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THIS RECORD COMES FROM OUR PERSONAL COLLECTION
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·
VELVET UNDERGROUND – THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO (THE LEGENDARY
SELF-TITLED FIRST ALBUM, also known as “BANANA COVER”)
·
ORIGINAL
U.S. PRESSING
·
ORIGINAL 1967 VERVE MONO LP V-5008 WITH BANANA STICKER
COMPLETELY, 100% INTACT AND WITH THE SECOND
VERSION OF
THE COVER (THIS IS THE AIRBRUSHED "TORSO" BACK COVER: ACTOR ERIC
EMERSON’S TORSO IS NOT VISIBLE ON THE BACK COVER).
*** STILL SEALED 100%
GUARANTEED ORIGINAL FIRST MONO PRESSING ***
·
THE INFAMOUS PEELABLE BANANA STICKER IS
ABSOLUTELY, PERFECTLY INTACT – UNTOUCHED BY HUMAN HAND IN 42 YEARS.
·
THE SHRINK WRAP OF THE RECORD IS CONSISTENT WITH SHRINK WRAP
USED BY VERVE IN THE MID ‘60s: THIS IS A BRITTLE, CRISPY, NON-STRETCHABLE
SHRINK WRAP WHICH WAS DISCONTINUED AROUND 1967/68.
·
BELIEVED TO BE PRESSED ON THE ORIGINAL BLUE VERVE LABEL WITH SILVER PRINT AND LARGE T-SHAPED VERVE LOGO SUCH AS THE ONE
SHOWN BELOW, FROM OUR PREVIOUS AUCTION (NO OTHER ORIGINAL MONO STOCK PRESSINGS EXIST)
·
PLEASE NOTE: BECAUSE ORIGINAL
STOCK MONO COPIES ARE SO MONUMENTALLY RARE [WITH STOCK MONO COPIES ONLY
SLIGHTLY MORE COMMON THAN THE PROMO COPIES], THE RATIO OF PROMO-vs.-STOCK
PRESSINGS IS REMARKABLY LOW (PROBABLY 1:10 OR SO). IN VIEW OF THIS, THE WINNING BIDDER STANDS A REASONABLY HIGH
CHANCE (PROBABLY ABOUT 10-15% OR SO) OF FINDING A YELLOW (OR EVEN WHITE!) LABEL
PROMO INSIDE. HOWEVER, THE BIDDERS SHOULD NOT BASE THEIR DECISION TO BID
OR NOT SOLELY ON THE MERITS OF STATISTICS, OR ON HOPE THAT THEY MIGHT FIND
PROMO LABEL INSIDE. THE BIDDERS SHOULD ALSO NOTE THAT, UNLIKE OTHER VERVE
TITLES, MOST YELLOW LABEL PROMO OF THIS ALBUM DID NOT HAVE A CUSTOMARY
BLACK-AND-RED “DJ COPY” PROMO LABEL AND IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO ASCERTAIN WHETHER A
SEALED ALBUM CONTAINS PROMO OR STOCK PRESSING.
·
THIS IS THE ORIGINAL
FACTORY-SEALED ALBUM. THIS IS NOT
A RESEALED ALBUM OR AN ALBUM RETURNED TO
THE RETAILER, THEN RESEALED AND RESOLD. THIS IS 100% GUARANTEED STILL SEALED
FACTORY-SEALED ORIGINAL!!! CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY WILL BE PROVIDED AT
REQUEST. PLEASE BID IN CONFIDENCE!
·
THE THICKNESS OF THE
VINYL, THE APPEARANCE AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE COVER, LABEL’S LOGO AND OTHER
PERIPHERAL ELEMENTS OF THE COVER, ARE ALL PERFECTLY CONSISTENT WITH THE
ORIGINAL, FIRST PRESSING OF THIS TITLE.
·
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)
·
FOUR “BREATHE” (AIR)
HOLES NOTED ON THE SHRINK WRAP (TWO ON EACH SIDE)
·
THICK, HEAVY VINYL
PRESSING
(►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. We also claim that the copy we have hear is one of two or three rarest
albums that will EVER be offered on eBay.
In the entire history of
eBay, still sealed original MONO
pressing of this album – we were told, and our own research bears this out –
has been offered only ONCE before. If correct, this would mean that a
still sealed ORIGINAL MONO copy of this album is offered on collectors’ market
about once every ten years or so – less often, mind you, than an
undiscovered Brancusi sculpture or Da Vinci drawing. Unless you are willing to
wait another 10 years to see another copy, our message is very simple: BID NOW. DON’T WAIT. THIS MAY BE THE LAST COPY YOU WILL EVER
SEE.
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
their contemporaries’ and rivals’
alike, influenced some artists (and alienated the others) and then retired into
a comfortable niche of the “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 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 the 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 1913 Girls of Avignon, or Stravinsky’s Rites of Spring (also
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 years 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 a lot 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 crunchy guitars, throbbing bass lines, Cale’s
industrial-strength piano chomps, 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
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 which 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 of the past, Lou Reed leaves that role to the listener.
The naturalistic, ultra-realistic, at times
near-savage depictions of desires, cravings, infliction of pain (on self as
well as others), scenes of bodily decay and psycho-physical deprivation and
dislocation leave listener wanting to do something, but what? Lou Reed’s
morally neutral position as a narrator-in-chief and his status as passive
observer does not help the listener or provide any guidance. One is never quite
sure whether Lou Reed is a cynical observer, a critic, an antagonist, a chief
protagonist, or perhaps all of the above.
The narrator’s intent is about as inscrutable as that mysterious banana
on the cover. You will read into this
album whatever you want to. The medium is NOT the message here; the LISTENER
is.
The effect on the listener is eerily
disquieting. The songs – at first listen – have the feel of Emile Zola’s novel
(only transplanted to New York), roman à clef, or perhaps a film noir. In any
event, the “French Connection” (the palpable influence of the French
modernists, symbolists and naturalists) is more than evident, from the album’s
first verse to its final fade. In many ways, this is the single most “European”
album ever created in the United States, although with a distinctly New York
flair, flavor and aroma (or stench, depending on one’s perspective).
The secret behind the
album’s highly successful and influential formula appears to rest not so much
in musicianship or in crafty songwriting, as in its tricky, creative, almost
seductive track sequencing. The tracks flow and segue from each other naturally
and organically, although in some unpredictable and schizophrenic fashion, like
a bunch of seemingly unrelated, disconnected vignettes. The sudden changes in
song textures and moods, and unexpected
tempo shifts, create a schizo-like,
stop-and-go pattern, a tension-and-release adrenaline rush that never
ends. The listener is constantly being
kick-started into a new mindset, a new vignette, a new emotional context.
Oddly enough, despite all
the focusing on negative sides of the human psyche, the album is never
pessimistic or depressive. The contrasting moments of quiet beauty, joy and
exuberance, as in “I’ll be your mirror”, “Femme Fatale” or “Sunday Morning”
(which could easily be confused for Peter, Paul and Mary tune, perhaps as an
unintentional parody) are more than enough to compensate for its overwhelming
darkness. This is one perfect example
of consonance and dissonance resting side-by-side, feeding off of each other
and thriving on each other in a perfect yin-and-yang unison.
We can only speculate that
the album very accurately and in graphic detail reflects the life of a typical
New York counterculture artist at the dawn of the psychedelic era, circa 1966.
It is nothing short of amazing how relevant and alive this music still is.
Nothing seems to have change since 1966, except the world climate.
ABOUT THE COVER:
Then, there is the classic
Warhol cover artwork: The mind-teasing cover is a sort of a Rorschach test:
what exactly is this pink banana? Um… Andy, what was on (in?) your mind…?
Warhol’s incredible peelable
“Banana” cover (yeah, some banana it is – until, that is, you peel it off and
discover that – ahem! – it is not quite edible, and not really a banana,
either) is a genuine Classic in true sense of the word, one of the most iconic
representations of Warhol’s subversive, decadent mind at work, and easily one
of most easily recognized works of 20th century Pop-Art. The copy we
have here is so beautiful and so perfect, that we doubt that it looked any
better even on the day it left Warhol’s studio (or the pressing plant). This
beautiful album could easily be displayed as a
work of art in its own right.
To put things in
perspective, the year 1966/67 was a big year for corporate cover censors: mind
you, in less than a year, the Mamas and the Papas had to endure humiliating
censorship of their “Toilet Seat” cover,
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons survived no less than three
encounters with the artwork police (on their “Four Seasons sing Bacharach-David
and Dylan” album), Jefferson Airplane’s first album*
was altered in both content and form (cover had to be changed, too), Frank
Zappa’s first album (Freak Out) had a hippie hot-spot “blurb” excised from the
cover*; Bob Dylan (presumably on his own
volition?) changed the layout on his “Blonde on Blonde” album*, deleting the image of Claudia Cardinale; the Fugs’
first album underwent no less than 4 (four !!!) alterations (their follow-up,
the Fugs’ Second Album*, “only” had three
versions), the cover of the Monkees’ first album*
had to be changed because of misperceived “transsexual” reference, Buffalo
Springfield’s first album* had to have a song
deleted from BOTH record AND the cover; Simon and Garfunkel’s second album (The
Sounds of Silence*) underwent no less than three
cover revisions; and even the mighty Beatles had to endure humiliating
retraction of the “Butcher” cover (on
their ‘Yesterday and Today’ album*). In other
words, corporate censors and self-censors were out in full force back in 1966.
( * = please see
our other featured auctions for the copies of these rare albums)
ABOUT THE ARTISTS WHO
INFLUENCED THIS ALBUM:
It is abundantly clear that
the works of French expressionists, esoteric symbolists and naturalists of the
19th century (and dadaists of the 20th), informed this
album in a major way -- and in more ways than one. The album’s deceptive focus on negativism and occasional
morbidity (check out Black Angel’s Death Song, for example) can help us trace
origins of its stylistic spirit to a great Charles Baudelaire; the album’s
subversion and decadence are directly attributable to Paul Verlaine; the bits
of savage naturalism and organic decay are telltale signs of the impact of Zola
and Flaubert (who may well have penned Venus in Furs himself), the
deconstructionist mindset of Lou Reed can probably be credited to Cezanne and
Braque, and so on and so forth. Whether the European influences are the result
of the group’s two European “imports” (Cale and Nico) or are genuinely Lou
Reed’s own, we dare not speculate. Perhaps both.
The impact of French
Dadaists is more complex and tenuous, and almost certainly coming from John
Cale rather than Lou Reed. Cale made numerous references to Dada in his solo
work (check out his 1973 ‘Paris 1919’ album, whose very title evokes certain
dadaist connotations and connections).
Another European source of
influence must have been the dark - and distinctly European - art film. It
seems to me that Lou Reed (more likely it was Warhol, though) was weaned on
Bergman, Polanski, Malle and Antonioni to such an extent that it was inevitable
the album would overflow with intense psychological tension that would make a
typical Anton Chekhov drama feel positively listless and subdued.
But this is only one side of
the affair. The album is a work of American artists first and foremost, created
in American milieu, and its American credentials and bloodlines are thick as
mud. Its zen-like, haiku-styled verses and beatnik romanticism show direct
influx of the preceding generation of Beat Poets and artists: That Allen
Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac were among Lou Reed’s formative influences goes
without saying: it is a foregone conclusion.
Then, there are oddities:
‘There she goes again’ is a note-for-note carbon copy of Marvin Gaye’s ‘Pride
and Joy’ from 1963 (bordering on – gasp! – plagiarism), a small morsel of
inspiration passed on to Lou Reed directly from the world of Rhythm and Blues
(the R&B connection is clearly detectable on some of the tracks, notably on
‘Waiting for my man’ but is greatly lost elsewhere). Was Lou Reed listening to
the Blues?!?! You bet your sweet derierre he was. Listen closely enough, and
you will find bits and pieces (and sometimes even truck-sized boulders) of
Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and Slim Harpo, all neatly buried in the mounds of
garage noise and electric cacophony piling up in the foreground.
The Fugs’ in-your-face
antagonism and unabashed anarchism, social (and personal) deviance and
incestuous subversion must have made quite a seismic impact on Lou Reed. Mind
you, by the time Velvets’ first album came out, the Fugs already had two albums
under their belt and were considered a revolutionary avant-garde in their own
city, a massive influence on just about every garage band to follow in their
footsteps. Fugs and Velvets share one important common denominator: both were
Lower East Side-based and gigged extensively in the East Village area.
Then there is a foreboding
shadow of Bob Dylan, hovering above the album’s characters and verses like a
ghost of Hamlet’s father. From
double-entendres to surreal word play to deadpan delivery, the album has
“Dylan” sprayed all over it. But this Dylan is not so much playful as he is
dark, menacing and cryptic. This Dylan is more like a Golem from some Jewish
ghetto than a playful, punning modster who gave us “Rainy Day Women” and
“Subterranean Homesick Blues”. Bob Dylan and Velvets shared one very important
common denominator: both Dylan’s Highway 61 Revisited, released in 1965, and
this album (Velvet Underground and Nico) shared the same producer: Tom Wilson.
Tom Wilson was also a common denominator between the Velvets and their “evil
twins” from the West Coast: Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention (Tom Wilson
produced the Mother’s first album, Freak Out).
Speaking of Dylan, there is
no doubt in my mind that there is another kindred spirit haunting the grooves
of this album about as much as Dylan: that of Lenny Bruce (who toured with
Zappa & the Mothers around the time Velvets began recording this album).
Bruce, who died later that year (August 1966) was probably more of an influence
on Lou Reed than all of the above combined. His relentless, corrosive verbal
assault on petty burgoisie and petty minds permeates this album from start to
finish. If he’d heard the Velvets album from some comedy clubhouse in the sky,
he must have laughed his a** off (sorry, Lenny, eBay forbids expletives; we are
still being forced to self-censor, even today, 40 years after your death. Today
it is called “community standards” (yikes!).
Finally, there is also a
minor possibility – we remain open-minded on this one - that Lou Reed was
listening to classic Jazz vocalists of the bygone era and was greatly touched
by some of them. If you listen to his vocal delivery more closely, you will
find mannerisms of Billie Holiday, raspy playfulness of Louis Armstrong,
whispery quality of Peggy Lee, occasional traces of wistful melancholy of Helen
Merrill and thinly veiled sexual undertones of Dinah Washington. In all, the
Velvet Underground’s first album is a microcosm, an organic soup of diverse,
sometimes incongruent, but always eclectic, influences that shaped the lives
and the musical tastes of its founding members.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS WHO WERE
INFLUENCED BY VELVET UNDEGROUND:
This is the album for all
people, and all seasons, and one of the very few "Rock" albums that
not only aged with dignity, but actually improved with age. If you wish
to know just how much meaningful this music was to the artists who followed in
Velvets’ footsteps, just ask Jonathan Richman who, by his own admission,
attended every single one of the band’s East Coast concerts between 1969 and
1971 (some 70 or so concerts, in all).
What is particularly
impressive is that this album inspired not only one artist and not only
one Rock offshoot, but many different and diverse schools of Rock over the next
four decades. From Glamrock of the New York Dolls and David Bowie, to
in-your-face assault of The Stooges, to the glue-sniffing riffs of the Ramones,
to the urban romanticism of Television, to the soul-tearing psychic agony of
Joy Division, to buzz-saw torrents of punk noise of the Clash and Sex Pistols,
to the politically activist rock of The Gang of Four, to gothic noise of Sonic
Youth, to disgruntled grunge of Nirvana, and beyond -- on to the repetitive industrial rhythms of Techno
and Electronica, the spirit of the Velvet Undergroud is alive and well. Perhaps more now than it has ever been. Even
the lateral branches of the gigantic Rock Tree were touched and inspired by the
urban lyricism of the Velvets’ first album. Listen closely and you will find
traces of Lou Reed in vaudevillian surrealism of Tom Waits, in the sparse,
austere sound of the Cowboy Junkies, in the gothic quality of Marianne
Faithfull’s live appearances and just about everything and everyone in between.
In closing: does the first
paragraph of this essay, which claims that:
“… THIS is the single most important
album in Rock history and the single most influential Rock session of the 20th
Century” now make a little more sense?
If it does NOT,
you should NOT bid on this album.
If it DOES,
you SHOULD.
***
For its extraordinary
contribution to the contemporary music, superb production, craftsmanship, fine
musicianship, revolutionary significance and influence it exerted on numerous
generations of musicians, songwriters and general public, or for some other
inherent quality, this album was voted one of top-200 albums of all time in one
of the largest poll of critics, music reviewers, show business professionals
and producers ever organized: the poll, which was conducted by Paul Gambaccini,
the legendary BBC Radio A&R man, surveyed more than 50 top music
professionals (including Roy Carr, Jonathan Cott, Robert Christgau, Cameron
Crowe, Chet Flippo, Ben Fong-Torres, Charlie Gillett, Greil Marcus, Murray the
K., Lenny Kaye, Bruce Morrow (a/k/a "Cousin Brucie"), Tim Rice , Lisa
Robinson, Robert Shelton, Ed Ward, Joel Whitburn, Pete Wingfield, etc.). For
more details, see: "Critics Choice: Top-200 albums" , Omnibus Press,
Library of Congress Catalog No.7855565 (or ► click here for the complete album listing)
Reflecting the historical
importance of this album, as well as its popular and critical acclaim, The
Rolling Stones Magazine selected this album as on of the top-200 Rock albums of
all time in their recent global poll. (►click
here for more details).
TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY VELVET UNDERGROUND ► CLICK
HERE
TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY LOU REED ► CLICK
HERE
TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY JOHN CALE ► CLICK
HERE
TO SEE IF WE HAVE OTHER LISTED ITEMS BY NICO► CLICK
HERE
THIS IS A RESERVE
AUCTION!
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
·
CONDITION:
·
RECORD
(IMPORTANT NOTE:
unless otherwise noted, ALL records are graded visually, and NOT play-graded!;
we grade records under the strong,
diffuse room light or discrete sunlight)
(a)
THE ALBUM IS STILL FACTORY SEALED
AND IS BELIEVED TO BE PERFECTLY MINT. Please note: sealed items are assumed to
be mint and are sold as-is, as we have no way of inspecting them. For our
policy on still sealed records ►click here (PLEASE
READ BEFORE PLACING A BID)
(b)
The record is believed to come in its original stock inner sleeve, SUCH
AS THE ONE SHOWN BELOW, FROM OUR PREVIOUS AUCTION
(c)
Mono pressing of this title is much rarer, and by far more preferable to its stereo counterpart. We
think that the mix is more natural, humane, "organic" and that the
mixes are somewhat different than on the stereo version. We estimate that
stereo copies of this album outnumber mono pressings by a ratio of at least
15:1.
(d)
The record is apparently pressed on a beautiful, thick, inflexible
vinyl, which was usually used for the first or very early pressings. Usually,
the sound on such thick vinyl pressings is full-bodied, vivid, and even
dramatic. Do not expect to obtain such a majestic analog sound from a digital
recording!
(e)
Of course, this is a full-bodied ANALOG recording, and not an inferior,
digital recording!!!
·
COVER
COVER IS STRONG NEAR MINT, STILL SEALED AND COVERED IN ITS ORIGINAL ►SHRINK
WRAP
The following flaws or
imperfections are noted on the cover:
-
Cover has a small, neat, circular cutout hole in one of the
corners
-
Cover shows JUST A HINT of yellowing on both sides,
apparently from aging.
-
Cover has a light "wrinkle" (crease) in one of the corners.
-
The cover has a distinct X-shaped, pressure-type cutout
stamp. This type of cutout marking was used exclusively by MGM and Verve labels
and was more discreet and sensitive than the other types of marking (such as
cutout holes or drill marks), as it did not require the cover to be damaged.
NO OTHER IMPERFECTIONS
ON THE COVER:
-
No split seams
-
No ring wear
-
No cut-out corners
-
No saw-marks or indents
-
No dirt/dust rubbing stains (friction marks caused by rubbing against
other covers)
-
No writing
-
No tearing: no chips, dents or nicks on the seams
-
No peel-off marks
-
No stains
-
No mold or mildew spots
-
No stickers or labels
-
No water damage
-
No razor marks, scratches, pressure marks, lines, streaks, or cuts.
-
No warping
-
No wax, glue, paint or liquid drops on the cover
-
No bar codes
-
No RIAA stamps or stickers.
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
POSTAGE &
SHIPPING:
We offer two postage rates
for both Domestic and International Mail: Media Mail and Priority Mail for
domestic, and First Class and Priority International Mail for international
orders. INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMERS PLEASE NOTE: you should select priority mail
when making a payment, in order to prevent any lost, stolen, damaged or
undelivered orders and to obtain tracking info, which is NOT available
for First Class International shipments.
INTERNATIONAL POSTAGE- and insurance rates vary
from country to country. For SPECIFIC international and
domestic postage and insurance rates ►click
here. While you can be rest assured that our packaging is careful, sturdy
and impact-proof, please note we are
NOT responsible for uninsured items.
WANT A
DISCOUNT ?!?
IT’S
EASY: CLICK ►HERE TO see HOW!
(please
note recent changes in our policy)
FOR OTHER IMPORTANT INFORMATION, CLICK ON THE LINKS
BELOW:
►OUR VOLUME DISCOUNTS AND
POSTAGE REBATES ►OUR GRADING POLICY ►ITEMS WE DO NOT
GRADE ►HOW
TO ACKNOWLEDGE WINNING BID OR RESOLVE A DISPUTE ►OUR PAYPAL
“CHARGEBACK” POLICY ►ACCEPTABLE PAYMENT
METHODS ►OUR REFUND POLICY ►POSTAGE
AND INSURANCE RATES ►PAYMENT
DEADLINES ►FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
(FAQ)
♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫♪♫
OUR REFUND POLICY :
Cash refund will be granted only for DEFECTIVE items, but we are flexible and reasonable in
reviewing the merits of each individual case. We do NOT play-grade
records and can only make reasonable judgment
on the item's condition based on its visual appearance. Every bid
carries a risk that purchased item might play worse than its visual grade may
indicate. Still sealed items MUST be returned sealed in order to be
eligible for a refund. Please read our complete refund policy before
placing a bid. ►Click here for the full text of our policy .
© 2001,2007
MDJ. All rights reserved.
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