1969: The Velvet Underground Live
| 1969: The Velvet Underground Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Live album by The Velvet Underground | ||||
| Released | September 1974 | |||
| Recorded | October 19, 1969, Dallas, Texas, United States and November 1969, San Francisco, California, United States | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 114:43 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Mercury | |||
| Producer | The Velvet Underground | |||
| The Velvet Underground chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |  |
| Chicago Tribune | |
| Robert Christgau | A− |
1969: The Velvet Underground Live is a live album by the Velvet Underground. It was originally released as a double album in September 1974 by Mercury Records. The September 1988 CD re-release was issued as two separate single CD volumes, with one extra track per disc. Since many of the band's studio albums were out of print in the USA from the early 1970s through the mid-1980s, 1969 was one of the more popular albums by the band, and is a fan favorite. Spin magazine's Alternative Record Guide included it in the top 100 alternative albums of all time in 1995.
During 1969, the Velvet Underground toured the United States and Canada, playing well over 70 dates. By this time, the band had picked up a sizeable fan base and every now and then a fan would bring along, with consent of the band, recording equipment to record a set.
Most of the time, this would mean relatively simple hand-held recorders resulting in lo-fi audience recordings. On two occasions, however, professional equipment was used. On October 19, 1969, in the End of Cole Ave. club, Dallas, a fan who happened to be a recording engineer brought along his professional gear; and in November at The Matrix in San Francisco, the band was given permission to use the in-house four-track recording desk.
The band were given two-track mixdown tapes from the recordings for reference, but nothing was done with them until 1974, after the band had dissolved and Lou Reed had become well known as a solo artist. According to bassist Doug Yule, "The release of 1969 Live... was started by Steve Sesnick [former band manager], who had the tapes and was trying to sell them to get money for himself claiming that he owned the [band] name and the rights to the album... Somehow somebody else got involved and contacted other people in the group and basically Sesnick got done. [Lou Reed's management] took the tapes and said 'It's not yours' and released it".
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