Pleasure Then

[Sheila Klein]

Now we're gettin' somewhere! Thanks so much for coming up with that, although I'd always imagined Sterling as being in there somewhere as well.

[iaredatsun]

I can't tell if Sterling Morrison is playing, but the credit is Reed, Cale and Päffgen. As the music is improvised, you'd guess that Morrison would get a credit if he was there.

I really like this track for all the reasons stated above. It really is like a piece of VU live improv from that era, captured with studio quality recording. Wish there was more.

[mangue]

Finally found time to listen to Melody Laughter and The Nothing Song, and indeed both have some similar "vocals" as on Pleasure Then, though in lower register.
That lower register might be Nico just singing lower and/or because of the quality of the recording itself and the tape it was recorded with.
Also recording tricks, increasing height, might have been applied on Nico's Pleasure Then "vocals". Don't know how this can be determined, but I think audio specialists are able to do so and come up with conclusions.

I checked recording info about Chelsea Girls in the discographies ["Clef/Verve Labels: The MGM era" and "MGM Labels: 1961-1982"], most details are in the first Clef/Verve one published 1986*:

1st recording session on 1967.Jul.17
#102943-46: I've Been Out Walking [=These Days] / The Fairest Of The Seasons / I'll Keep It With Mine / Somewhere There's Feather
my note: all Jackson Browne involved tracks

2nd recording session on same day
#102988-92: Little Sister / Winter Song / Chelsea Girls / Eulogy To Lenny Bruce / Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams
my note: all VU involved tracks

3rd recording session on 1967.Jul.21
#103206: It Was A Pleasure Then
my note: this track separate recorded, and another indication of no involvement by Jackson Brown here

all 3 session list as personnel: Nico, vocals; and others
my note: unfortunately no further details

*see at https://books.google.nl/books?id=UmozAAAAIAAJ [only snippets available]

[peppergomez]

Interesting. Wasn't that around the time they 'fired her' for showing up late to a gig?

[threechordwonder]

all 3 session list as personnel: Nico, vocals; and others
my note: unfortunately no further details

Could that vocal have been dubbed on afterwards? Nico famously hated the flute that was added to Chelseas Girls.

[threechordwonder]

Maybe this is a threadjack, but does anyone else think that the bleakness of Nico's lyrics (here and elsewhere) stem from "The Last Mile"?