SUPER RARE 1972 Orig = MONO = THE VELVET UNDERGROUND at MAX'S Lou Reed PSYCH

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               ORIGINAL 1972 FIRST PRESS 

           SUPER RARE **MONO** PRESSING

   THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

          Live At Max's Kansas City

\                                           USA -  (MONO) Cotillion - SD 9500

SUPER RARE ... have only seen the rare PROMO pressed in MONO, but here is a stock copy that was issued in micro quantity on the retail market! Major companies stopped pressing in mono at the end of 1967, so you figure this one out (!?!) 

In the '70s lower Manhattan's Max's Kansas City was the place to be, a perpetual meeting place for scene-makers and their satellites. In the summer of 1970, The Velvet Underground was the house band, and their nightly gigs, propelled by Lou Reed's mesmerizing vocals, are the stuff of legend. Documented on a cassette player by one of the Velvet's entourage, this recording has since become the most famous "bootleg" ever, capturing one of Reed's last-some say final-performances with the band before going solo. It both immortalizes a precise moment in pop culture history, and also spotlights one of rock's most influential bands at the peak of their extraordinary powers. -------------------------------------------- Live at Max's Kansas City were recorded on August 23, 1970, by Andy Warhol associate Brigid Polk on a portable cassette recorder. At the same time the band were recording Loaded, the Velvet Underground held a nine-week engagement (June 24 – August 28, 1970) at New York nightclub Max's Kansas City, playing two sets a night. Polk recorded almost everything happening around her at the time, and this happened to include her attendance of the last concert that Lou Reed played with The Velvet Underground. She recorded both the early and the late set. Later that year, Atlantic A&R employee Danny Fields heard the tapes and submitted them to his superiors, who accepted the recordings and in 1972 decided to make an album out of them. ----------------------------------------------------- Author/rocker Jim Carroll can be heard speaking on the album, ordering drinks and inquiring about drugs between songs as he was the one holding the microphone. -----------------------------------------------------
The Lp opens with drums being clattered, instruments being tested, and a lot of background chatter. Then Reed offers a dignified intro ("you're allowed to dance, in case you don't know"), before launching into several songs that are primarily from "Loaded" and "White Light/White Heat," with stage chatter between songs. The album is product of catching the band on tape - they didn't have digital recordings then, and Polk used a tape that caught all the action. as a result, it's a little incoherent here and there around the edges; "Femme Fatale" is downright sub-sonic. And it's all in remarkably good shape when one considers that it is from 1970.

You get a brief taste of what the nightlife at Max's was like, when fashion, art and pop all collided. So the background voices and clattery tuneups just add to the "you are there" quality.

It's also noteworthy because the songs included are among their best, and because Reed delivers them with so much emotion. There's a certain poignancy to his introduction when one realizes that it would be his last show with the Velvets. And it gives a bit of extra oomph to certain songs like "I'll Be Your Mirror."

"Live At Max's Kansas City" is a small slice of the psychedelic nightlife for anyone who wasn't lucky enough to actually go there.

• Side one
• "I'm Waiting for the Man" – 4:00
• "Sweet Jane" – 4:52
• "Lonesome Cowboy Bill" – 3:41
• "Beginning to See the Light" – 5:00
• Side two
• "I'll Be Your Mirror" – 1:55
• "Pale Blue Eyes" – 5:38
• "Sunday Morning" (Reed, John Cale) – 2:43
• "New Age" – 5:58
• "Femme Fatale" – 2:29
• "After Hours" – 2:05

CONDITION: The cover: Still very collectible, just slightly 'used' around the edges, still rated a collection worthy VG+(+) pretty decent considering the cover is usually found with shelf wear due to the dark colors ... has no split seams & fresh original colors, just lightly handled ... collection worthy rarity ...

The vinyl: all still with shiny appearance, rated VG++ having no more than very light top surface 'slide' scuffs like from in & out of inner sleeve etc...plays with quite excellent audio, enjoyable ...both MONO labels are CLEAN  

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record