The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection

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The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection
Compilation album by The Velvet Underground
Released	October 2000
Recorded	1966–1969, New York City, Hollywood and San Francisco, United States
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	67:45
Label	Polydor
Producer	Andy Warhol, Tom Wilson, The Velvet Underground
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link
The Velvet Underground chronology
Loaded: Fully Loaded edition (1997) The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection (2000) Rock and Roll: an Introduction to The Velvet Underground (2001)
Alternate covers
Classic Velvet Underground, European release

There are Velvet Underground compilation albums with similar titles: The Best of The Velvet Underground: Words and Music of Lou Reed (1989) and The Very Best of The Velvet Underground (2003).

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection is a compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was initially released for the North American market by Polydor in October 2000 as part of their "20th Century Masters" series of budget compilations celebrating the turn of the century. The album was subsequently released with varying titles and covers in Europe.

Contents 1 About the album 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 3.1 The band 3.2 Technical staff 4 External links

[edit] About the album

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection is a straight, chronologically-sequenced trawl through the studio and live albums that the band recorded for Verve Records, MGM Records and Mercury Records (now all under the Universal Music Group umbrella). The record's budget scope did not allow for inclusion of Atlantic Records-owned Loaded tracks, so Polydor, the UMG label that oversees the reissuing of Velvet Underground back catalogue material, resorted to their usual tactic of including live substitutions of "Sweet Jane" and "Rock and Roll".

To its credit, the album includes Velvet Underground signature tune "Sister Ray"; however, its sheer length of 17:22 meant that other possibly equally valid selections could not make the cut. Additionally, the compilation disregards contributions Nico made to the band's debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico.

The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection was initially released in the United States and subsequently in the same configuration for the European market. In the United Kingdom, the album was quickly superseded by another budget compilation, Rock and Roll: an Introduction to The Velvet Underground, which had its own selection of tracks.

A number of other European countries (re-)released The Best of The Velvet Underground: The Millennium Collection with different titles and cover art, yet always with the same track listing. These include Classic Velvet Underground (Polydor/UMG's European edition of the album, in the Universal Masters Collection series), Millennium Edition (Germany), and Velvet Underground (France). Strangely enough, both the American and European editions were simultaneously released for the European market, differing only in cover art (and catalogue number).

[edit] Track listing

All tracks written by Lou Reed except "Sister Ray" written by Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker.

1. "I'm Waiting for the Man" – 4:38
2. "Run Run Run" – 4:20
3. "Heroin" – 7:10
4. "White Light/White Heat" – 2:44
5. "Sister Ray" – 17:22
6. "Beginning to See the Light" – 4:38
7. "What Goes On" – 4:52
8. "Pale Blue Eyes" – 4:38
9. "I Can't Stand It" – 3:21
10. "Sweet Jane" (live) – 3:58
11. "Rock and Roll" (live) – 6:02

(1-3) taken from The Velvet Underground and Nico; (4-5) taken from White Light/White Heat; (6-8) taken from The Velvet Underground; (9) taken from VU; (10-11) taken from 1969: The Velvet Underground Live.

[edit] Personnel

[edit] The band

• Lou Reed – vocals, guitar, piano on "White Light/White Heat"
• Sterling Morrison – guitar, backing vocals
• Maureen Tucker – percussion
• John Cale – viola, bass guitar, backing vocals, organ on "Sister Ray" (1-5)
• Doug Yule – bass guitar, backing vocals, organ on "What Goes On" (6-11)

[edit] Technical staff

• Andy Warhol – producer (1-3)
• Tom Wilson – producer (4-5)
• The Velvet Underground – producers (6-11)

[edit] External links

• The Velvet Underground Web Page
• Foggy Notion - a Velvet Underground Web Corner

v • d • e The Velvet Underground John Cale · Sterling Morrison · Lou Reed · Maureen Tucker · Doug Yule Willie Alexander · Angus MacLise · Walter Powers Studio albums The Velvet Underground and Nico · White Light/White Heat · The Velvet Underground · Loaded · Squeeze Live albums Live at Max's Kansas City · 1969 · Live MCMXCIII · Final V.U. · The Quine Tapes Compilations VU · Another View · What Goes On · Peel Slowly and See Songs After Hours · All Tomorrow's Parties · European Son · Femme Fatale · Here She Comes Now · Heroin · I Heard Her Call My Name · I'll Be Your Mirror · I'm Waiting for the Man · Lady Godiva's Operation · New Age · Pale Blue Eyes · Run Run Run · Satellite of Love · Sister Ray · Stephanie Says · Sunday Morning · Sweet Jane · The Black Angel's Death Song · The Gift · There She Goes Again · Venus in Furs · White Light/White Heat Related articles Discography · Songs · Chelsea Girl · Walter De Maria · Exploding Plastic Inevitable · Lou Reed · Nico · Steve Sesnick · Songs for Drella · Andy Warhol · Tom Wilson · Billy Yule