Who Plays What - Loaded

[Mark]

Thank God someone replied, I was starting to think this was even more tragically geeky than it actually is!

ROCK AND ROLL: With the second solo, I assume you mean that main between-verses lick? I always thought that was Sterling, too. The wilder breaks are Doug trying to emulate Lou (but why didn't Lou play those breaks??)

Yeah, I meant the between-verses lick that returns as a fullblown solo at around 2.25, just after Doug's (?) wild messy solo.

There's also an organ on there, holding a single chord (or maybe even a single note) from the first verse onward. Doug I guess.

HEAD HELD HIGH: Obviously I kept forgetting about piano parts when compiling the original list. To my ears, it might be Lou and it might be Doug, there's no telling. The kick-ass combination of Tommy's drums and Lou's overdriven rhythm guitar tore up my laptop soundcard

Oh, and there's another rhythm guitar in there - in the verses, alongside Lou's distorted chording there's someone playing a simple boogie rhythm in the right channel. Maybe that's Sterling's part?

I FOUND A REASON: Seeing as both Adrian Barber and Doug are accomplished drummers (or at least capable enough to keep the beat), I agree that Sesnick must be the most likely suspect (as in that irritating cowbell on the "Sweet Jane" demo)

It's definitely not the same person who's responsible through the fairly competent handclaps, shakers etc through the rest of the album. Wonder if Stevie boy also played the similarly haphazard tamborine on 'Crash' from Squeeze?

TRAIN ROUND THE BEND: What's with the two drummers?! Looks like the Velvets invented the Glitter beat! Anyway, I'm not really sure what part you mean. The left channel part? I thought it was Doug as well, doesn't really sound like Sterling...

Yeah, it could well be a pair of Dougs. I just noticed that on the Lowdown On Loaded article, Doug credits himself with the fills on this track, but not the other lead part.

OH! SWEET NUTHIN': On close listening, the left-channel acoustic guitar is there all through the song (at least at the beginning too), although it's barely audible as it is mixed into the same channel as the drums (first things producers should learn: NEVER mix an acoustic guitar into the same space as the drums). Could very well be Sterling.

I'm actually surprised that Doug credits himself with the lead parts on this track, as in parts they do sound rather Sterling-esque to me. Ah well.

Incidenally, I'm just re-listening to Cool It Down - no revelations there, except for what a fabulous boogie piano player Doug is. Howcome no one ever mentions that?

[Mark]

Incidentally, did anyone notice that the Fully Loaded artwork reproduces (or partially reproduces) several of the multitrack session sheets for the Loaded sessions? Those might offer a few more clues...

On the back of the slipcase:

Lonesome Cowboy Bill
Track 1: Guit 1 left
Track 2: Piano
Track 3: Bass
Track 4: Lead guit
Track 5: Guit 1 right
Track 6: Vocal pilot (ie, first attempt at lead vocal)
Track 7: Drums
Track 8: Guit 2

Rock And Roll - 4.30
Track 1: Acc guit
Track 2: 'background' (ie backing vocals?)
Track 3: illegible
Track 4: Drums left
Track 5: Drums right
Track 6: Vocal (and something else illegible)
Track 7: Bass and perc
Track 8: Lead guitar

Sweet Jane - 4.05
Track 1: Acc guit
Track 2: illegible
Track 3: Bass
Track 4: Drums left
Track 5: Drums right
Track 6: Guit (intro) / horn fuzz (ie Doug's fuzz bass part)
Track 7: Guit (intro) / background (vocals?)
Track 8: Guit (intro) / vocal


On the body of disc 1:

Sweet Jane (presumably not the same version as above - maybe the Sesnick cowbell version?)

Track 1: not shown
Track 2: Doug's guit?? (unclear)
Track 3: blank
Track 4: Drums
Track 5: Vocal pilot
Track 6: blank
Track 7 and 8: not shown

Head Held High - 2.37

Track 1: unclear (ends '-nd') / guitar
Track 2: claps, tamb, maracas
Track 3: Piano, clavinet
Track 4: Drums
Track 5: Vocal
Track 6: Bass + OD guit left
Track 7 and 8: not shown

Rock And Roll - 'fast'

Track 1: not shown (2 words ending -s and -g. Doug's Guit?)
Track 2: Sterling guit
Track 3: Blank
Track 4: Blank?
Track 5: Blank
Track 6: Leakage
Track 7 and 8: not shown

Here Come The Waves - ie Ocean

Track 1: not shown
Track 2. O.D. org (ie organ)
Track 3: Drums
Track 4: Unclear
Track 5: Blank
Track 6: Oh's (ie backing vocals)
Track 7 and 8: not shown


On the body of disc 2:

Train Round The Bend

Track 1: not shown
Track 2: (two words ending with G and T - 'Sterling Guit'?) / 1st solo / 2nd solo
Track 3: Piano
Track 4: Drums left
Track 5: Drums right
Track 6: Bass (and?) drum o.d
Track 7: Pilot vocal / piano fill
Track 8: not shown

I Found A Reason - 4.15

Track 1: not shown
Track 2: not shown (guitar?)
Track 3: Rough bass
Track 4: Drums
Track 5: Partly obscured - Pilot Vocal?
Track 6: Vocal one
Track 7: Vocal two
Track 8: not shown

[arjan]

Thank God someone replied, I was starting to think this was even more tragically geeky than it actually is!

Yes well I had to, didn't I, seeing as I am the übergeek who posted the who-plays-what threads in the first place

ROCK AND ROLL

There's also an organ on there, holding a single chord (or maybe even a single note) from the first verse onward. Doug I guess.

A holdover from the demo-style one-chord organ as on Another View? If you hadn't told me, I'd never have noticed.

HEAD HELD HIGH

Oh, and there's another rhythm guitar in there - in the verses, alongside Lou's distorted chording there's someone playing a simple boogie rhythm in the right channel. Maybe that's Sterling's part?

Yes, I noticed that too. Could well be him.

OH! SWEET NUTHIN':

I'm actually surprised that Doug credits himself with the lead parts on this track, as in parts they do sound rather Sterling-esque to me. Ah well.

I agree, but then there's some terribly standard 70s rock phrasing in there that Sterling would never do, so my guess is that Sterling played something in an earlier stage that Doug subsequently emulated as he took over the lead (same as with "She'll Make You Cry", the intro lead of which is Sterling all over).

Incidenally, I'm just re-listening to Cool It Down - no revelations there, except for what a fabulous boogie piano player Doug is. Howcome no one ever mentions that?

Because everybody wants to downplay/is used to downplaying Yule's contributions, opting to see the post-Cale band as Lou's vehicle whereas in reality, Loaded is as much Yule's as it is Reed's.

Yes, Yule wrote none of the songs, but neither did Cale (write much) back in the day and Yule's influence on Loaded is as big as was Cale's on The Velvet Underground and Nico in terms of arranging and sound.

[Doctor Bob]

viously Doug's (with the possible exception of HHH)

ROCK AND ROLL: With the second solo, I assume you mean that main between-verses lick? I always thought that was Sterling, too.

I agree. That lick has the very fluid combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs that characterized so much of Sterl's playing

[arjan]

WHO LOVES THE SUN: of course, there's a piano there and if Lou's credited with playing the piano on Loaded, this must be the place, as all the other parts are obviously Doug's (with the possible exception of HHH)

Hold it, just checked Doug's comments in the Lowdown on Loaded article and he says he played the keyboards on here. Guess Lou played the HHH piano in that case. Anyway, it's all just educated guessing at the end of the day...

[Doctor Bob]

Anyway, it's all just educated guessing at the end of the day...

Yeah, but it keeps us off the streets which is the important thing

[arjan]

Oh, and there's another rhythm guitar in there - in the verses, alongside Lou's distorted chording there's someone playing a simple boogie rhythm in the right channel. Maybe that's Sterling's part?

I just noticed that the part is more clearly audible in the mono version, too. Must be Sterling.

[arjan]

Part Four, Loaded

Bump - any new insights, now that we are four years older and wiser? Or are our combined insights quasi-definitive?

Lou may be no longer here but thankfully the music remains ours to listen to - as he himself said in his touching Sterling obit, "rock-and-roll, my answer to every crisis."

[Eddie Sedgewick]

. . and who's is the coughing fit in Who Loves the Sun?? . .

[iaredatsun]

I want to know who coughs in the second verse of Who Loves The Sun?

About one minute in, around the end of the 'who loves the rain...' line, they clear their throat and then cough.