''Final V.U. 1971–1973'' is a box set by

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

, comprising live recordings from after founding members Lou Reed and

Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, a ...

had left the group. It was released by Japanese

record company A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the produ ...

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 Douglas Alan Yule (born February 25, 1947) is an American musician and singer, most notable for being a member of the Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973 serving as the bassist, guitarist and occasional lead vocalist. Biography Early life Doug ...

assumed leadership and moved to lead vocals and

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, and Walter Powers joined to play

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

. This version of the Velvet Underground, which still featured original member

and longtime drummer

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

, played around 30 dates to promote the band's fourth album, '' Loaded'' (1970). Almost a year after Reed's departure, Morrison also left the band; he was replaced by

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

-based keyboardist

Willie Alexander Willie "Loco" Alexander (born January 13, 1943) is an American singer and keyboardist based in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He played with the Lost, the Bagatelle and the Grass Menagerie, before becoming a member of the Velvet Underground in la ...

. The band now contained no founding members (although Tucker had been a member since before the recording of the Velvets' debut album). They then went to tour the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, still in support of ''Loaded'', which had had a March 1971 release date in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Two dates of this tour, November 5, 1971 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and November 19 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, were recorded by members of the audience, and appear as discs one and two of this set, respectively. The Amsterdam concert was also recorded from the soundboard by Dutch

radio station Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radi ...

VPRO The VPRO (stylized vpro; originally an acronym for , ) is a Dutch public broadcaster, which forms a part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. Founded in 1926 as a liberal Protestant broadcasting organization, it gradually became more ...

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 four 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 in England. However, band manager Steve Sesnick sent Alexander, Powers and Tucker back to America, and Yule recorded '' 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 the Velvets' manager. Yule and the 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 three of this set. In the spring of 1973 at the urging of a

tour manager A tour manager (or concert tour manager) is the person who helps to organize the administration for a schedule of appearances of a musical group (band) or artist at a sequence of venues (a concert tour). In general, road managers handle tour deta ...

, Yule and some friends toured

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the Can ...

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 four of this set. The version of "Sweet Jane" on disc 4 contains the original deleted verse, while ''Lou Reed Live'' does not.

Track listing

All songs written by Lou Reed except as noted. ;Disc one - November 5, 1971 #"

Chapel of Love "Chapel of Love" is a song written by Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich and Phil Spector, and made famous by The Dixie Cups in 1964, spending three weeks at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.Whitburn, Joel (2009). ''Top Pop Singles 1955-2008' ...

" (

Jeff Barry Jeff Barry (born Joel Adelberg; April 3, 1938) is an American pop music songwriter, singer, and record producer. Among the most successful songs that he has co-written in his career are " Do Wah Diddy Diddy", " Da Doo Ron Ron", " Then He Kiss ...

Ellie Greenwich Eleanor Louise Greenwich (October 23, 1940 – August 26, 2009) was an American pop music singer, songwriter, and record producer. She wrote or co-wrote "Da Doo Ron Ron", "Be My Baby", "Maybe I Know", "Then He Kissed Me", "Do Wah Diddy Diddy", ...

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

) #"

I'm Waiting for the Man "I'm Waiting for the Man" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Written by Lou Reed, it was first released on their 1967 debut album, ''The Velvet Underground & Nico''. The lyrics describe a man's efforts to obtain heroin in ...

" #"Spare Change" (Alexander) #" Some Kinda Love"/"

Turn On Your Love Light "Turn On Your Love Light" is a rhythm and blues song recorded by Bobby Bland in 1961. It was both an important R&B and pop chart hit for Bland and has become one of his most identifiable songs. A variety of artists have recorded it, including th ...

" (Reed/

Deadric Malone Don Deadric Robey (November 1, 1903 – June 16, 1975) was an American record label executive, songwriter, and record producer. As the founder of Peacock Records and the eventual owner of Duke Records, he was responsible for developing the care ...

, Joseph Scott) #"

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...

" #"Pretty Tree Climber" (Alexander) #"

Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm a ...

" #"Back on the Farm" (Alexander) #"Dopey Joe" (Yule) #"

Sister Ray "Sister Ray" is a song by the Velvet Underground that closes side two of their 1968 album ''White Light/White Heat''. The lyrics are by Lou Reed, with music composed by John Cale, Sterling Morrison, Maureen Tucker and Reed. The song concerns dr ...

"/"Never Going Back to Georgia" (Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker/Alexander) #" After Hours" ;Disc two - November 19, 1971 #"I'm Waiting for the Man" #"Spare Change" (Alexander) #"Some Kinda Love" #"White Light/White Heat" #"Hold On" (unknown) #" 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 - December 6, 1972 #"I'm Waiting for the Man" #"White Light/White Heat" #"Some Kinda Love" #"Little Jack" (Yule) #"

Sweet Jane "Sweet Jane" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground; it appears on their fourth studio album '' Loaded'' (1970). The song was written by Lou Reed, the band's leader, who continued to incorporate the piece into live performances a ...

" #"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 - May 27, 1973, Boston, MA #"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" (unknown) #"Mama's Little Girl" (Yule) #"Train Round the Bend" #"White Light/White Heat" #"What Goes On" #"Cool It Down" #"Oh! Sweet Nuthin'"

Personnel

;The Velvet Underground *

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

(disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11-14) * Walter Powers –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are ...

(disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11-14) *

– drums (disc 1, disc 2, disc 4: 11–14) *

– vocals,

;Additional musicians *George Kay (Krzyzewski) – bass guitar (disc 3, disc 4: 1–10) *

Mark Nauseef Mark Nauseef (born June 11, 1953), in Cortland, New York, is a drummer and percussionist who has enjoyed a varied career, ranging from rock music during the 1970s with his time as a member of the Ian Gillan Band and, temporarily with Thin Li ...

– drums (disc 3) *Rob Norris – guitar (disc 3) *Don Silverman (has been known as Noor Khan since going to Afghanistan in 1975) – guitar (disc 4: 1–10) *

Billy Yule William Yule (born c. 1954) is an American musician, best known for his brief stint as a temporary drummer for the Velvet Underground during their famous summer engagement 1970 at Max's Kansas City, sitting in for Maureen Tucker while she was on ...

– drums (disc 4: 1–10)

References

External links

The Velvet Underground Web PageThe Velvet Forum
, a V.U. discussion forum
Captain Trip Records
(pages in both

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

and English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Final V.U. 1971-1973 Albums produced by Doug Yule 2001 live albums 2001 compilation albums The Velvet Underground live albums The Velvet Underground compilation albums