Live With Lou Reed Vol.1 [Live]

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Originally a two-record set, this live recording has been split and released as separate albums, volume 1 and volume 2. No matter, it's an essential document of one of the finest and most innovative rock bands of all time. 1969: Live catches the band at a juncture in their career, still reeling from the departure of John Cale and settling into the addition of multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule, who would help the band find their rocking heart. Thank god that Maureen Tucker was still around--her inspired, primal drumming makes this recording such a delight. Her quiet thumping on "Lisa Says" is understated and touching, and her timpanic, thunderous rolls on "New Age" are nothing short of awesome. Lou Reed is particularly loose and chatty, more comfortable with his voice as he stretches to hit some tender passages. And the version of "Rock and Roll" here is perhaps the finest of all it's many versions, epic in scope and focused in intensity. --Tod Nelson --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Live With Lou Reed Vol.1
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Postcolonial flashback

Late Velvet Underground live

Better live than in the studio

If your Looking for a "Live" performance of the The Velvet Underground....

it made me forget I hate texas.

Live With Lou Reed Vol.1
Velvet Underground
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Amazon.com

Originally a two-record set, this live recording has been split and released as separate albums, volume 1 and volume 2. No matter, it's an essential document of one of the finest and most innovative rock bands of all time. 1969: Live catches the band at a juncture in their career, still reeling from the departure of John Cale and settling into the addition of multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule, who would help the band find their rocking heart. Thank god that Maureen Tucker was still around--her inspired, primal drumming makes this recording such a delight. Her quiet thumping on "Lisa Says" is understated and touching, and her timpanic, thunderous rolls on "New Age" are nothing short of awesome. Lou Reed is particularly loose and chatty, more comfortable with his voice as he stretches to hit some tender passages. And the version of "Rock and Roll" here is perhaps the finest of all it's many versions, epic in scope and focused in intensity. --Tod Nelson

Customer Reviews:

Postcolonial flashback.......2006-11-05

Born in India in 1976, I heard this group in 2006 after graduating from an art school in the US, the way I could associate with these voices only confirms time-space-less-ness of good music at large!

Late Velvet Underground live.......2006-11-03

This disc is consistently good. It reflects the late Velvet Underground which is indisputably Lou Reed's band. I can't imagine why they ever tried to make a studio record after Lou Reed left, but apparently they did.

Each of the four Velvet Underground studio albums is a very different experience. Although this live disc pulls material from all four albums, it is played through a post-Loaded prism which is usually more straightforward rock-oriented. They play rock as well as anyone, but I still think the dynamic between John Cale and Lou Reed was what gave their early work such a special quality.

That said, a lot of these songs are played to the point where monotony becomes positively trance-inducing, and with a casual, absolute conviction that you won't find many places.

Better live than in the studio.......2006-10-08

These two discs rank right up there with the Heartbreakers' "Live at Max's Kansas City" as some of the best live music ever recorded. The band is loose, John Cale is gone, and the VU sound comfortable being a rock and roll band. The flawed sound just makes it all the more poignant. I agree that some of these versions are better than the originals. One difference from the original LP is the version of "Heroin". The original is on volume 2. I still like the one on volume 2 better, but this one is different enough to be interesting, a little more urgent. These might be the albums I'd take on a desert island.

If your Looking for a "Live" performance of the The Velvet Underground...........2006-09-08

Apparently, the story goes, that one of "Maureen Tucker's" (Velvet's Drummer), biggest regrets, in her tenure with the band, was that there is a distinct lack of quality `Live' performances of the band. And a quick peruse through the bands discography points to this being the case, with only a small handful of releases available and most largely lacking a suitably reprehensive documentation, of the band at a key point in their existence, as one of the most progressive and influential Proto-Punk, Experimental-Rock, and druggy Rock & Roll acts to ever take to the stage. And so, this is...far and away, the best `Live' Document of the bands performances, with each member giving the songs here a grittier and more dramatic/ aggressive feel. Arguably what this means is that the tracks that most will only be familiar with via the studio albums, will be surprised at how different some of these slightly re-jigged `Live' performances are. Whether it's the hypnotically slow and detached drone of "Sweet Jane", or the beautifully dramatic ebb and flow of "What Goes on", lend each of these songs seem to have a more sleazy and precarious edge, that although the studio versions were certainly not lacking in, these versions feel more visceral, and truly representative of the band. Lou Reed, in particular...growls/sneers/scowls...throughout the more up-tempo numbers, and maintains a sombre/bittersweet/poignant tone whenever the songs necessitate are slow ballad-style. With his guitar work throughout being particularly impressive. But this isn't to take anything away from the rest of the band, whom give as committed a performance as Reed. With Sterling Morrison guitar work, chiming perfectly with Reed's to make for a truly thrilling rhythm section , and Doug Yule's contributions on bass, just about holding the whole thing together, like some dangerously out of control vehicle, with the wheels about to fall off.

But the band remain at their most impressive when working through the material that allows them to truly tear things up, and so on tracks like "Heroin", "I'm Waiting for the Man" & "Rock & Roll" get fierce and intense reworkings that differ slightly from the studio versions by being noticeably rawer, passionate and nihilistic...with the sense of hostility towards the audience, the listeners at home....Hell, virtually everyone!!??, and it's one of the key reasons, that so brilliantly illustrates why keen fans of bands / aficionados , are generally curious to check out `Live' performances of their favourite acts, just to hear that intensity that sometimes doesn't transfer as well on studio albums, as they do on `Live' recordings. And although The Velvet Underground were more widely known for being such a groundbreaking acts that although selling minor amounts of records by todays standards, went on to influence virtually any wannabe drug-f***ed guitar band, with a penchant for decedent lyrics. But this `Live' performance disk (as well as Volume 2), illustrates that the Velvet's were as staggering `Live' as they were in the Studio. This is almost certainly a release that is of no use to the casual fan, the Studio albums (or a compilation) with satisfy those with only a passing interest in the band. But for the keen fan, this is by far the best recorded document of the band `Live' output, and therefore remains an essential purchase.

it made me forget I hate texas........2005-06-17

Great album, "Waiting for my man" and "Lisa Says" are my favorite songs on this but "Heroin and "Rock n' Roll" are pretty close, all the songs are classics and played perfectly. I think my favorite thing about this is the beggining when they talk about the cowboys/eagles game.

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