now and then a fan would bring along, with consent of the band, recording equipment to record a set.

Most of the time, this would mean relatively simple hand-held recorders resulting in lo-fi audience recordings. On two occasions, however, professional equipment was used. On October 19, 1969, in the End of Cole Ave. club, Dallas, a fan who happened to be a recording engineer brought along his professional gear; and in November at The Matrix in San Francisco, the band was given permission to use the in-house four-track recording desk.

The band were given two-track mixdown tapes from the recordings for reference, but nothing was done with them until 1974, after the band had dissolved and Lou Reed had become well-known as a solo artist. According to bassist Doug Yule, "The release of 1969 Live… was started by Steve Sesnick [former band manager], who had the tapes and was trying to sell them to get money for himself claiming that he owned the [band] name and the rights to the album… Somehow somebody else got involved and contacted other people in the group and basically Sesnick got done. [Lou Reed's management] took the tapes and said 'It's not yours' and released it".

The mixdown tapes were submitted to Mercury Records, who agreed to release a compilation of the best performances as a double album. The compiling was done by music critic Paul Nelson, who at the time was working at Mercury Records. When 1969 was released, it immediately became subject of a lawsuit as The Matrix's management had never given permission for their material to be used on a commercial release. The matter was settled out of court.

Although four-track recording equipment was used for the album, some of the tracks feature light crackling as they were sourced from acetates, the original tapes having been lost. There is little ambience or audience sound, however, because no audience mic was used and so the only ambience the listener gets is what little the vocal and drum mics picked up.

At the time of the album's release, three of its songs ("We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together", "Over You" and "Sweet Bonnie Brown"/"It's Just Too Much") had never been released in any form, two ("Lisa Says" and "Ocean") were previously only known from the versions on Reed's debut solo album, and "New Age" and "Sweet Jane" were different from the eventual Loaded studio versions. In addition, "White Light/White Heat" is extended from two-and-a-half minutes to over eight minutes of guitar improvisation. The album also features songs sung by different singers from the album versions: Reed sings "New Age" (later sung by Yule on Loaded) and "Femme Fatale" (originally sung by Nico) and Yule sings "I'll Be Your Mirror" (also originally by Nico).

AllMusic Review by Mark Deming
Sadly, outside of a handful of audience tapes of extremely variable fidelity, no one thought to make a live recording of the Velvet Underground during their 1967-1968 peak period with John Cale prodding Lou Reed into remarkable flights of noise-rock fancy. However, in 1969, a VU fan who was a recording engineer brought a reel-to-reel tape machine to two shows the band played during an engagement at a club in Dallas called The End of Cole Avenue; a few months later, the band played The Matrix in San Francisco, where a tape machine had been installed into the hall's sound system, and the band was allowed to record their set. Five years later, long after the Velvet Underground had collapsed and Lou Reed's solo career was on the rise, Mercury Records compiled highlights of the Dallas and San Francisco tapes into a two-record set, 1969: Velvet Underground Live, and it is without question the best document of this band's considerable strengths as a live act. While they were a somewhat more sedate band with Doug Yule on bass rather than Cale, they still had plenty of life left in them at this stage of the game; there are few voyages into the sonic unknown here, but Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison had matured into one of rock's most potent guitar combinations, Maureen Tucker was as distinctive a drummer as anyone who picked up a pair of mallets, and with Doug Yule at her side, they comprised a truly superb rhythm section. Sounding tight, confident, and passionate on every cut, this set finds the band visiting highlights from all four of their studio albums, as well as a handful of previously unreleased numbers. 1969: Velvet Underground Live captures the many sides of VU's musical personality with commendable skill, and while it isn't their best album, it's one of the best places for a beginner to explore their body of work.

Tracklist:
01. Waiting For My Man (Live At End Of Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX / 1969) (7:00)
02. Lisa Says (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (5:51)
03. What Goes On (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (8:51)
04. Sweet Jane (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (3:57)
05. We're Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (3:13)
06. Femme Fatale (Live At End Of Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX / 1969) (3:04)
07. New Age (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (6:36)
08. Rock And Roll (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (6:03)
09. Beginning To See The Light (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (5:26)
10. Ocean (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (10:51)
11. Pale Blue Eyes (Live At End Of Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX / 1969) (5:51)
12. Heroin (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (9:44)
13. Some Kinda Love (Live At End Of Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX / 1969) (4:47)
14. Over You (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (2:16)
15. Sweet Bonnie Brown / It's Just Too Much (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (7:54)
16. White Light White Heat (Live At The Matrix, San Francisco, CA / 1969) (8:33)
17. I'll Be Your Mirror (Live At End Of Cole Avenue, Dallas, TX / 1969) (2:18)


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