The Velvet Underground - VU (German Verve 1st pressing) Vinyl rip in 24 Bit/ 96 Khz + CD

Composed principally of songs that would have appeared on the Velvet Underground's unreleased fourth MGM album, this is only slightly less impressive than their first three LPs, striking a balance between the searing pre-punk of their first two efforts and the calm eloquence of the third. "Lisa Says," "Ocean," and "Stephanie Says" are some of Lou Reed's greatest ballads; "I Can't Stand It" is one of the Velvets' toughest and best conventional hard rock songs. Some of the other tunes are slight (if engaging) in comparison with the Velvets' prime work. Many of the tracks were re-recorded by Reed on his early solo albums, and in every instance, the Velvets' versions are better. –Allmusic 5/5.

Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed except "Foggy Notion" (Reed, Morrison, Yule, Tucker, Weiss)

Side one

1. "I Can't Stand It" – 3:21
* Recorded May 20, 1969
2. "Stephanie Says" – 2:49
* Recorded February 13, 1968
3. "She's My Best Friend" – 2:47
* Recorded May 14, 1969
4. "Lisa Says" – 2:53
* October 1, 1969
5. "Ocean" – 5:10
* June 19, 1969

Side two

6. "Foggy Notion" – 6:41*
* Recorded May 6, 1969
7. "Temptation Inside Your Heart" – 2:30
* Recorded February 14, 1968
8. "One of These Days" – 3:50
* Recorded September 23, 1969
9. "Andy's Chest" – 2:49
* Recorded May 13, 1969
10. "I'm Sticking with You" – 2:26
* Recorded May 13, 1969

Personnel

The Velvet Underground

* John Cale – viola, bass guitar, celesta, backing vocals on "Stephanie Says" and "Temptation Inside Your Heart"
* Sterling Morrison – guitar, backing vocals
* Lou Reed – vocals, guitar
* Maureen Tucker – percussion, lead vocal on "I'm Sticking with You"
* Doug Yule – bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, lead guitar on "One of These Days", lead vocals on "She's My Best Friend" ("I Can't Stand It", "She's My Best Friend", "Lisa Says", "Foggy Notion", "One of These Days", "Andy's Chest", and "I'm Sticking with You")

Technical staff

* The Velvet Underground – producers
* Gary Kellgren – engineer
* Bill Levenson – compilation executive producer
* J. C. Convertino – compilation engineer