The Quine Tapes

When the legendary Quine Tapes were first released on a 3-CD box set in 2001, it was like a gift from up above for Velvet Underground die-hards. While the audio fidelity was nowhere near perfect, it was much better than 95 percent of the existing VU bootlegs. And more importantly, it was a treasure trove of the Velvets at one of their peaks (the Yule-era Velvets were a different animal than the Cale-era band, but just as exciting). With three mind-blowing versions of "Sister Ray," the previously unreleased "Follow The Leader," the rarity "Over You," live versions of songs they rarely performed live like "I'm Sticking With You," "The Black Angel's Death Song," and "Sunday Morning," the much-talked-about but previously unheard "I'm Waiting For The Man" where Lou Reed improvised several minutes worth of new lyrics, and the only known live version of "Ride Into the Sun," with an extended bass solo (!) no less, this was overload for VU fanatics everywhere.At the time, I fell in love with the Quine Tapes CDs, listening to them for months on end. I also thought, "it would be great if this was available on vinyl," but doubted it would ever happen because it would take like, what, SIX records to contain this whole thing, right? Once Sundazed announced they were bringing out a vinyl version, I was filled with anticipation until I got my hands on it. Suffice to say, it's worth it. Rather than making a vinyl master from the existing digital master used for the CDs, Bob Irwin has gone back to the Quine Tapes themselves to cut a brand new analog master just for this set. And while the new master doesn't magically make this set sound like a good soundboard recording, it *is* much improved over the CD version. The blanket of hiss that covered the CDs is gone, and the sound is less "flat." It's like falling in love all over again.Add in Sundazed's typically lavish packaging (three beautiful gatefold sleeves holding two records apiece, all placed in a study box), brief but interesting new notes from David Fricke along with Quine's original 2001 liner notes, and more of Doug Yule's wonderful photos from 1969 on the road, the Quine Tapes rise again to be pure heaven for the dedicated Velvets fan. At $100, this is not a casual investment, but if you love the VU and have a turntable, there's no question that it's totally worth it.

Bought used and the box set came in great condition, with the booklet and was delivered quickly. If you are a fan of the Velvet Underground then you will love this CD and need to own it. The recordings were made by a fan who then became a friend of the band and played on one of Lou Reeds solo albums, Robert Quine. It seems he recorded these concerts from within the audience, just holding a mic and recording onto a cassette or maybe a real to real deck. The recording is mono. For this type of recording it sounds fantastic and may even enhance the experience of the live concert, you feel like you are in the audience. I do however wish it were sound board quality but its not and I would not let that discourage you. Three disks of live concerts recorded in San Francisco in and around 1969 is a treat. There isn't a bad track, you even get to hear Lou chatting with the audience setting up the songs which adds to the whole experience in my opinion. In addition you hear Mo sing "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking With You". Being less dynamic and slightly muddy sounding seems to go along with the whole Velvet attitude so you can, or at least I can, easily accept the sound quality. For those hoping for an early Velvet line up, it is not. John Cale is not on this recording. I believe this concert was pre-Loaded. It is a mix of songs from all their albums with a few songs that had not been recorded prior to these concerts. They let loose on many of the songs going into extended hard driving jams. I highly recommend this box set for fans, but its not an introduction to the Velvet Underground for that you might want to start with "1969: The Velvet Underground Live with Lou Reed" or their first CD that features Nico and also includes John Cale.

Rating it is complicated.The music was recorded on a hand-held, mono cassette recorder in 1969 and according to the liner notes, transferred to reel-to-reel tape when the bootlegger/recorder became concerned about the condition of the tapes. Factor in that most rock clubs and halls of the era had extremely crude PA, miking and mixing setups and that the Velvets played in a loud and distorted way that would be hard to record well now, and it becomes surprising it sounds as good as it does. But that being said it appears there was really no attempt to clean this up digitally; disc 1 has significant tape hiss I can remove on my PC.On audio quality, 2/5 stars for sounding better than circumstances would allow, but knocking off 3 stars for the overall rough quality and the lack of digital magic cleanup.Packaging is a plain, square, CD-sized box with three cardboard sleeves and small liner notes. The booklet is way too brief. No comments from any band members. A handful of band photos but not linked to the recordings or sessions; no photos at all of the venues (then, now, historical or otherwise) or Robert Quine who apparently recorded at least a dozen sessions in San Francisco when the band was basically in residence at the Matrix, but never took ANY photos?On packaging, 1/5 stars for lacking a lot of essential photos, band commentary, or even third party commentary.But the actual content is 5/5 stars. Overall this is an amaazing, fascinating historical artifact from one of the greatest and most influential rock bands, filled with stunning music that is as cutting edge now as it was in 1969. It's a nice mix of music from the Cale avant garde era and the later post-Cale era of more gentle ballads. The playing is phenomenal.

Non ho acquistato questo prodotto quando era disponibile a prezzi accessibili, perchè credevo che non fosse possibile aggiungere qualcosa di interessante alla già nutrita di bootleg, raccolte e quant'altro discografia dei Velvet.L'ho acquistato usato ad Euro 31,00 dal Giappone (condizioni eccellenti, pari al nuovo), grazie all'organizzazione Amazon,Da collezionista trovo questo prodotto indispensabile. 230 minuti di grande musica, per una registrazione ineccepibile se si considera che gli originali sono stati raccolti con un mangiacassette del 1969, quindi rigorosamente mono, ma priva di fruscii, sbalzi di volume o disturbi vari.Tra le chicche: The black angel death song, ride into the sun e follow the leader mai apparse in versione live in precedenza, quest'ultima sarebbe stata pubblicata per la prima volta solo su "rock'n'roll heart di Lou Reed nel 1977.Altra chicca è I'm sticking with you che dal vivo era comparsa solo sul live del 1993, ben altra cosa rispetto ai Velvet degli anni '60.Se tre versioni di Sister Ray, per un totale di 66'46" posso sembrare troppe racchiuse in un unica raccolta, quella del disco 3 in meddley con Foggy notio è assolutamente strepitosa ed evidenzia in modo ineccepibile il xchè i Velvet siano stati il gruppo piu influente della storia del rock.Imperdibile x i collezionisti che se lo possono permettere anche alle cifre esorbitanti alle quali è reperibile al giorno d'oggi.P.S.: Il curatore dell'opera, Robert Quine, è stato il chitarrista di Lou Reed negli album: The blue mask, Leggendary Hearts e Live in Italy

Alle tracks wurden von "Robert Quine" (RIP) mit einem transportablen "Sony" Kassettenrekorder mit einem gehaltenen Mikrophon mitgeschnitten. "Rock n Roll" tauchte schon auf dem offiziellen "1969 Live Album" auf, aber alles andere war vorher unveröffentlicht.Die Sound Qualität ist verhälnismäßig gut auf den ursprünglichen "Family Dog Tapes", aber nicht so gut wie die "Matrix Tapes", die in den nächsten Tagen endlich offiziell veröffentlicht werden. Generell ist das Material vergleichbar mit dem "1969 Live Album". Die Band wirkt konzentrieter und energetischer und liefert tolle Versionen von " I Can`t Stand it", "Some Kinda Love", und "Foggy Nation", sowie eine dilletantische Version von " I`m Sticking with you" und "Ride Into The Sun" ab. "Doug Yule" ist kein wirklicher Ersatz für "John Cale" auf Songs wie "Venus in Furs" oder "Black Angels Death Song". Gewöhnungbedürftig ist die generelle Tendenz zu endlosen Improvisationen, beispielsweise beim track "Follow the Leader", der sich über 17 Minuten hinzieht, hier wäre vielleicht "weniger(kürzer) mehr gewesen". Dazu kommen noch 3 extrem lange Versionen des Übertracks "Sister Ray", der wohl im Original mit zu meinen Lieblingstücken generell zählt.Diese langen Versionen beinhalten musikalische und auch textliche Improvisationen, die an den Originaltrack leider nicht herankommen und seine Intensität über die Länge "verwässern" und "belangloser erscheinen lassen" wenn man ihn auf 38 Minuten ausdehnt. Natürlich hat auch das Original eine ungewöhnliche Länge und die "wir hören erst auf, wenn die Instrumente aus der Steckdose gerissen werden" Mentalität,aber die Faszination und "Punk Attitude" ging verloren.1969 war natürlich die Zeit der endlosen "Jams" und "Soli" daher passen die Stücke natürlich auch wiederum sowohl in die Phase sowie in die Kategorie Livemitschnitt. Wirklich essentiell ist nichts von diesen Aufnahmen, aber sie enthalten mehr als genug gutes Material, das eine Anschaffung lohnt. Vorallem natürlich für Fans und Sammler. Bis dato ist leider noch kein weiterer Teil nach diesem "Volume I" erschienen.(Q :"The Rough Guide to "The Velvet Underground" Peter Hogan 2007 - freie, sinngemässe Übersetzung)

As a VU fan of more than 30 years, I looked forward to this album with great excitement. However, disappointment was to be the order of the day from start to finish. I wish I could give a list of highlights, but really there are none. Much of this we've heard before and, for all its flaws, the "1969" double album does a much better job of representing the Velvets live. The items that do stand out for me are "What Goes On" (disc one) and "Black Angel's Death Song" (disc 3). That said, "What Goes On" never reaches the heights of the version on the "1969" album. "Sister Ray", the original mayhem of which would always be difficult to reproduce on stage, is here in 3 guises, but is not even a shadow of its former glory. Only the version on disc 3 is remotely interesting - primarily for the introduction. As per a number of other so called Velvets missing tapes, a few songs turn up that were to emerge later on Lou Reed's solo albums. Of these "I Can't Stand It" emerges as a really good thrash.Overall, unless you are a die hard Velvets nut, avoid this until the price tumbles. It is disappointing but, as Velvets fans we have to acknowledge that material to provide any new real insight into the band simply isn't out there. It would be interesting for example, to find material including Cale. Once Cale left the band, the extremes that had made the VU astonishing got left behind. This album shows the VU as being accomplished and relaxed but already a long way from the heights of the first studio album, and the extremes of White Light.The hype and spin doctors win; there is nothing new here but I'd have bought it anyway!