''Live MCMXCIII'' ("1993" in

Roman numerals Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, ...

) is a live album 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 ...

. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/ cassette formats on October 26, 1993, by

Sire Records Sire Records (formerly Sire Records Company) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Records. History Beginnings The label was founded in 1966 as Sire Productions by Seymour Stein and Richard Gottehre ...

, then DVD format on January 24, 2006. The single CD is an abridged version of the double CD edition, featuring tracks 2, 13–16, 5, 6, 9, 18, and 20–23 in that order. There are no different takes of songs across the multiple editions although the actual track times differ by a few seconds between releases.

Background

In late 1992, the Velvet Underground 1965–1968 core line-up of

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades ...

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various sty ...

, Sterling Morrison and

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 industr ...

suddenly decided to reform. The decision was unexpected because the relationship between Reed and Cale had been sour ever since the late 60s, and though it had ameliorated after back catalogue royalty renegotiations in the mid-80s, it had hit another low after their 1990 collaboration ''

Songs for Drella ''Songs for Drella'' is a 1990 album by Lou Reed and John Cale, both formerly of the Velvet Underground; it is a song cycle about Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by ...

''. Nevertheless, an impromptu one-song reunion in

Jouy-en-Josas Jouy-en-Josas () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. Jouy-en-Josas is home to the main campus of HEC ...

, France, later that year for an

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore the relationsh ...

exhibition set the scene and by 1993, the band had started to rehearse for a world tour. Lou Reed's then-current record company,

, agreed to release a live album from the European leg, and plans were made for both an ''

MTV Unplugged ''MTV Unplugged'' is an American television series on MTV showcasing musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show aired regularly from 1989 to 1999 and less frequently from 2000 to 2009, when it was usually billed as ''MTV Un ...

'' appearance with accompanying album and a subsequent studio album. The album was recorded during a three-night residence in the Paris venue

L'Olympia The Olympia (; commonly known as L'Olympia or in the English-speaking world as Olympia Hall) is a concert venue in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France, located at 28 Boulevard des Capucines, equally distancing Madeleine church and Opéra G ...

. John Cale later said, "During the second night we hit the home run", and it is of this night that most of the ''Live MCMXCIII'' tracks were taken. The rest were taken from the third night. ''Live MCMXCIII'' captures the band playing most of their classics from the back catalogue, with emphasis on the more structured songs. The band also performed two new songs: "Velvet

Nursery Rhyme A nursery rhyme is a traditional poem or song for children in Britain and many other countries, but usage of the term dates only from the late 18th/early 19th century. The term Mother Goose rhymes is interchangeable with nursery rhymes. From ...

", a short tongue-in-cheek reunion theme song where Reed introduces the members of the band, and "Coyote", a Reed/Cale collaboration. Emphasis is on the band's first three records and the "lost fourth album" (see '' VU'' and ''

Another View ''Another View'' is an outtakes compilation album by the Velvet Underground. It was released in 1986 by Verve Records and is composed of material recorded between 1967 and 1969. Composition and collection When the Velvet Underground moved from V ...

''), with only two songs from '' Loaded''. During the six-week European leg, relationships quickly soured again and by the end of the tour all other plans were off, never to rematerialise. The band's latest breakup proved final when Sterling Morrison died in the summer of 1995. The Velvet Underground's reunion itself met with critical praise from the mainstream rock press, and generated heavy publicity for the band (resulting in the six-week European leg having many sold out venues or near capacity), but the album received mixed reviews. After its release, Cale expressed disappointment in the album's mix: "The trouble is that we had an opportunity here with the live album to really show what the band sounded like and it really doesn't give it to you. Some of the bootlegs that came out of the tour are almost a truer vision of what the band sounded like than the well recorded one, because the well recorded one really didn't take advantage of the ambiance of the room in the mix of the music. And that's what we were always pushing at. We wanted to fill the room up with this noise. Unfortunately it wasn't quite as present in the mix as I would have liked it to be or others would have liked it to be either."

Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed except as noted.

Double-CD edition

Single-CD edition

Personnel

;The Velvet Underground *

– bass guitar, keyboards,

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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 ...

, lead vocal on "All Tomorrow's Parties", "The Gift", "Femme Fatale" and "I'm Waiting for the Man" * Sterling Morrison – rhythm and lead guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals *

– lead and rhythm guitar, lead vocals *

– percussion, keyboards on "Black Angel's Death Song", lead vocal on "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking with You" ;Technical staff *

Mike Rathke Mike may refer to: Animals * Mike (cat), cat and guardian of the British Museum * Mike the Headless Chicken, chicken that lived for 18 months after his head had been cut off * Mike (chimpanzee), a chimpanzee featured in several books and documenta ...

– producer Album Design-Spencer Drate, Judith Salavetz, Sylvia Reed Photography-Ted Chin

References

External links

The Velvet Underground Web Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Live Mcmxciii 1993 live albums The Velvet Underground live albums Sire Records live albums Films directed by Declan Lowney