I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
- Black Angel's Death Song
After 23 years the sleeping giant has awakened. Actually, it's been 25 years since the original Velvet Underground haunted Lower Manhattan. John Cale left in early 1968 after the Velvets released two of the most influential and alarming albums ever pressed to vinyl. They infused rock 'n' roll, the music of youth, with a dark and introspective vision. Boundaries between pop culture and art, between the personal and the political were forever smashed. Like no one since Bob Dylan, they opened new avenues of action, and perhaps more importantly, of thought. Like Bob Dylan, their influence is so pervasive that any self-respecting rocker denies her or his own roots by not deeply exploring their music.
Ahead of their time. It's not even worth arguing. Your precious "indie/alternative" bands would sell their souls to write "Venus in Furs;" or to stir up the cacophony of "European Son," to create the sickeningly beautiful imagery of "Lady Godiva's Operation," the hard poetic realism of "Heroin" . . . Velvet Underground and Nico and White Light/White Heat would have been case enough, but let's not forget Cale-less albums. Velvet Underground is one of the most beautiful albums ever, and Loaded is a pop masterpiece. I could rant on, but you get the idea.
This summer, for a brief time, they played again. They played beautifully and it is captured with brilliant clarity on Live MCMXCIII. A two-disc (also available as an abridged single CD) spanning the Velvet's career, it was recorded over three nights at the L'Olympia Theater in Paris. In performance, it ranges from half-assed to brilliant. Lou Reed is often half-assed while everyone else is brilliant. The beginning is a perfect example as Lou rattles off a tongue-in-cheek version of "We're Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together," immediately followed by a version of "Venus in Furs" that blows every other bootleg and live version away.
Throughout, it is evident that the band has really come to play. From Sterling Morrison's gorgeous chimy guitar to Lou Reed's powerful solos, they sound like they've been together for all 25 years. As always, Moe Tucker ties is all together, particularly as the band rages on the more loosely structured songs like "Heroin," "Mr. Rain" and "Black Angel's Death Song." Her voice is as sweet and childlike as ever on "After House" and "I'm Sticking With You." And John Cale is the key. It has been very difficult to find any live material with John Cale up to this point and it is now clear what a tragedy that was. His stunning piano and electric viola is essential to the feel of many of the Velvets' early songs, and having a melancholic string section on sad songs like "Pale Blue Eyes" serves to underscore their beauty.
Two major problems: Lou Reed's often pretentious phrasings and the French audience. Sure, I knew that Lou's vocal range had sunk considerably but at least he could have made the most of what remains. Instead, he emphasizes the weakness of his voice by drawing out absurd vocal stylings. It sickens me to listen to him massacre some of these gorgeous songs. At least the other band members seem to care. Even worse is the audience; they fucking clap along to "Heroin."
Lou Reed broke the Velvets up again at the end of summer. By doing so for the second time, he has sinned against rock 'n' roll worse than Athens could ever have sinned against philosophy. So Lou, if you were so tired and weary, why don't you just go back to sleep and let the Velvets go on without you. This album proves that they could do so more that adequately. (Ted Snyderman)