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'The Velvet Underground Singles 1966-1969' (vinyl singles boxed set reissue reviewed)
LA Times ^ | September 24, 2009 | By Robert Hilburn

Posted on 09/25/2009 11:45:36 AM PDT by a fool in paradise

"...I know it sounds pretentious, but I wanted to bring a Brecht/Weill sensibility" to the music, he told me in 1992. "Why not? You're not 15 forever. There was nothing... that I hadn't read about in books or seen in movies. 'Man with the Golden Arm' had been out for years before I wrote 'Heroin.' "

But Reed and the Velvets also wanted hits, so they sidestepped those exotic themes in a series of exquisite singles recorded in hopes of gaining mainstream radio exposure. Yet even those -- which are showcased on separate, 45 rpm vinyl recordings in the boxed set from Sundazed Records -- proved too sophisticated for radio programmers, thus killing the Velvets' chances at achieving big sales.

If you think of history as another form of measuring success, the recordings by the Velvets are smash hits. Not only do they still sound alluring, but it's also easy to hear in them the musical attitude and strains that influenced a wide range of rock forces, including David Bowie, the New York Dolls, Patti Smith, the Sex Pistols, Talking Heads, Roxy Music, U2 and the Strokes...

The music: "All Tomorrow's Parties," a wistful account of a troubled young woman attracted to New York's hip party scene, simply wasn't as immediately accessible as dozens of other singles that year, including the Mamas and the Papas' "Monday, Monday," the Beatles' "Paperback Writer" and the Rolling Stones' "Paint It, Black"...

The band's most blatant attempt at a hit single was probably "Temptation Inside Your Heart," though MGM Records decided against releasing the record. In this version of the song, we hear Reed and the others trying playfully to inject some overt Motown touches into the arrangement, all the way down to a few Martha & the Vandellas-inspired "doo-doo-doo" vocal lines...

(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...


TOPICS: Arts/Photography; Music/Entertainment
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To: Daffynition

omg!


21 posted on 09/25/2009 1:44:46 PM PDT by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: Jagman

<New York sleaze, hard drugs, pretentious lyrics, two-chord song structures, and a little electroshock therapy thrown in for good measure. What’s not to like!

Amen, my FRiend!

I play music off of YouTube before class starts. I may have to treat the kids to a little VU next week.


22 posted on 09/25/2009 1:46:23 PM PDT by radiohead (Buy ammo, get your kids out of government schools, pray for the Republic.)
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To: radiohead; Jagman

To the Left, “Jesus” is probably the most offense song they ever recorded.

http://www.amazon.com/Velvet-Underground/dp/B000002G7G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1253912348&sr=1-3


23 posted on 09/25/2009 2:03:57 PM PDT by a fool in paradise (There is no truth in the Pravda Media.)
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To: JoeProBono; a fool in paradise

24 posted on 09/25/2009 2:04:09 PM PDT by Daffynition (What's all this about hellfire and Dalmatians?)
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To: stylecouncilor

ping


25 posted on 09/25/2009 2:57:06 PM PDT by windcliff
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