VELVET UNDERGROUND ANDY WARHOL '67 1ST STATE UNCENSORED TRUE 1ST STEREO PRESS
$
329
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Description
Insanely rare original TRUE 1st West Coast Stereo press of this seminal Velvet Underground lp.
There are three versions of the cover of the original American release: a first state with the “torso” rear cover, a second state with the lawsuit sticker over the upper part of the torso picture and the third state with Emerson airbrushed out.
This is considered the earliest 1st state example with the uncensored Eric Emerson torso on the back!!!
The album “The Velvet Underground & Nico” is remarkable for many reasons–not least the music. a. It is one of only two albums that I know of that names the cover designer rather than the band or the record’s title on the front (the other being Swedish band bob hund‘s 1996 LP “Omslag: Martin Kann“.) b. The cover provoked two lawsuits (more on those later). c. Gatefold covers had generally only been used for double albums. Elvis Presley’s “Elvis Is Back!” from 1956 is said to be the first gatefold cover for a single LP and “Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was not released until two months after the Velvets’ album.
In 1965 Andy Warhol became The Velvet Underground‘s manager and he booked them into New York’s Scepter Studios in April 1966 to record the group’s first album which was de facto produced by studio owner Norman Dolph rather than by Warhol. Warhol insisted that chanteuse Nico (real name Christa Päffgen) sing on the album and she sang on three songs. For unknown reasons some songs were rerecorded and some new songs recorded by producer Tom Wilson in Los Angeles later that year. Wilson was a staff producer for Columbia (and later Verve) Records and had produced three of Bob Dylan‘s early albums (“Another Side of Bob Dylan“, “The Times They Are A’Changin’“, four tracks on “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan“, “Bringing It All Back Home“) including the hit single “Like a Rolling Stone“. Warhol offered the album to Columbia Records, who turned it down! Then through the Andy Warhol association Verve Records agreed to release it. Logically enough, as Nico was not a member of the group the album’s title was “The Velvet Underground & Nico. The “&” emphasizing the fact.
Warhol gave his Banana painting to the band for the album cover. The removable banana on the front was difficult to produce and delayed the album’s release until March 1967. Acy R. Lehman, who designed the cover, decided on the gatefold to be able to include photos of the band members taken by Paul Morrissey, and colour photos by Verve photographer Hugo. I have seen the large band photo on the rear cover credited to Andy Warhol, so I am not sure it was by him or, as stated in the album credits, by Hugo.
The rear cover photograph showed actor Eric Emerson the lights projected behind the band with his inverted face superimposed on the picture of Lou Reed‘s head. This is commonly called the “Torso” version”. Emerson was in need of money as he had been charged with drug offenses and sued Verve Records to pay him for the use of his photograph. Verve refused to pay and recalled as many copies as it could and stuck a large black sticker over the offending photograph. On subsequent printings of the album sleeve the photograph was airbrushed to obscure Emerson’s portrait before the album could be reissued in June 1967. This delay badly affected the album’s sales; only about 30,000 copies being sold between 1967 and 1972.
Sleeve: VG Banana is obviously peeled. There is ring, spine and corner wear and some seem splitting. There is an old piece of tape affixed to the back part of the gatefold where there is seem splitting. There is also light soiling in areas.
Vinyl: VG+ Retains original gloss with only a few hairlines that do not affect playback. Really a great copy considering its 53 year old age. Labels do show some wear. Side A shows some fading on the label.
A nice and rare 1st state example!
Please check out my other listings for more rare and collectible items!
NOTES:
Verve V6-5008, 1967
original stock copy with Emerson, West Coast pressing, stereo
Side 1: V6-5008 SIDE-1 MGS-558-REV
Side 2: V6-5008 SIDE-2 MGS-559
- Stereo
- Gatefold cover with banana sticker
- Emerson on back cover
- pressing by H.V. Waddell, Burbank, California
(deep groove 2.75" pressing ring) - Blue/silver T Verve label
Black Angel's Death Song timing is misprinted as "3:01" (instead of 3:10)
Song credits: "L. Reed - J. Cale - S. Morrison - M. Tucker"
Publishing credits: "Three Prong Music | All Selections BMI"
"MGM RECORDS - A DIVISION OF METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER, INC. - Made in U.S.A."
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