The Best of the Velvet Underground [Import] [Original recording remastered]

Editorial Reviews
Album Description
Part of the 'Superstar Collection'. Japanese exclusive compilation featuring 15 tracks including live versions of 'Sweet Jane' & 'Rock And Roll'. 2001.

Tracks:

I'm Sticking With You
I'm Waiting For The Man
What Goes On
White Light/White Heat
All Tomorrow's Parties
Pale Blue Eyes
Femme Fatale
Heroin
Here She Comes Now
Stephanie Says
Venus In Furs
Beginning To See The Light
I Heard Her Call My Name
Some Kinda Love
I Can't Stand It
Sunday Morning

Album Description

The definitive collection from one of the most influential bands of all time. Contains all their singles & album highlights. Featuring six tracks from their classic, seminal debut album, 'The Velvet Underground & Nico' (1967). 18 tracks in all packaged in a slipcase. Universal. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Great Album.......2007-03-08

I admit that I bought this CD just for "Heroin" but the whole album is worth listening to and relaxing.

where's Loaded?.......2007-02-07

How could a supposedly comprehensive compilation of VU tracks not contain a single cut from Loaded? Where's "Sweet Jane"? Where's "Rock 'n Roll"? Those songs are just as much a part of VU's legacy as anything from VU & Nico, and it's ludicrous that they aren't represented. Sure, John Cale left prior to Loaded, but that doesn't mean it isn't a part of the band's catalogue. Also, there's an obvious predilection on the part of whoever assembled this CD to negate all the great experimental work the band put out. "European Sun" is arguably as significant a VU & Nico track as "Heroin", and where's "Sister Ray"? Including only "White Light/White Heat" and "Here She Comes Now" makes White Light/White Heat seem like The Velvet Underground and Nico Part II, which it obviously is not. WL/WH should be appreciated for the dark nihilist art piece that it is. Let's have a real VU retrospective, one that better encapsulates the band's monolithic influence on American art. Better yet, let's not have any retrospective at all.

INCREDIBLE Sound !.......2006-06-28

This is THEE best collection of V.U. songs in one " Greatest hits " package I have ever heard ....contains a lot of framiliar classics with a couple deep album tracks as well....BUT the real kicker is the PHENOMENAL sound quality of this disc !!!.....They REALLY did a nice job selecting and re-mastering all the songs.....I am a HUGE fan of V.U. and would have to say that this disc is THEE one to pick up for an ' overview' of their work and the best possible sound quality on the market......you can't go wrong with this disc... worth the money....!

Rock & Roll........2006-05-23

I'm sure some might disagree, but for the new fan this is pretty much Velvet Underground 101. It's easily their best single-disc collection now, and three tracks longer than the older "Best Of". Sure I could pick another song or two to toss on, but it's hard to complain when this gives us "Sweet Jane", "Heroin", "All Tomorrow's Parties", "Femme Fatale", and "Pale Blue Eyes". Regardless of how one might catagorize VU, be it classic rock, early alternative, glam, punk, art-rock, they were one of the first, and I would say best. I'll admit I like some nice artwork too, and "The Very Best Of" also gives you that.

A good selection.......2005-06-27

This 18-track collection features all the "hits" the Velvet Underground ever had. With a full colour booklet, and a very artistic cover, it is pretty evident that this collection had been carefully designed and compiled. Though a little more expensive than other VU compilations, this is definitely worth buying!

Action Packed: The Best Of Jonathan Richman

Average customer rating:

Get to know Jonathan!
Very Good
Of course it ain't perfect but who's counting
Richman offers a solid overview of his years on Rounder
"Jonathan, don't get all excited...but I do!! and I am!!"

Action Packed: The Best Of Jonathan Richman
Jonathan Richman , and Jonathan Richman
Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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I, Jonathan
Roadrunner, Roadrunner: The Beserkley Collection
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Rock 'n' Roll With the Modern Lovers
Back in Your Life

ASIN: B00005Y1ZJ
Release Date: 2002-02-05

Tracks:

Circle I
New Kind Of Neighborhood
Action Packed
Everyday Clothes
Fender Stratocaster
Closer
Reno
Since She Started To Ride
You're Crazy For Taking The Bus
The Neighbors
The Girl Stands Up To Me Now
Cappucino Blues
When I Say Wife
She Doesn't Laugh At My Jokes
Monologue About Bermuda
Parties In The U.S.A.
I Was Dancing At The Lesbian Bar
Una Fuerza Alla (A Higher Power)
The Heart Of Saturday Night
Vampire Girl
City Vs. Country
You Must Ask The Heart

Amazon.com

When the mid-'70s Jonathan Richman traded the "snotty," Velvet Underground-tinged sensibility of the original Modern Loves for a strummed, twangy electric style and an even lighter percussion sound, he didn't give up his convictions. The 22 cuts here, drawn from Rounder releases from the '80s and '90s, are as joyful and unironic as anything cut during those years. He explicitly acknowledges his roots in the innocent '60s on "Parties in the U.S.A.," both lyrically and in its borrowed "Hang On Sloopy" riff, and he reaches back to the Collins Kids' rockabilly nugget for this collection's title track. Richman celebrates urban delights ("I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar," "Cappuccino Bar," "Vampire Girl"), but these tunes find him digging ranches ("Circle I") and island jaunts (an expansion of "Bermuda" includes a pointed jab at the old Lovers' "She Cracked"). Openheartedly, he even cut a whole album in Nashville (well, Springfield, Missouri) style and a long-player in Spanish. Finally, "She Doesn't Laugh at My Jokes" sounds like the product of a much less damaged Brian Wilson circa The Beach Boys Love You. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews:

Get to know Jonathan!.......2007-03-18

When I was a teenager in the mid 70's living in NJ, there was a NY FM station (WNEW) that was just the only one I listened to - one dee jay, the morning man, Dave Herman, used to occasionally play an artist that was out of the mainstream, simple yet with something going on. He turned me onto many of my favorite groups at the time, The Roches, Jonathon Richman, Ramones, T.Heads. In later years he did the "something old, some thing new, borrowed & blue" allowing listeners to program thematically a small 4 song set - I entered several times; in fact, he was invited and read our wedding invitation (1980) on the air...I digress. That was where I first heard one of the tracks off Beserkley Chartbusters, either Government Center or The New Teller (still love that one). Anyway, I went nuts to buy it, instead found original The Modern Lover's album, and it was very different; had JoJo's love of the Velvet Underground all over it, with several added layers of snottiness - when Beserkley Chartbuster's had come out, JoJo must've had already visited Bermuda and was off in his own direction apparently...(listen to THIS album, being reviewed, to better understand). I loved Roadrunner, bought the next JP & ML album (with alternative version of the world famous Roadrunner on it) and started following the band around the tri-state whenever they played. Only thing is that JoJo never played anything from the albums I loved - he was taking off his shirt and crawling around the stage singing that he was "a little dinosaur", or running around like "a little airplane". It was great. Over the years I purchased the vinyl albums, but somewhere around the Egyptian Reggae era, I stalled.
I listen to Yahoo Launch radio and they played (on my station) some JoJo a few weeks ago, the song where he explains his trip to Bermuda's impact on his musical values and leanings, and I was back - back in my old room, headphones plugged in, listening to a stack of albums. So I ordered up several JoJo albums. And now my 8 & 9 year old kids can't get enough either - I cracked out the old vinyl and played them 'Pablo Picasso' (who was so jealous, he "turned the color of an avocado") on their own record player, and they didn't believe it was from the same dude - "that guy who has fun singing but not like a regular singer".
Anyway, my 5 stars are obviously based not just on content, eh? But you owe it to yourself to get to know JoJo, listen with your heart and pretend that life isn't slathered with reality, and come on a fantasy trip, where there are parties somewhere right next door, with potato chips and guys playing guitars, and that you can walk right in and start dancing...and perhaps hopefully end up dancing in a lesbian bar.

Very Good.......2003-03-02

I, at one point, owned all of Jonathan's Rounder material. "I, Jonathan" is a great album; "Jonathan Goes Country" is better than you would ever imagine. But on all of Jonathan's Rounder albums there are some songs I really feel are not needed. "I, Jonathan" and "Jonathan Goes Country" both contain remakes of some of his better late seventies and early eighties cuts for Beserkly and Sire--"Corner Store" and "That Summer Feeling" for example--which pale in comparison to the originals. What this best of collection does, contrary to some of the other reviewers' opinions here, is give you a very good representation of his best material for Rounder. If you really want a good collection of Jonathan, buy this cd, pick up "Jonathan Sings," and "The Beserkley Years: The Best of." I would hope to God that you would already own "The Modern Lovers."

Of course it ain't perfect but who's counting.......2002-12-17

As the liner notes state (which by the way are a great addition to the package) favorite songs are going to be left off.

It seems they went heavier on the Richman albums that aren't as popular and rather skim on the classic discs. Why do we get four cuts from the mediocre "Having A Party" and only two from the his much agreed upon masterpiece "I,Jonathan"? Why four from the OK "You Must Ask the Heart" and only two from the great "Modern Lover's 88".

It's a good disc because simply it's Jonathan and it's a good sampling of a phase of Jonathan's life. Keep in my mind this isn't an introduction to Jonathan's music, just a snapshot of a particular time. This is a good album to have if you can't afford the albums the songs individually came off of. You are missing out on some classics by doing that however (When Harpo played his Harp,That Summer Feeling). I suppose you are getting treated to some classics too (New Kind of Neighborhood,Parties in the USA). My only complaint with this is the complaint I have with all "best of.." collections is that it never is the best of and often times it can be the worst if. (I really think Reno is a terrible song).

Four Stars for the music, Three for the idea.

Richman offers a solid overview of his years on Rounder.......2002-06-07

This 22-track collection could have featured some of Jonathan's forays into instrumentals ("Blue Moon," "Grunion Run") or spoken-word pieces ("1963," "Twilight in Boston"). There, I'm done quibbling... What this disc lacks in variety, it compensates by showcasing Richman's strengths as a songwriter. His songs from this period (1988-95, on the folk-based indie label Rounder) generally revolve around relationships ("You Must Ask the Heart"), music ("Fender Stratocaster"), dancing/partying ("I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar," "Parties in the U.S.A."), rural joys ("Circle I"), urban delights ("Reno"), and the minutiae of daily life ("Everyday Clothes"). The simple rock 'n' roll arrangements place Jonathan's often humorous lyrics front and center. Action Packed is a solid introduction to Richman's post-Modern Lovers career. Fringe Benefit: The liner notes include Jonathan's charming third-person account of his "First Twenty Years in Show Business."

"Jonathan, don't get all excited...but I do!! and I am!!".......2002-05-22

Jonathan writes rock and roll songs. They could have been written in the 1950s or 1960s, but there's also a sense of timelessness about them. Like Ray Davies, Jonathan doesn't write about Big Subjects. He writes about everyday clothes, cappucino bars, love, and occasionally Bermuda or Vampire Girls for fun. And like Ray Davies, his focus on the everyday, combined with his big heart, makes him one of the best rock songwriters ever.

This is a grand collection of the music he did for Rounder Records. Jonathan sharpened his focus and honed his craft during his time on Rounder, and this terrific selection of songs shows that. Most of the music here is Jonathan as a solo artist ("believe me, it's better that way") putting his heart out there, as open as the sky and beautiful as the moon. The material ranges from the rockin' (Parties in the USA, Dancing In The Lesbian Bar, Fender Stratocaster) to 50s-style country (Reno, The Neighbors) to wistful balladry (The Girl Stands Up To Me Now, You Must Ask The Heart). Every song on here is a gem waiting to be discovered.

There's not much any reviewer can say that can match the songs themselves. Jonathan's interviewers and attempted biographers all find a guy who hasn't got much to say about his life or his music. That's because his life is his music, and his music tells you all you need to know about Jonathan. His music is clear and honest and speaks from the heart, and in the final analysis, that's exactly what music is supposed to do. To Jonathan's credit, that's what he's done since the Modern Lovers days, and that's what he says he'll do "until it stops being fun." Let's hope it stays fun for a long, long time.

The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
Average customer rating:

My Favorite Best of CD

You must be serious about your music!

Excellent Primer

good, very good

Here's Where I Started (* * * 1/2)

The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
The Velvet Underground
Manufacturer: Polygram Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Tracks:

I'm Waiting For The Man
Femme Fatale
Run Run Run
Heroin
All Tomorrow's Parties
I'll Be Your Mirror
White Light/White Heat
Stephanie Says
What Goes On
Beginning To The Light
Pale Blue Eyes
I Can't Stand It
Lisa Says
Sweet Jane
Rock And Roll

Customer Reviews:

My Favorite Best of CD.......2006-11-21

I overly love this compilation. I can't think of any other "Best Of" album that I like more. I don't really care for "Best Of" albums, but this one is amazing. Having also purchased the four Velvet Underground albums I feel I can say that this CD does a fine job of putting together a lot of there amazing work. There is a lot from the 1st album on here, but It's for a good reason. There are songs on the 1st album that you cannot ignore. If you have no real exposure to the Velvet Underground, then get this here CD. There are, of course, a lot of good songs that didn't make it, but this is an amazing mix of their stuff. Listening to this will hurl you into the weird heroin soaked world of The VU. They're an addiction you can't quit.

You must be serious about your music!.......2006-08-19

This is an introduction to one of the most important bands of all time. Do not knock its lack of songs b/c its just a sampling. You cannot have a "best of" for this band.

The songs are not immediately enjoyable...rather they grow on you. There is beauty, rock, ugliness, noise etc...welcome to the world of VU!

For every rock fan, this should be a top 10 of Dessert Island Discs. For the unfamilair, if you like this, then your next purchase should be VU live 1969. You will hear jam band/extended/mellow verions of these songs.

This is a band for people that take their music very seriously

Excellent Primer.......2006-06-23

If you don't own the entire VU catalog, then this is essential listening for every fan of popular music of the last 50 years.

I am not one to give out 5 stars blithely. If you are reading this page, then buy this record!

good, very good.......2006-03-23

let's face it, every one of the songs on here is f-ing brilliant... start here, and don't stop

Here's Where I Started (* * * 1/2).......2005-11-28

The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed

Average customer rating:

The Best of the Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed
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Manufacturer: Universal/Polydor
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Release Date: 2006-05-01

Tracks:

I'm Waiting for the Man
Femme Fatale
Run Run Run
Heroin
All Tomorrow's Parties
I'll Be Your Mirror
White Light/White Heat
Stephanie Says
What Goes On
Beginning to See the Light
Pale Blue Eyes
I Can't Stand It
Lisa Says
Sweet Jane
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20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Velvet Underground

Average customer rating:

A budget-price introduction with a few good tunes
Great songs, but whats the point?
A Very Good Collection of some of the Velvets Essentials
Best and biggest
Good band, weak compilation

20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of the Velvet Underground
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Manufacturer: Island / Mercury
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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The Velvet Underground

ASIN: B00004YX3S
Release Date: 2000-10-10

Tracks:

I'm Waiting For The Man
Run, Run, Run
Heroin
White Light/White Heat
Sister Ray
Beginning To See The Light
What Goes On
Pale Blue Eyes
I Can't Stand It
Sweet Jane (Live)
Rock And Roll (Live)

Customer Reviews:

A budget-price introduction with a few good tunes.......2006-09-06

But uh, guys, aren't we missing a few key songs? Sunday Morning? Venus In Furs? Here She Comes Now? Candy Says? What Goes On? Some Kinda Love? After Hours? Studio versions of Sweet Jane and Rock and Roll? Who Loves the Sun? Oh Sweet Nuthin'?
VU only put out four albums, and they're all good ones. Get them instead.

Great songs, but whats the point?.......2005-08-08

Like I stated in the title, the songs are all classics. But why have a greatest hits for the Velvets? Every album of theirs is essential, and every album was unique in its own way. Thats the main flaw of this compilation, because you can't get the feel for the band. If you are a fan of 60s rock, you really should own all the albums instead of a cheap sampler. And if you only want to buy one VU album, pick up "Velvet Underground & Nico". Its about the same price, and will immediatly have you addicted to the band. This is a well compiled sampler, but theres no need for a sample of the Velvets. If you buy it and decide you need to get everything this band has done, you will have no use for it. The Velvets are the ultimate cult and underground band, and the first real "alternative" to the mainstream. This is a poor representation of why they are possibly the greatest rock band ever.

A Very Good Collection of some of the Velvets Essentials.......2005-07-01

well i bought this the other day not knowing what to think since i already had the box set. And at first i was shocked 2 not see any songs with Nico in them, but as i listened more i realized to someone new to the Velvets this is the ESSENTIAL COLLECTION beacause even if u buy the gold cd u get some songs that i wonder how they got on there, so i would highly recommend this to any1 starting out on the velvets or to anyone who wants to have their greatest songs on one cd. and it seems this album doesnt get much positive reviews but i really cant see why since i actually probably like this better than the box set since the box set gets about 45% medicore songs on there and with this u get the best songs on one disc which is great. to greats on this collection like "What Goes on", "beginninng to see the light", "heroine" and much others and i will be the first to admit this could have had some more songs and another thing is i guess they just put the 2 live tracks to give u a taste of thier live shows but to a new person the studio versions would b much more appealing.

Best and biggest.......2005-02-24

Well, at least "Best of the Velvet Underground" has this going for it: It's a good place to start with the Velvet Underground. The legendary rock band is the grandfather of modern indie rock, and for those who are just getting into their music, this is a fairly good way to be introduced.

This compilation includes the top songs from their four studio albums, such as "Heroin," the enchanting "Sweet Jane" (a live version, not the album one), catchy "White Light White Heat," and several more. Generally these are the songs that people think of when they think of the Velvet Underground, and so are fairly obvious choices.

In that area, it does a good job of covering the career of Velvet Underground, from 1967's "Velvet Underground And Nico" to 1970's "Loaded." And unlike most "Best of" compilations, the various songs are presented in more or less chronological order, rather than being jumbled in a sonic heap.

However, there are quite a few omissions -- and boy, are they glaring ones. The sexy "Femme Fatale" and "I'll Be Your Mirror" are among them, as is the poignant ballad "Candy Says." It's hard to know why some of these omissions are present, except that perhaps the people compiling it shrank from including songs about transsexuals and S&M, although a pair of drug-related songs are included.

What is more, there is a distinct lack of Nico from the first few songs -- the German chanteuse's throaty monotone was one of the highlights of the Velvets' debut, yet she's conspicuously absent. And with her go some of the best songs of that debut as well, such as the offbeat, teasing ballad "Femme Fatale."

"Best of the Velvet Underground" is a somewhat deceptive title -- it has some of the best, but skirts the edgier, sexier and Nico-centered songs. It's a beginning point, but it cannot measure up to what came later.

Good band, weak compilation.......2004-06-28

The Velvet Underground. To the brain dead youth of the modern age who wouldn't know good music if it bit them, this name means nothing. But those of us who do know good music know that the Velvet Underground was one of the greatest classic rock acts of all time. Over the years, a ton of Velvet Underground compilations have been released (this is a rare example of a band that has more hits compilations than studio albums!) How does the Twentieth Century Masters collection overview of the Velvets measure up? Read on and find out.

PROS:
-ALL FOUR OF THE CLASSIC STUDIO ALBUMS ARE COVERED HERE. There are tracks from 1967's Velvet Underground And Nico, 1968's White Light/White Heat, 1969's Velvet Underground, and 1970's Loaded. It's a career-spanning collection, and that's what people want.
-MOST OF THE BIG HITS ARE COVERED. I'm Waiting For The Man, Heroin, Sister Ray, and Pale Blue Light are all here for your listening pleasure.
-UNDERRATED MASTERPIECES ARE ALSO PRESENT. The band had many underrated tunes over the years, and Run Run Run is a good example of this.
-GOOD VALUE. For a very low price, you get sixty-five minutes worth of Velvet Underground masterpieces. Not bad at all.
-LIVE MATERIAL IS COVERED: Sweet Jane and Rock And Roll are covered here in live versions. The band was well known for being a good live act, and these tracks demonstrate it well.

CONS:
-WAY TOO MANY MISSING SONGS. Where the hell are Sunday Morning, Venus In Furs, and Candy Says? These are unforgivable omissions. There is not a single track on the album with Nico on vocals from the first album, and that really pisses me off - How could they leave of All Tomorrow's Parties!?
-DOESN'T FILL ALL THE SPACE. This is only about sixty-five minues of music. That means there is fifteen minutes worth of space on here that the record company didn't fill, leaving no excuse for the omissions.
-YOU CAN'T REPRESENT THIS BAND WELL IN A COMPILATION. The Velvet Underground was skilled at creating incredible albums, not catchy hit singles. Likewise, since the band only has four albums, why not just shell out the extra cash and get them instead?