The Velvet Forum

I would say that this copy is very slightly better/clearer than the one I had but it's still a terrible recording. Tell me what you think. Bill's copy (like many others) was missing "I'm Set Free" so I've patched that in from my copy.

VELVET UNDERGROUND 1968-12-01 Cleveland audience recording BA copy

Public Music Hall
Cleveland
1968-12-01

01: Heroin 5.59
02: What Goes On 3.34
03: I'm Waiting For The Man 6.47
04: Pale Blue Eyes 5.46
05: I'm Set Free 4.04
06: Sister Ray 18.25

Lou Reed: guitar, vocals
Sterling Morrison: guitar
Doug Yule: bass, organ, vocals
Moe Tucker: drums

It's Sunday 1st December 1968 at the Music Hall in Cleveland. The Velvet Underground are 2nd on the bill, supporting Canned Heat and the gig was advertised in the local press as "an all afternoon show". Lou and the band started their set off with "Heroin"......
"What Goes On" is given a very cursory run-through and "Waiting For The Man" is a slow bluesy drawl. "Pale Blue Eyes" and "I'm Set Free" are just like the LP versions with Lou's very precise vocals (this is probably the 1st recorded live performance of "I'm Set Free"). "Sister Ray" is relatively short at below 19 mins, but is the usual frantic journey down into depravity and dissonance.

I've always wondered how Canned Heat felt having to follow a set like this on a Sunday afternoon.

lineage: TDK D C60 cassette from the collection of Bill Allerton - Pioneer CT-S670D player - wav - flac

Note: Bill's copy of this recording was missing "I'm Set Free". I have inserted a copy of that song from another, inferior, source.

wav transfer October 2025 by lurid_uk

RIP Lou, Sterling and Bill

the audio: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/upywabq7 ... ybqpb&dl=0

Thank you for this: I'll give it a listen later.

Whenever Jamie's tapes finally get the treatment they deserve this show is going to flip people's lid. I'm Set Free especially.

I hope you're right but I think that this particular recording has never been very good quality.

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 00:34 Whenever Jamie's tapes finally get the treatment they deserve this show is going to flip people's lid. I'm Set Free especially.

lurid wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 13:50 I hope you're right but I think that this particular recording has never been very good quality.

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 00:34 Whenever Jamie's tapes finally get the treatment they deserve this show is going to flip people's lid. I'm Set Free especially.

In what circulates you are correct but Jamie-s tapes sounds very good

the 1st gen copy of the April 1968 recording which was posted to Youtube by his brother (?) was certainly better than my old copy......more like that would be a real treat. It would also be nice to know the details/exact dates of the October 1968 recordings (2 different renditions of What Goes On.....). Some versions of that recording are very nice and indicate that it could be much better than the various copies which have circulated in the past.

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 15:59

lurid wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 13:50 I hope you're right but I think that this particular recording has never been very good quality.

In what circulates you are correct but Jamie-s tapes sounds very good

lurid wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 17:00 the 1st gen copy of the April 1968 recording which was posted to Youtube by his brother (?) was certainly better than my old copy......more like that would be a real treat. It would also be nice to know the details/exact dates of the October 1968 recordings (2 different renditions of What Goes On.....). Some versions of that recording are very nice and indicate that it could be much better than the various copies which have circulated in the past.

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 15:59 In what circulates you are correct but Jamie-s tapes sounds very good

As i said in a previous thread what commonly passes as Oct 68 show is misdated and is actually one of the March 1969 shows.

For instance Doug had only just joined the band in late September 68, we have been made to believe that within a couple of weeks at most the band had songs like I Can't Stand It, Foggy Notion ans Story of My Life already in their set list.

I have seen (and heard some of) Jamie's tapes and the Oct 68 set is different than what is commonly referenced as the show.

That's really interesting - you should contact Olivier Landemaine and tell him what you know so that he can update his web page.

[/quote]

As i said in a previous thread what commonly passes as Oct 68 show is misdated and is actually one of the March 1969 shows.

For instance Doug had only just joined the band in late September 68, we have been made to believe that within a couple of weeks at most the band had songs like I Can't Stand It, Foggy Notion ans Story of My Life already in their set list.

I have seen (and heard some of) Jamie's tapes and the Oct 68 set is different than what is commonly referenced as the show.
[/quote]

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 21:17 As i said in a previous thread what commonly passes as Oct 68 show is misdated and is actually one of the March 1969 shows.

For instance Doug had only just joined the band in late September 68, we have been made to believe that within a couple of weeks at most the band had songs like I Can't Stand It, Foggy Notion ans Story of My Life already in their set list.

I have seen (and heard some of) Jamie's tapes and the Oct 68 set is different than what is commonly referenced as the show.

I'm partly going from memory here, but aren't the March 1969 recordings we have of "What Goes On", pretty different to the "Oct 68" versions and the December '68 version? I think the two or three '68 versions (if they are all from '68) sound reasonably closely related, and therefore might all date from '68, whereas the '69 versions sound quite different with all that keyboard stuff going on. (As I say, I'm partly going from memory here though!)

LoathesomeCowboyBill wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 21:17

lurid wrote: ↑21 Oct 2025 17:00 the 1st gen copy of the April 1968 recording which was posted to Youtube by his brother (?) was certainly better than my old copy......more like that would be a real treat. It would also be nice to know the details/exact dates of the October 1968 recordings (2 different renditions of What Goes On.....). Some versions of that recording are very nice and indicate that it could be much better than the various copies which have circulated in the past.

As i said in a previous thread what commonly passes as Oct 68 show is misdated and is actually one of the March 1969 shows.

For instance Doug had only just joined the band in late September 68, we have been made to believe that within a couple of weeks at most the band had songs like I Can't Stand It, Foggy Notion ans Story of My Life already in their set list.

I have seen (and heard some of) Jamie's tapes and the Oct 68 set is different than what is commonly referenced as the show.

They were playing Story of My Life when Cale was still in the band. Since we dont have any summer or fall 1968 recordings we cannot know, but it would not surprise me if they were also paying those other two as well as more of the material on the 3rd album