Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 16:28:48 GMT
Pretty much agree wholly with GB. I admire their boldness, but there's something too one-dimensional about the whole thing.
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Oct 20, 2021 16:32:46 GMT
Side two is still my favourite side of vinyl ever, and the album, by far their best, is well in my top ten, even though, like G, I've never been bothered about The Gift or Lady Godiva's Operation. I had a mono vinyl copy that I played on my rather magnificent valve record player. Several times, after ingesting acid, I would crank it up to neighbour-bothering volume, find myself a cushion, and lie (the record player was on the floor) with the top of my head up against the speakers for side two. Aural trepanning. Magnificent. And if you thought Sister Ray was too long, well I have a couple of versions that are half an hour or so - I never tire of it.
So there
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loveless
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Bringing ballet to the masses. Sticking to the funk.
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Post by loveless on Oct 20, 2021 16:41:02 GMT
Shame they couldn't have cut down Sister Ray and found a place for the ghostly Hey Mr Rain (one of my fave VU outtakes). Hey Mr. Rain is stunning. Ocean is another one that seems every bit the equal of anything they committed to wax (I'm not wild about The Murder Mystery).
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Post by oh oooh on Oct 20, 2021 16:42:26 GMT
I'm slightly surprised there's such a consensus on its greatness. For me it's quite flawed. Okay, what makes Lady Godiva's Operation so great? I quite like its distorted riff, but its poorly sung, 🎵 Lady Godiva here dressed so demurely Pats the head of another curly haired boy Just a-no-ther tooooy 🎵
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 16:45:19 GMT
I'm missing your point.
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Post by DarknessFish on Oct 20, 2021 17:31:24 GMT
It's a long time since I've played it, I have to admit. It's a long time since I've played any VU though, I think. To me, the debut is the best by a distance, the balance of experimentation and pop tunes is pretty much spot on, and feel more focused, more purposeful.
I think The Gift was always my favourite track from WL/WH, such a lovely tone to Cale's voice, and a nice respite from all that guitar squeakage.
Btw, I gave the 1976 version, with the toy soldiers on the cover. That's a crap cover, for certain
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 18:04:46 GMT
It starts with a totally unique sounding track ( how that sound is made beggars belief) and it ends with a riot of noise and mayhem. It must have been electric during the sessions. A masterpiece.
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Post by oh oooh on Oct 20, 2021 18:29:44 GMT
It was a rubbish joke, but still... Saying a Velvets' song is 'poorly sung' isn't really a fair criticism, is it?
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toomanyhatz
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I've met him/her. He/she's great!!
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Post by toomanyhatz on Oct 20, 2021 18:41:22 GMT
Any 30 seconds of "I Heard Her Call My Name" works for me to blow away any doubts about the greatness of this record. Even its worst tracks are odd and inscrutable.
The first was the most diverse; they were showing everything they could do. But the second and the third (with some exceptions) form the outer edges of their sound.
I can't think of another record so single-minded in its approach. It doesn't all work, but that's part of its charm.
It's one of my favorite records ever (but only my third-favorite Velvets one, probably).
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 18:43:19 GMT
It was a rubbish joke, but still... Saying a Velvets' song is 'poorly sung' isn't really a fair criticism, is it? I guess I'm saying it might have been better had Lou sung it.
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Post by peter on Oct 20, 2021 20:20:22 GMT
"White Light/White Heat" - good, but it doesn't go anywhere and then it collapses. "Lady Godiva's Operation" - it sounds great, claustrophobic, modal - but it doesn't lift off "Here She Comes Now" - beautiful, unique. Potential untapped. It doesn't go anywhere. "I Heard Her Call My Name" - Euphoric. Three minutes of a masterpiece but then it gets boring. "Sister Ray" - incredible sounding but then the floor collapses.
Its like they wanted to show how good they were and also remind us that we weren't worth it. I know it wasn't intentional, they'd just come back from a tour and they were breaking up so its probably alot better than it should have been. But it could have rivalled the first album as their best.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Oct 20, 2021 20:40:45 GMT
"White Light/White Heat" - good, but it doesn't go anywhere and then it collapses. "Lady Godiva's Operation" - it sounds great, claustrophobic, modal - but it doesn't lift off "Here She Comes Now" - beautiful, unique. Potential untapped. It doesn't go anywhere. "I Heard Her Call My Name" - Euphoric. Three minutes of a masterpiece but then it gets boring. "Sister Ray" - incredible sounding but then the floor collapses. Its like they wanted to show how good they were and also remind us that we weren't worth it. I know it wasn't intentional, they'd just come back from a tour and they were breaking up so its probably alot better than it should have been. But it could have rivalled the first album as their best. 1. What? 2. Lift off to where ? What was it you think should lift off, you'll be saying next that venus in furs needed more Cowbell 3. Again, go where exactly? A little jazz shuffle 4.You are Lord Rother 5.Three minutes of a masterpiece that gets boring, oh , yeah because it doesn't go anywhere6. 6. You just don't get it There good and they thought we weren't worth it plus all this wasn't intentional. wow. Utter bollocks.
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nolamike
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Old Fart At Play
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Post by nolamike on Oct 20, 2021 20:50:55 GMT
I love it, and it's spent plenty of time shuffling with the others as my "favorite" VU album over the years.
And I love every second of "Sister Ray."
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Post by DarknessFish on Oct 22, 2021 13:32:23 GMT
So I dug out my copy of WL/WH for the first time in ages and gave it a couple of spins. I hoped to have something more profound to say, but it's bloody good, isn't it?
It feels a really short album, it absolutely flies past. Strange that it kicks off with the title track, feels like it should be something special being both the opener and the title track, but it's probably the weakest song on the album, a slightly badly recorded fairly standard rock song. And how much of a groove does The Gift have? Why does no-one mention that? Put me in the Sister Ray is too short camp, too. The entire album is too short.
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Post by oh oooh on Oct 22, 2021 13:37:28 GMT
So I dug out my copy of WL/WH for the first time in ages and gave it a couple of spins. I hoped to have something more profound to say, but it's bloody good, isn't it? It feels a really short album, it absolutely flies past. Strange that it kicks off with the title track, feels like it should be something special being both the opener and the title track, but it's probably the weakest song on the album, a slightly badly recorded fairly standard rock song. oh for FUCK'S sake man! honestly
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