Final V.U. 1971–1973

Infobox Album |
Name = Final V.U. 1971-1973
Type = Live album |Longtype= box set
Artist = The Velvet Underground


Cover size = 101
Released = August 2001
Recorded = 1971–1973 in England, The Netherlands, Wales and Massachusetts
Genre = Rock and roll
Length =
Label = Captain Trip Records
Producer = The Velvet Underground
Reviews =
*Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:tvhe4jn75wai link] |
Last album = ""
(2001)
This album = "Final V.U. 1971-1973"
(2001)
Next album = ""
(2001)

"Final V.U. 1971-1973" is a box set by The Velvet Underground, comprised of live recordings from after founder and primary songwriter Lou Reed had left the group. It was released by Japanese record company Captain Trip Records in August 2001.

About the album

After singer, guitarist and main songwriter Lou Reed quit The Velvet Underground in August 1970, the band carried on: Doug Yule assumed leadership of the band and moved to lead vocals and guitar, and Walter Powers joined to play bass guitar. This version of The Velvet Underground, which still featured original member Sterling Morrison and longtime drummer Maureen Tucker, played around 30 dates to promote the band's fourth and latest album, "Loaded" (1970).

Almost a year after Reed's departure, Morrison also left the band; he was replaced by Boston-based keyboardist Willie Alexander. The band now contained no founding members (although Tucker had been a member since before recording of the Velvets' debut album). The band then went to tour the United Kingdom and The Netherlands, still in support of "Loaded", which had had a March 1971 release date in Europe. Two dates of this tour, November 5 1971 in London and November 19 in Amsterdam, were recorded by members of the audience, and appear as discs 1 and 2 of this set, respectively. The Amsterdam concert was also recorded from the soundboard by Dutch radio station VPRO and subsequently broadcast on FM radio. A few tracks from this broadcast were recorded by a fan and appear as tracks 11-14 on disc 4 of this set.

Once the European tour was completed, initial plans were for the Yule/Alexander/Powers/Tucker line-up to record a new studio album. However, band manager Steve Sesnick sent Alexander, Powers and Tucker home (presumably to retain maximum control over the record), and Yule recorded the album "Squeeze" backed by session musicians.

Sesnick then assembled a backing band around Yule to once again tour the United Kingdom in support of "Squeeze". Shortly before the tour started, however, Sesnick quit as their manager. Yule and band struggled through the dates, then called it quits. One date of this tour, December 6 1972, at St David's College, Lampeter, was recorded by an audience member and appears as disc 3 of this set.

In the spring of 1973 at the urging of a tour manager, Yule and some friends toured New England with a new group, which included some Velvet Underground material in their set lists. The tour manager insisted on billing the band as being The Velvet Underground despite demands from Yule not to do so. Yule fired the manager after three dates and the tour dissolved shortly thereafter. One date from this tour, May 27 1973 in Boston, was recorded by an audience member and appears as disc 4 of this set.

Is it or isn't it the Velvet Underground?

When discs 1, 2 and 3 were recorded, Sesnick and Yule held legal rights to the name "The Velvet Underground," and the band on disc four was improperly promoted as the Velvet Underground. However, the departure of Reed complicates consideration of this the "Final V.U." recordings in the canonical Velvet Underground discographies.

The band playing on discs 1 and 2, however, is a direct continuation, albeit with personnel changes, of the band that played New York City in 1970. By disc 3, everybody except Doug Yule had gone and a backing band now accompanied him. Technically these recordings qualify as The Velvet Underground, but their music bore little resemblance to the band's 1965–1970 lineups.

Most fans consider the band playing on discs 1 and 2 to be a legitimate continuation of the band, drawing the line at the point where Alexander, Powers and Tucker were sent home. Presumably to avoid legal issues using the band name, the box set is officially credited not to The Velvet Underground but to the nine individuals appearing on it.

Track listing

All songs written by Lou Reed except as noted.

Disc one

# "Chapel of Love" (Barry, Greenwich, Spector)
# "I'm Waiting for the Man"
# "Spare Change" (Alexander)
# "Some Kinda Love — Turn On Your Love Light" (Reed — Malone, Scott)
# "White Light/White Heat"
# "Pretty Tree Climber" (Alexander)
# "Rock and Roll"
# "Back on the Farm" (Alexander)
# "Dopey Joe" (Yule)
# "Sister Ray — Never Going Back to Georgia" (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker – Alexander)
# "After Hours"

Disc two

# "I'm Waiting for the Man"
# "Spare Change" (Alexander)
# "Some Kinda Love"
# "White Light/White Heat"
# "Pretty Tree Climber" (Alexander)
# "What Goes On"
# "Cool It Down"
# "Back on the Farm" (Alexander)
# "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'"
# "Sister Ray — Never Going Back to Georgia" (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker — Alexander)
# "After Hours"
# "Dopey Joe" (Yule)
# "Rock and Roll"

Disc three

# "I'm Waiting for the Man"
# "White Light/White Heat"
# "Some Kinda Love"
# "Little Jack" (Yule)
# "Sweet Jane"
# "Mean Old Man" (Yule)
# "Run Run Run"
# "Caroline" (Yule)
# "Dopey Joe" (Yule)
# "What Goes On"
# "Sister Ray — Train Round the Bend" (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker — Reed)
# "Rock and Roll"
# "I'm Waiting for the Man"

Disc four

# "I'm Waiting for the Man"
# "Little Jack" (Yule)
# "White Light/White Heat"
# "Caroline" (Yule)
# "Sweet Jane"
# "Mean Old Man" (Yule)
# "Who's That Man" (Yule)
# "Let It Shine" (Yule)
# "Mama's Little Girl" (Yule)
# "Train Round the Bend" "(fragment)"
# "White Light/White Heat"
# "What Goes On"
# "Cool It Down"
# "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'"

Personnel

The band

* Doug Yule – vocal, guitar
* Willie Alexander – keyboards, vocals (disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11-14)
* Walter Powers – bass guitar, backing vocals (disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11-14)
* Maureen Tucker – drums (disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11-14)

Additional musicians

* George Kay – bass guitar (disc 3, disc 4: 1-10)
* Rob Norris – guitar (disc 3)
* Mark Nauseef – drums (disc 3)
* Don Silverman – guitar (disc 4: 1-10)
* Billy Yule – drums (disc 4: 1-10)

External links

* [http://members.aol.com/olandem/vu.html The Velvet Underground Web Page]
* [http://www.thevelvetforum.tk/ The Velvet Forum] , a V.U. discussion forum
* [http://www.captaintrip.co.jp Captain Trip Records] (pages in both Japanese and English)