The Warhol announces the discovery and digitization of the rare master tapes of The Velvet Underground’s debut album "The Velvet Underground & Nico". Recently identified while processing Andy Warhol’s archive at The Warhol, the nine initial tracks recorded by the band were the bedrock of the album that became one of my most jarring and influential albums in rock music. The monophonic reel-to-reel tapes feature alternate versions and mixes of songs later issued on the 1967 release.
The recording will premiere as part of an upcoming exhibition at The Warhol in 2023.
"Master Tapes for the Velvet Underground at Scepter Studios", 1966, The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Contribution The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc.
This is real interesting, but I'm not sure how, if it includes "alternate versions and mixes," it qualifies as a master tape.
It sounds like the tape might be the source for the Dolph acetate. If it's released to the public it'd be a very important find, but if we define master tape as one in the chain leading up to manufacturing, it's not in any way that.
Last edited by Sheila Klein on 09 Nov 2022 20:01, edited 1 time in total.
Sheila Klein wrote: ↑09 Nov 2022 20:00
This is real interesting, but I'm not sure how, if it includes "alternate versions and mixes," it qualifies as a master tape.
It sounds like the tape might be the source for the Dolph acetate. If it's released to the public it'd be a very important find, but if we define master tape as one in the chain leading up to manufacturing, it's not in any way that.
As you say this looks like the material that they used for the Scepter disk on the 45th box set. It does have the unedited European Son. And maybe it has pristine tape versions of the tracks that they had to copy from the acetate for that CD release.
It seems unlikely it has alternative mixes. But maybe they just mean alternative mixes to those that ended up on the final album, rather any new unheard alternative mixes. Meaning the stuff we have already heard on the 45th set.
EDIT. Here's the key quote from the Warhol Museum PR page
'Although an acetate version, which was made from these master tapes, was released for the 45th anniversary of the album, it is of a different sonic quality, given the generation loss inherent in an analog copy.'
simonm wrote: ↑09 Nov 2022 20:24
I guess it qualifies as *Warhol's* master tape, it might be the master master, if the multi track wasn't kept /wiped /re-used.
8.48 version of All Tomorrow's Parties sounds interesting!
ditto 10.20 of European Son vs 9.02 on the Scepter Sessions release
Your'e right the European Son is longer. I thought the Parties might be a '5' that looks like an '8' but yes it does look like an 8.
If the track timings are correct then those are considerably longer versions of those tracks
And it says "tapes" containing 9 tracks - suggesting that there are other tapes with the other tracks
On the 45th Anniversary edition only 4 of the Scepter tracks are from a proper master source. The other 5 are from the acetate and even cleaned up still sound crackly and weird
If the other tapes have decent quality versions of those 5 and a couple of longer edits then that's a pretty exciting find
