The Velvet Underground - Norman Dolph Acetate (1966)

Quand cet artefact du Velvet Underground est apparu, ça aura été l'affolement chez les amateurs, davantage encore lorsqu'il a été authentifié. J'ai toujours quelques doutes, mais j'avoue que je ne suis pas allé vérifier. Heureusement, comme rien ne se crée, rien ne se perd et tout se transforme, l'objet s'est vite retrouvé diffusé sur le Net ou sur des bootlegs. Et on y entend quoi, au juste? Des versions alternatives du premier album du Velvet Underground, le tout avec une copieuse couche de craquements. Si vous l'aviez loupé à l'époque, c'est à mon tour aujourd'hui de le proposer.

The Velvet Underground
Norman Dolph Acetate
Bootleg LP/CD XTV 122 (Sweden, 1966 - released 2007)

01. European Son [alternate mix]
02. The Black Angel's Death Song [alternate mix]
03. All Tomorrow's Parties [alternate mix]
04. I'll Be Your Mirror [alternate mix]
05. Heroin [alternate take]
06. Femme Fatale [alternate mix]
07. Venus in Furs [alternate take]
08. I'm Waiting for the Man [alternate take]
09. Run Run Run [alternate mix]

Note : This record is an exact copy of the original acetate with different mixes than the original released album.

Bootleg liner notes :
"The Most Influential Debut Album"
Available for the first time, in it's original form.
What you are holding in your hand is what the first Velvet Underground album would have sounded like had it not been rejected by the powers that be.
Andy Warhol's objective was to capitalise on the buzz surrounding the bands debut gigs under the guide of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable shows. A Music - art - freak out - happening. Andy, wanting to keep the band's abrasive sound and seedy subject matter , arranged for a session at a run down New York studio called Scepter Studio's , under the watchful eye of a Mr. Norman Dolph. Payment for the four day recording session in April 1966 was one of Andy's paintings. Which in time would prove very financially rewarding for Mr. Dolph.
The recording cut onto acetate were listened to by Columbia Records and rejected. As was all the great era defining music, check out The Beatles and The Rolling Stones for similar tales of woe. The group would later that year be dispatched to Los Angeles to re-record the bulk of these tunes, 'Heroin', 'Venus in Furs', and 'I'm Waiting for the Man' with another producer Tom Wilson at a studio called TTG. The other tunes would be remixed and a recording of 'Sunday Morning' cut in New York would be added alongside 'There She Goes Again'. The Track Listing changed around to give a more user friendly feel to the album.
Here we present the original album taken from the acetate version with it's original running order. ‘European Son’ opens the album, which is a completely different take than the released version. It has a bluesier structure that builds more gracefully and is several minutes longer. “Black Angel’s Death Song’ is a different mix to the finished tune. ‘All Tomorrow’s Parties’ again is a different mix to the released version. ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’ has a radically different sound that has less echo on Nico’s vocals and the backing vocals are lower in the mix. ‘Heroin’ is a completely different version. The guitar line is different, vocal inflections are different and contain some different lyrics. The drumming is more primitive and runs parallel with a tambourine. ‘Femme Fatale’ is also a radically different mix. The percussion is more prominent and the background vocals used in a peppier way. ‘Venus In Furs’ is a completely different version. The vocal accents are different. Instrumentation more based around John Cale’s violin than the guitar, as in the released version. ‘I’m Waiting For The Man’ is a completely different version. The guitar line is completely different and some of the lyrics also. No drums, just tambourine and a bluesy guitar solo. ‘Run Run Run’ is a different mix to the released version.
What also changes the feel of the Album is the running order. This original version starting with 'European Son' and with the absence of the lighter cut 'Sunday Morning' that opened the released version, gives the album darker feel. Which one is better? that is up to you to decide. But now for the first time since 1966 you can hear the dreamscape that the band and Mr. Andy Warhol had in store for us.
So sit back, peel slowly and listen to this lost masterpiece in all it's unripened? glory........

[old link is in prison, new link later, maybe]