![Live at Max's Kansas City: Expanded Version (Remastered) [Coloured 2LP] on Vinyl by The Velvet Underground](https://d3fa68hw0m2vcc.cloudfront.net/images/autosize/47606190.jpeg?width=228&height=285&format=jpeg "Live at Max's Kansas City: Expanded Version (Remastered) [Coloured 2LP] on Vinyl by The Velvet Underground")
The Velvet Underground: Lou Reed (vocals, guitar); Nico (vocals); Sterling Morrison (guitar, bass guitar, background vocals); Doug Yule (bass violin, organ, bass guitar); John Cale (viola, piano, celesta, bass guitar, background vocals); Maureen Tucker (drums).
Recording information: Sceptor Studios, New York, New York (1966 - 1969); Mayfair Studios, New York, New York; A&R Studios, New York, New York; T.T.C. Studios, Hollywood, California; Media Sound, New York, New York; The Record Plant, New York, New York; The End Of Cole Ave, Dallas, Texas; The Matrix, San Francisco, California.
Each of the Velvet Underground's four studio albums is so essential that the idea of distilling "their best" into any kind of compressed form is absurd. This is all the more reason to be impressed by the two-disc GOLD, a superbly compiled representation of the seminal band's revolutionary music. With nine tracks from their landmark debut album, essentials from WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT and their third album, cherry-picked gems from VU (a collection of unreleased sessions) and the 1969 live album, and two VU-assisted tracks from Nico's CHELSEA GIRL, GOLD is as close to comprehensive as such sets get.
One major omission is the complete lack of material (the result of a licensing issue) from LOADED, the band's final release. Still, key tracks from LOADED ("Rock and Roll;" "Sweet Jane") are culled from the live album. Also, fans may find many favorites missing--"I'm Set Free," "After Hours" and "Who Loves the Sun" are conspicuously absent. Even so, GOLD does a remarkable job encompassing the Velvets' wildly eclectic aesthetic, touching on their most lyrical and accessible work ("Pale Blue Eyes") and their most experimental (the 17-minute-plus "Sister Ray"). Sequenced chronologically, remastered with precision and care, and including a booklet packed with photos and authoritative notes, GOLD is the perfect introduction to the band that should need none.
