SHAKE YA ACETATE! WATCH YO’SELF!
So I finally downloaded that rare Velvet Underground acetate of demos recorded by former Columbia Records ad exec Norman Dolph that was purchased at a yard sale in Chelsea for 75 cents, but wound up going for upwards of $40,000 on eBay. Thanks once again to former IRT art director Jesse Smith for the link to that jawn!
Sonically, the tracks are a little rough. A couple of the cuts, particularly “European Son”, have some rough patches from poor treatment of the vinyl grooves over the years, but nevertheless sound revelatory. Nine cuts in all, what you have here is a completely unheard take of The Velvet Underground and Nico, cut in one day at Scepter Studio on Chelsea St. in April of 1966 and pressed after hours at Columbia by Dolph.
The best stuff on here includes a wicked alternate take of “Waiting For The Man”, as Lou Reed’s lyrics documenting his routine trips up to Lexington and 1-2-5 to cop resonate clearer and more resoundingly than ever. “Venus In Furs” is killer as well, accentuating the morphine soul walk of the late, great Sterling Morrison’s bass guitar.
The Nico-sung stuff is cool and all, but I was never the biggest fan of her stuff, sorry hipsters, although there will always be a soft spot in my heart for “Femme Fatale”.
If you wanna hear the tracks, just type in Velvet Underground and Dolph on your little Google search engine there, and they are all over the net. -Ed.
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