The Velvet Underground & Nico - 1966 NO SUNDAY MORNING TRACK V6-5008 Andy Warhol

	A$		27,500
	$		20,995

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO

Made in USA by Verve Records. Produced by Andy Warhol.

Album artwork by Andy Warhol. 

·          

·         Matrix / Runout (Side A): V6-5008 SiDE 1 M?S-558 

·         Matrix / Runout (Side B): V6-5008 SiDE 2 M?S-559

  See high definition pictures here: https://imgur.com/a/mbcmJ

Torso cover with journalist Emerson superimposed on Lou Reed's face on the back cover.

This is the first pressing of late 1966 that does not include the track "Sunday Morning", which was originally not intended for release. "Sunday Morning" would later appear as a single in December of 1966 to promote the release of the album in March of the following year. Aiming to create a hit for the album, the song was added at the last minute for commercial release. Prominent use of celesta was the idea of John Cale, who noticed the instrument in the studio and impulsively decided to use it for the song.

The band had been active since 1964 as a part of Andy Warhol's "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" as an "experience" moreso than any musical band had been before. Coinciding with most United States albums of the time, the original album concept was to have 10 tracks in total, 5 on Side A and 5 on Side B. As you may know, the famous Sceptor Studio recordings by the band in April 1966 consisted of only 9 songs. There are only 10 tracks found on this release - a pressing made prior the to addition of "Sunday Morning".

The story goes that the band re-recorded the songs a month later after this "Sceptor Studios" session in May 1966. Time passed, and by November the album had still not been released due to production delays. Tom Wilson was not happy with the way the album sounded and asked that a single be written specifically for Nico. Lou Reed refused to let her sing it and took it upon himself to give the best feminine vocals for the song in lieu of Nico. The song was consequently added to the start of the LP six months after all of the other songs.

Over 50 years now since the album was released with the famous Warhol artwork, the music is timeless and still relevant today. It was the first of it's kind written in 1966 - there are very few precedents for this abstract and beautiful music. It was the starting point for all of the genres we love today, (prior to this album there was not much outside of blues, rock/roll, beat rock, etc). Everything from hardcore to elevator music can be brought back to this album as inspiration for so many artists including David Bowie, Brian Eno and Nirvana who all credit The Velvet Underground & Lou Reed as a nurturing influence.

This pressing was also produced by Andy Warhol exclusively, whereas the commercial release was not just his input. The label on the record incorrectly credits Tom Wilson with "Sunday Morning" and it's production, but the track does not actually appear. "Heroin, Venus In Furs, I'm Waiting For The Man and European Son" were re-recorded in LA by Tom Wilson. The mix may be slightly different on this release, but the recordings are those used on the commercial release.

Interestingly, you will also notice that all of the 1967 first USA pressings have "REV" in the matrix of side A but not on side B. This "REV" is to denote a revision in the track listing, (i.e.the addition of Sunday Morning). This copy you are looking at is the original before the revision was made and does not include "REV" on Side 1!

Tracklist

A1

I'm Waiting For The Man

Written-By – Lou Reed

4:37

A2

Femme Fatale

Written-By – Lou Reed

2:35

A3

Venus In Furs

Written-By – Lou Reed

5:07

A4

Run, Run, Run

Written-By – Lou Reed

4:18

A5

All Tomorrow's Parties

Written-By – Lou Reed

5:55

B1

Heroin

Written-By – Lou Reed

7:05

B2

There She Goes Again

Written-By – Lou Reed

2:30

B3

I'll Be Your Mirror

Written-By – Lou Reed

2:01

B4

Black Angel's Death Song

Written-By – John Cale, Lou Reed

3:10

B5

European Son To Delmore Schwartz

Written-By – John Cale, Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker*, Sterling Morrison

7:44

 

Frequently Asked Questions:

• "I have never heard of this LP before - how do i know it's real?" - It is a very rare LP and I did not know it existed either until I accidentally bought it from the USA, thinking it was a regular 1st pressing. I 100% guarantee the LPs authenticity though and will include a signed statement from a well established record store in my city confirming that this is not a bootleg and is definitely a Verve Records pressing from the period. The story of the album's production matches this with delays of roughly 6 months before adding a single. The "REV" etching on side A of all commercial copies also confirms that a revision was made, and that same "REV" is NOT present on this copy.

•  "But I see that Sunday Morning appears on the label and on the tracking listing inside the gatefold, why would they have done that?" - My best guess is that they had not made the album cover before 1967 due to the production delays. It was confirmed that some of the delays were due to the complicated sleeve design, with banana stickers on every sleeve. This may be the original test pressing. After all, have a bit of a look through internet sales and history... notice that you will not find any test pressings in the marketplace EVER for the USA first pressing of this LP?... Interesting. I would argue that this copy was a test pressing, as were others after the revision, and they've just slapped a regular label on the records.  It probably never had a cover and was given to someone on the production team, who simply fitted it out with a commercial release sleeve as shown in the photos. 

• "Your price is clearly a fantasy... good luck!" - Thanks anonymous question asker! I hope you will appreciate though that this is a one of one copy as far as we know, (no copy other than this one has surfaced in over 50 years so I am willing to bet I have the only one). The Velvet Underground & Nico is perhaps the most important album of all time and this specific pressing is a piece of history showing what could have been. The album was originally meant to have only these 10 tracks (in the past I have called it "Lou Reed's Cut" as this was his original album concept before Tom Wilson stepped in). A lot of people say that Andy Warhol did nothing as producer but that is not true. Andy Warhol had a significant role - he didn't interfere and let Lou Reed and the band do what they wanted to do with the songs, (although he did put forward Nico to sing with the group, but who can blame him for that suggestion?). 

..."Warhol's lack of involvement was arguably his greatest gift to the Velvet Underground. "The advantage of having Andy Warhol as a producer was that, because it was Andy Warhol, [engineers] would leave everything in its pure state," Reed reflected in a 1986 episode of The South Bank Show. "They'd say, 'Is that alright, Mr. Warhol?' And he'd say, 'Oh … yeah!' So right at the very beginning we experienced what it was like to be in the studio and record things our way and have essentially total freedom." "                                                                                                                                                                                                                The song was then added by request from Tom Wilson who didn't like the final cut of the album. The master tape shows Sunday Morning pencilled-in before I'm Waiting For The Man. Without Sunday Morning, the album becomes what it was originally meant to be. The track does not sync with the album concept and was clearly an idea added after the album had been written, (6 months after the album was written, to be exact). Taking all of this into consideration, as an incredibly important artifact in the evolution of music and as a first print of an Andy Warhol art piece, I would not want to part with it unless it were for the right price. I am very happy to keep this gem forever if it does not sell, but we all know that if there is only one copy in existence of such an important LP as this, it is going to be worth a lot. If you disagree, I hope you at least enjoyed hearing and learning about the history of this great album.

Condition of Record - VERY GOOD+ with only minimal signs of use. Very clean and plays beautifully as if it was new for the most part. The only thing stopping this LP from being a Near Mint grade are some small audible marks on the last 50% of the track "Venus In Furs" . But all of the other tracks play strong and loud as a Near Mint pressing would. As illustrated in the photos, the record is very clean and has only 5 tracks on Side 1. I have had a number of copies of the album and to find a copy of the regular commercial first pressing in VG condition overall is usually hard to do. This is definitely the cleanest, best copy I have seen, (disregarding how rare this particular pressing is).

Condition of Sleeve - VERY GOOD+ with no significant defects, but minor signs of use. Please note a very small bump towards the top of the spine (see photos of spine). Please also note a cigarette burn to the inside of the gatefold which has mirrored itself onto both sides of the sleeve. Please refer to the photos as the best description of the cover's condition though as a photo tells all.

-Despite all of this, still one of the nicest condition sleeves I have seen of this album. They are hard to find in rough condition due to the white colour and fragile construction. Let alone still having the banana sticker! Almost unheard of! Judge for yourself in the photos, a very clean and presentable copy.

 

 

Please contact me if you have any other questions. I love to chat about the band and I am a massive fan myself. I assume you are too if you're reading this. As a result the asking price is high. I will only part with this album for the right price and I am more than happy to keep it in my collection as a proud artifact, to remember the great artists Andy Warhol, Lou Reed, and the entire band that made this album including Moe Tucker, John Cale, Sterling Morrison  and Nico. This album was an incredibly important part of history for music and art. I hope if anything, reading this has inspired some of you to re-visit the album for another listen.

Thank you.