Velvet Underground - White Light, White Heat [45 Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, 2013] [FLAC]

Curated by Lou Reed and John Cale, the White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition contains remastered versions of the original record in both mono and stereo, alongside bonus material including alternate versions of "Hey Mr. Rain," new mixes of "Beginning To See The Light" and "Guess I'm Falling In Love" and previously unreleased vocal and instrumental versions of "The Gift". Tracks recorded during John Cale's last studio session with the Velvet Underground  also appears.

In addition, the band's live set at the Gymnasium in New York on April 30, 1967 is also included.

 

 

The Velvet Underground - Final V.U. 1971–1973 [4 CD, 2001/FLAC]

 

Final V.U. 1971–1973 is a box set by The Velvet Underground, comprising live recordings from after founder and primary songwriter Lou Reed had left the group. It was released by Japanese record company Captain Trip Records in August 2001.

VA - Many Faces Of Lou Reed [3 CD, 2016/FLAC]

 

Along with Iggy Pop, Lou Reed has been one of the most outrageous American artists of the '70s; an ambassador of the underground world that lives within each cosmopolitan city and always living life to the limit. With a remarkable literary talent and always pushing the limits sound wise, Lou became one of the most iconic artists ever, both as leader of The Velvet Underground and as a solo artist. The Many Faces Of Lou Reed is a journey through his side projects, little-known collaborations with artists such as bass player Fernando Saunders or legendary soul keyboardist Booker T. Jones; his live shows along the Velvet Underground and the Rock And Roll Heart tour (one of their most inspired). It is also a walk thru his immortal body of work, in the hands of artists who recognize him as their main influence. The Many Faces Of Lou Reed is a fundamental album for every rock music fan, a fantastic journey through unknown works, presented with extended liner notes, a luxurious cover art and remastered sound.

The Velvet Underground - Bootleg Series Vol.1 - The Quine Tapes (3 CD, 2001/FLAC)

Prior to this release, only a few "official" live Velvets releases existed: the incredible double-disc set 1969 and the tour documents from their mid-90s reunion being the most readily available. And then there's the dreadful Live at Max's Kansas City, which, while allegedly Reed's documented last stand with the group, is of interest only to those with dire historical interest or those with a need to hear table conversation revolving around drug scores. So now, with The Quine Tapes, the innocent public can finally find out what those confounded bootleggers have been shouting out for nearly thirty years: the Velvet Underground live on stage were a staggering dynamic presence, unpredictable and explosive. 

The Velvet Underground - Peel Slowly and See [5 CD, 1995/FLAC]

 

Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by The Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor. The set includes all four studio albums by the Lou Reed-era line-up of the Velvet Underground, alongside demo recordings and live performances, some of which were bootlegged, some of which were never released...

The Velvet Underground:

• John Cale – bass guitar, viola, keyboards (discs 1–3); lead vocal on "The Gift" and "Lady Godiva's Operation"; organ and viola on disc 5, track 15
• Sterling Morrison – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals, co-vocal on "The Murder Mystery"
• Lou Reed – vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica
• Maureen Tucker – percussion (discs 2–5), lead vocal on "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking with You", co-vocal on The Murder Mystery.
• Doug Yule – bass guitar, keyboards, guitars, drums (disc 4–5); lead vocal on "Candy Says", "Who Loves the Sun", "New Age", "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'", "Ride into the Sun" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" (live).

Additional musicians:

• Nico – lead vocal on "All Tomorrow's Parties" (both single and LP versions), "Femme Fatale", "I'll Be Your Mirror", "Melody Laughter", "It Was a Pleasure Then" and "Chelsea Girls"; backing vocals on "Sunday Morning"
• Adrian Barber – drums on "Who Loves the Sun" and "I Found a Reason"
• Tommy Castanaro – drums on "Cool It Down" and "Head Held High"
• Billy Yule – drums on "Lonesome Cowboy Bill", "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'", "Ocean", "Some Kinda Love" (live) and "I'll Be Your Mirror" (live).

Box Set includes complete and digitally remastered versions of all four of the band's studio albums, plus 25 previously unreleased tracks.

The Velvet Underground – Loaded- Re-Loaded [45th Anniversary Edition, 5 CD, 2015/FLAC)

  

The Velvets’ last album is generally seen as their least. It suffers dubious production and lacks drummer Moe Tucker, due to her pregnancy; Lou Reed left the band before its release and, as he’d later complain, his songs were hacked down (notably “Sweet Jane” and “New Age”) and his intended sequencing re-shuffled. Loaded was a last-ditch effort to connect with a mass audience, something the first three Velvets albums failed spectacularly to do — and it met the same fate. Yet hindsight reveals, like so much in Reed’s career, an album full of greatness, beneath its consensual role-playing and market-minded mishegas. This final chapter in the vault-scraping Velvets reissue series, a handsome six-CD set, reaffirms it.

The Velvet Underground - TVU [45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition] (6 CD, 2014/FLAC)

 

This band’s eponymous 1969 release, so different from 1968’s White Light/White Heat, is the sound of a band finding clarity through subtraction. Gone was John Cale, and with him the grinding viola and most of the avant-garde leanings he brought to the forefront. Gone were — according to guitarist Sterling Morrison — all the effects pedals that allowed for the distortion and feedback so prevalent on White Light/White Heat, stolen at the New York airport as the band flew to Los Angeles to record. Gone was the Verve label, with the band moving up to parent company MGM’s main label. Gone was New York itself, and all but the last tenuous threads of its connection to Andy Warhol and The Factory. The result is the barest Velvet Underground record, stripped down to its skin.

The Velvet Underground – 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition is much more than just the single album, though it does contain three distinct mixes of the record itself. First is the “Val Valentin Mix”, which is the one referenced for the above description. Valentin was the engineer for the recordings, and his mix was the one released overseas and eventually on compact disc. Second is what became known as “The Closet Mix”, which was done by Lou Reed himself and was used for the initial vinyl release in the United States. Its nickname comes from Sterling Morrison, who said, ”I thought it sounded like it was recorded in a closet. I guess he [Lou] felt the real essence of the tracks was the lyrics.” Besides the band being pushed far to the back, a different vocal take of “Some Kinda Love” was used on “the Closet Mix”. That track also has a single guitar track instead of the two on the Valentin mix. Preference between the two versions is left to the individual; there is no definitive version, though it’s easy to see why some people side with Lou’s mix. It makes an intimate album all the more personal. However, the Valentin mix gives the band greater prominence as a whole, and the contribution of the other members is not to be underplayed. Both are worth having at hand, depending on the listener’s mood.

Lou Reed - Dust to Dust (Live 1992) [2021]

 

Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013) was an American musician, singer, songwriter and poet. He was the guitarist, singer and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. The Velvet Underground was not a commercial success during its existence, but became regarded as one of the most influential bands in the history of underground and alternative rock music. Reed's distinctive deadpan voice, poetic and transgressive lyrics, and experimental guitar playing were trademarks throughout his long career.