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♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ ·VELVET
UNDERGROUND - VELVET
UNDERGROUND AND NICO (THE GROUP'S SELF-TITLED FIRSTALBUM) - ORIGINAL 1967 VERVE MONO LP V-5008 WITH UNCENSORED, ORIGINAL
"TORSO" BACK COVER(ERIC EMERSON’S TORSO IS UNCENSORED, UNCOVERED,
UNAIRBRUSHED AND CLEARLY VISIBLE ON THE BACK COVER) ·THE INFAMOUS PEELABLE BANANA STICKER IS COMPLETELY
INTACT, UNPEELED AND IN FANTASTIC CONDITION ·ORIGINAL
U.S. PRESSING ·ORIGINAL BLUE VERVE
LABEL WITH LARGE T-SHAPED LOGO AND SILVER PRINT. ·THIS IS A “DEDICATED” MONO MIX. THIS IS NOT A STEREO-TO-MONO
MIXDOWN, WHICH MEANS THAT THE MONO MIXES ARE SIGNIFICANTLY DIFFERENT AND
SPECIFICALLY MADE FOR THE MONO PRESSING. ·THIS IS THE ORIGINAL,
AUTHENTIC, FIRST U.S. PRESSING; THIS IS NOT A REISSUE, AN IMPORT, OR A
COUNTERFEIT PRESSING. ·ORIGINAL GATEFOLD COVER, MADE OF THICK CARDBOARD (AMERICAN
STYLE) ·THICK, HEAVY VINYL
PRESSING ·CLEAN, WEAR-FREE LABELS (►PLEASE SEE THE
IMAGE OF THE COVER, LABEL OR BOTH, SHOWN BELOW) (Note:
this is a REAL image of the ACTUAL item you are bidding on. This
is NOT a "recycled" image from our previous auction. What you see is what you’ll
get.GUARANTEED!)
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫ We claim without
any reservations or exaggerations, in full responsibility, sound mind and good
conscience that THIS is the single
most important album in Rock history and the single most influential Rock
session of the 20th Century – far exceeding in musical and historical importance EVEN the
most important albums by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix,
Led Zeppelin or The Doors. BID NOW. DON’T WAIT. THE
ORIGINAL MONO PRESSINGS WITH “UNCENSORED” (TORSO) COVERS APPEAR ON EBAY ONLY
EVERY OTHER YEAR OR SO… Why do we believe that this
modest first album – recorded by a heretofore unknown band, under medieval and
chaotic conditions, to no corporate fanfare, with very little promotion or
marketing and almost zero sales, managed to surpass in its musical brilliance
and artistic and stylistic importance even such cornerstones of Rock music as
The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts’ Club Band; The Rolling Stones’
Beggar’s Banquet;Jimi Hendrix’ “Are
you experienced” or Bob Dylan’s “Blonde on Blonde”? The answer is simple. All
these fine rock classics sold millions, made a huge splash, big noise, exploded
for a few weeks or months, topped the charts, illuminated the minds of
theircontemporaries’ and rivals’
alike, influenced some artists (and alienated the others) and then retired into
a comfortable niche ofthe “rock
classic” status bestowed upon them over the next few years and decades. In
other words, they may be historically and critically important, but they are
for all practical purposes DEAD – they are museum exhibits, of their time and
place, but not of this moment; of this time and place; beautiful pieces
carved into cold, hard marble, but aged, cold and definitely not
breathing. Make no mistake: all these rock classics are our personal favorites.
But they carry no immediate or permanent importance, personal resonance and
contemporary message. Their age shows, and it shows in ways that are not always
complementary or graceful. Not so with Velvet
Underground and Nico. The album has had a life like no other in the history of
popular music. From its modest, humble beginnings (except for three tracks, the
sessions took place after Columbia already declined to sign up the band, in a
decrepit Wand/Scepter studio that was literally being demolished as the band
was recording in it), the album snowballed – despite all possible legal,
commercial and marketing complications and distractions – into a massive force
of its own; an artistic equivalent of avalanche or tsunami. A cultural paradigm
not unlike that of the Birth of Jazz, or the dawn of the abstract art (Andy
Warhol’s subversive, eye-popping, brain-teasing banana artwork clearly playing
a major role in this). If, in fact, there is
another work of art comparable to this album (and this is a BIG “if”), it
surely would not be a Rock album --for there are NO known cultural antecedents and predecessors in
the world of popular music, and no points of reference either.The only comparable thing that comes to mind
would be Picasso’s Girls of Avignon, or Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring (both from
1913). In the world of contemporary music, the only session that comes
reasonably close to the level of the chutzpah and artistic courage of the
Velvets’ first album would be John Coltrane’s Ascension (recorded barely a year
prior to Velvet Underground and Nico, and quite possibly exerting a strong
influence on both Reed and Cale; compare, for example, the maddening
cacophonics of the Velvets’ European son with the gushing, unrestrained
eruptions of Coltrane’s pure, protean expression, to see what we mean). And it is easy to see why
there are not too many precedents. These works of art are some of the most
radical, revolutionary conceptions ever, causing uproar and upheaval of
galactic proportions (and in the case of Stravinsky’s ‘Rites of Spring, even a
public riot – quite literally!); just like Velvet Underground’s first album,
these astonishing works are one-way-ticket departures from all existing norms
and forms, dispensing with all structures, conventions and rules once and for
all. Think of the Velvets’ first album as Lou Reed and John Cale taking pop
music to the guillotine and waving its somewhat slightly detached head to the
shocked masses thereafter. Forty one year later, it is still too radical and
revolutionary for some narrow minds. If Lou Reed wasn’t always
able to maintain this level of brilliance over the next 40 years of his career,
he can easily be forgiven: this album has more brilliance, creativity and
ingenuity (and make no mistake, Nico, Cale, Tucker and Morrison ALL equally
co-participated in it) to last a lifetime; certainly more than many artists’
entire careers worth of. It’s almost as if Lou Reed spurted all his creative
energy on this one session, leaving precious little left for his subsequent
works (although this by no means was his sole masterpiece; there would be more
to come). In short, the branch of Rock
evolution that Velvet Underground single-handedly begat and nourished is still
alive and well, bearing shoots, leaves and fruits (and an occasional dud here
and there) long after many larger (and thicker) branches of Rock evolution have
withered, died and fallen off. The Velvets’ esthetic vision is as alive and
vibrant today as it was 40 years ago, if not more so.If it were for its lasting durability and longevity alone, the
album would deserve to be called a Titan. Read on (don’t lose patience! - there’s much to read) ABOUT MONO MIXES: There is a universal
consensus that original MONO pressing is by far more interesting, unique, and
mind-teasing (almost trippy) than the corresponding STEREO pressing. Because
MONO pressings of this album were discontinued only a year later (in mid-1968)
while the stereo pressings continued to this day, ORIGINAL mono pressings are
zillions of times more desirable and coveted than the stereo pressings. There is a good reason for
this. Not only are the mono mixes more vivid, lively, “ambiental” and
wonderfully raw and crude, they are also more revealing: you get to hear –
clearly and loudly – the crispy and crunchy guitars, throbbing bass lines,
Cale’s industrial-strength piano chomps that would make Cecil Taylor proud, Mo
Tucker’s tribal drumming and Nico’s thin, valkyrie-like voice in much more
detail, and entirely unburdened and free of channel separation, equalization,
echo/reverb and other distractions found on more common stereo mixes. In many
ways, the mono mix is like a frozen aural portrait of the group circa 1967: a
moment in time preserved in ice, ready to be thawed and served. It is downright
scary that a recording made under such primitive circumstances more than 40
years ago can sound this realistic. On some tracks (Sunday Morning comes to
mind), the group members will (well, almost, anyway) materialize in your living
room! The recording has that eerily lifelike quality or an old 78rpm blues
record being brought back to life. But that’s not all. Not only
are these mono mixes “dedicated” mono mixes (not stereo mixdowns),but AT LEAST TWO songs on the album
are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TAKES of the songs. Mono version of ‘European
Son’ is DEFINITELY, POSITIVELY a different take, with Lou Reed’s meandering
guitar lines charting VERY different solos and paths than on the stereo
version. All Tomorrows’ Parties and Run, Run, Run also appears to be different
takes. But whether you revel in the
realism of the sound, the vibrant,life-affirming, crudeness of it, the creative sequencing of the songs or
the different mono takes, one thing is certain. The original MONO version of
this album is a MASSIVELY DIFFERENT listening experience than a more common
stereo. While Bill Levenson and his
crew at Universal Music Group did a wonderful and admirable job of reissuing in
2002 a deluxe CD version of this album (which features both mono and stereo
version of the album), it is a FACT that original, analog mono pressing
rules!!!Digital mono version – as cute
and sexy as it is – simply can’t hold a candle to the original vinyl. ABOUT THE ALBUM: What else can be said of
this album that hasn’t already been said? The album that defi(n)ed the era; the
music that shattered conventions, the production that influenced everyone over
the next four decades, the lyrics that sound fresher today than they did in
1967 and the Andy Warhol artwork that still captures the imagination. This is a
sexy, moody, brilliant and occasionally violent work that would be impossible
to reproduce today, in the age of political correctness gone amok. Most
importantly, THE MUSIC!!!. This is the only album that will make you a honorary
resident of New York City, without you ever having to set foot in it. From the
opening track ("Sunday Morning"), to the last one ("European
son"), Lou Reed, John Cale, Nico and the rest of the crew take you through
the kaleidoscope of emotions, settings, ambients, situations, moods and
rhythms, not all of which are for the faint of heart. The album includes some
of the most beautiful, poetic imagery ever committed to a disc (I’ll be your
mirror; Famme Fatale; Venus in Furs). Whether you are into singers-songwriters,
pre-punk, beatnik poetry, or ‘60’s rock, this is a must-have. The guiding light behind the
album’s artistic vision, and the proverbial ‘red thread’ that runs through it,
it is the depiction of human nature in all its aspects: the good, the bad and
the ugly (mostly the latter). The narrative is in the first or the third
person, often situational (as in “I’m waiting for my man”), focusing on
anxiety, addiction, loneliness, pain, perversion, sex, death, urban cacophony
(no, folks, this is NOT your typical flower-power record), and are interspersed
with quieter (and shorter), introspective songs and moody, lyrical passages.
There is no moralizing involved, no judgmental posturing or sermonizing. Like
all great writers o