THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO 1st MONO 1967 EAST COAST Torso ANDY WARHOL

$

400

THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO. 1ST pressing on Verve East Coast featuring Emerson "lawsuit" photo on the back cover. Mono version, thick cardboard gatefold sleeve, original Verve inner sleeve.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (Side A): V5008 side 1 MG 558 Rev
• Matrix / Runout (Side B): V5008 SIDe 2 MG 559

East coast pressing indicated by "Side 1 and Side 2". Thick vinyl in VG condition with several light hairline marks that cause random crackle throughout noticeable in quieter segments. Play tested on my player, excellent audio, punchy and bassy, a bit more crackle on beginning of each side, cleans up and rocks hard later. Crackle not distracting in my opinion, nice player!
Cover is VG+, glossy with no wear to edges, nice and clean, a few segments with some staining, inner gatefold excellent! Banana missing, a bump on the inner edge. Includes original Verve inner sleeve.

ABOUT MONO MIXES:

 

There is a universal consensus that original MONO pressing is by far more interesting, unique, and mind-teasing (almost trippy) than the corresponding STEREO pressing. Because MONO pressings of this album were discontinued only a year later (in mid-1968) while the stereo pressings continued to this day, ORIGINAL mono pressings are zillions of times more desirable and coveted than the stereo pressings.

 

There is a good reason for this. Not only are the mono mixes more vivid, lively, “ambiental” and wonderfully raw and crude, they are also more revealing: you get to hear – clearly and loudly – the crispy and crunchy guitars, throbbing bass lines, Cale’s industrial-strength piano chomps that would make Cecil Taylor proud, Mo Tucker’s tribal drumming and Nico’s thin, valkyrie-like voice in much more detail, and entirely unburdened and free of channel separation, equalization, echo/reverb and other distractions found on more common stereo mixes. In many ways, the mono mix is like a frozen aural portrait of the group circa 1967: a moment in time preserved in ice, ready to be thawed and served. It is downright scary that a recording made under such primitive circumstances more than 40 years ago can sound this realistic. On some tracks (Sunday Morning comes to mind), the group members will (well, almost, anyway) materialize in your living room! The recording has that eerily lifelike quality or an old 78rpm blues record being brought back to life.

 

But that’s not all. Not only are these mono mixes “dedicated” mono mixes (not stereo mixdowns),  but AT LEAST TWO songs on the album are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT TAKES of the songs. Mono version of ‘European Son’ is DEFINITELY, POSITIVELY a different take, with Lou Reed’s meandering guitar lines charting VERY different solos and paths than on the stereo version. All Tomorrows’ Parties and Run, Run, Run also appears to be different takes.

 

But whether you revel in the realism of the sound, the vibrant,  life-affirming, crudeness of it, the creative sequencing of the songs or the different mono takes, one thing is certain. The original MONO version of this album is a MASSIVELY DIFFERENT listening experience than a more common stereo. 

Companies, etc.

• Record Company – MGM Records
• Phonographic Copyright (p) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
• Copyright (c) – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.
• Published By – Three Prong Music
• Engineered At – T.T.G. Studios
• Manufactured By – MGM Records Division

Credits

• Arranged By – The Velvet Underground
• Design [Cover] – Acy Lehman
• Edited By, Mixed By [Remixed] – David Greene, Gene Radice
• Engineer [Director] – Val Valentin
• Engineer [Recording] – Omi Haden*
• Lead Guitar, Guitar [Ostrich], Vocals [Vocal] – Lou Reed
• Painting [Cover Painting Banana] – Andy Warhol
• Percussion – Maureen Tucker*
• Photography By [Liner Photos By] – Billy Linich, Nat Finkelstein
• Photography By [Portraits] – Paul Morrissey (2)
• Producer – Andy Warhol
• Rhythm Guitar, Bass Guitar – Sterling Morrison
• Supervised By [Edited And Remixed Under The Supervision Of] – Tom Wilson (2)
• Viola [Electric], Piano, Bass Guitar – John Cale
• Vocals [Chanteuse] – Nico (3)
• Written-By – Lou Reed

Notes

This release listing is for the original Mono vinyl (V-5008) that came with the original Stereo (V6-5008) torso sleeve. 
The mismatch was likely due to an overrun of Mono vinyl and the pressing plant. There were some copies that came with a small Mono sticker that covered "Stereo" on the back of the gatefold sleeve. 

Gatefold cover with banana sticker. First pressing with Emerson Torso image upside down on the back cover.
East Coast pressing with labels giving "Side 1" and "Side 2" instead of A & B

"Three Prong Music. All Selections BMI"
"MGM RECORDS - A DIVISION OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER, INC. - Made in U.S.A."