The Velvet Underground - White Light/White Heat mp3 download

People buying copies from this Discogs listing should be careful of buying counterfeits. Particularly:https://www.discogs.com/The-Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/2203913

I am very disappointed by the quality of my copy. Side A1 crackles throughout. Not sure whether it generalizes, but be aware.

this record made me return to techno besides Silver Apples, Miles Davis, Amon Düül I + II, Frank Zappa - reppetive grooves of Sister Ray are marvellous, jazzy instruments solo changes. Very strong music capturing a weird feeling

Verve V6-5046, post-1972black label "Hollywood" reissue (alternate)Side 1: V6 5046 MGS 1258Side 2: V 5046 SIDE 2 MG 1259No skull, V6-5046 on top left, STEREO on top right.Back cover has V/V6-5046 on top right. It reads There She Comes Now, Lou Reed lead guitar credit, no Warhol credit.Spine reads: V6-5046 WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT THE VELVET UNDERGROUND VERVE.Black Verve label with Hollywood label address, with both the mono/stereo numbers. "MANUFACTURED BY MGM RECORDS, INC., 7165 SUNSET BOULEVARD, HOLLYWOOD, CALIF. 90046".Song credits: White Light/White Heat, Lady Godiva's Operation, I Heard Her Call My Name: "Lou Reed". The Gift, Here She Comes Now, Sister Ray: "L. Reed - S. Morrison - J. Cale - M. Tucker".Publishing credits: White Light/White Heat, Here She Comes Now, I Heard Her Call My Name: "Oakfield Avenue Music Company - BMI". The Gift, Lady Godiva's Operation, Sister Ray: "Three Prong Music - BMI".Mispressing Side 1 is stereo and side 2 mono.

"Here She Comes Now" here is an entirely different take than the stereo release

One of the only albums I've heard where you can move bass, treble from 0 to 100 or mono to stereo on your receiver and absolutely makes no difference in sound. The best from VU.

Would this not be the 50th anniversary edition? . . .

It is a repress (in blue) of this original release...https://www.discogs.com/The-Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/5184151

I have this with a 7” flexi single of Booker T live at the Gymnasium which was limited to initial copies bought direct from UMe but don’t see this listed.

I wish I'd read this before buying it..... It's not a very good pressing to be honest and as has been said before it's hilarious they call themselves "vinyl Lovers".... awful, just awful.

Never in my life have I heard a more hilariously ironic name for a label than "Vinyl Lovers". I'm trying to fathom what it is they actually enjoy about vinyl because it sure as hell ain't quality listening. Maybe they just enjoy how easy it is to rip CDs and press them on to vinyl and sell them on for profit? Either way, just buy an actual pressing of this album and not whatever the hell this is.

Does anyone know if the pressing sounds good or bad?

My copy is extremely warped but i can't say it sounds bad for as badly warped as it is. There is no surface noise or anything like that. I think the vocal clarity is a bit better on this one than https://www.discogs.com/Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/2439454 There feels to be more separation between vocals and the other instruments. Given the choice between the two i would certainly pick this release over the link i gave.

Do not buy this version, it's sourced from the CD, which explains the bonus tracks. Buy a different version.Research the labels and pressings before buying a certain vinyl you find at a record store.

What is the original inner sleeve for this LP ? Plan white or the Verve "jazz" inner sleeve ? Help me.

Thanks for your responses. My copy is plain white too. Maybe it's different fort the east and west version...

My copy is plain white sleeve, so don't be nervous white or printed.

Hi jlgui, I added the visual of the original cover of my personal copy of this legendary album.King regards

What is the original inner sleeve for this LP ? Plan white or the Verve "jazz" inner sleeve ? Help me.

I have the Verve Jazz inner sleeve with my copy and I assumed that was the original. The sleeve certainly looks like it’s from ‘68.

No idea, I was wondering also. Did u ever find out?

If the photos are to be believed, the title fonts don't match on the front and back. The front is correct, as in it's the original font, while the back type is from the reissue. Sloppy and disappointing that no one cares at UMG, just out to make an easy profit on the new generation of VU fans.

My copy of 4M155 has the skull tattoo. I think there is a mistake in the information posted here

Sounds absolutely incredible! Only thing I can say is the vocals in The Gift are very low, but I'm so sure that's intentional! Everything about this pressing is wonderful and I couldn't recommend it more!

This pressing is not great. Poor sound quality in my opinion. Will look for replacement

A really mysterious one. It is generally considered as an unofficial release.The question is why someone did a bootleg so early as it is definitely from the early seventies; sound quality and printing are really great and feel more like an official pressing. I found my copy sealed amongst old records in Denmark maybe ten years ago. it would be interesting if someone knows about the orgins of this issue.

The mastering engineer on this issue of White Light/White Heat is David Cheppa (founder of Better Quality Sound)Yes, his signature in the runouts of the records he has mastered tends to appear as DcBqs or some variation, but I'm surprised they listed it like this on this site.

Help me out! My copy's spine says: V6-5046 WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT VERVE. No Velvet Underground mentioned! Everything else points it to be US 1. press. And no visual "skull tattoo" on the cover either.

Check out https://www.discogs.com/The-Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/2203913 . It fits your description so far but you'll want to compare the quality of the labels too. Best regards / M

Once upon a time in America, back when there were actual records, music was new, and exploration was more then half the fun, there was a chain of music stores called Tower Records, who catered to those of us who walked around with big pieces of plastic, like they were badges of honor. I had my first experience with Tower in Los Angeles ... where you could actually go into the store and ask to hear an album before you purchased it. Along one side of the store were these rooms, not much bigger then a telephone booth, each room had a turntable, and that’s where we'd spin record after record, finding what was hip, and what was a waste of time. Now don’t go thinking this was all fun and games, it wasn’t. Listening like this required stamina, fortitude, and commitment ... because while you could stay and listen for as long as you wanted, in each booth burned a one hundred and fifty watt light bulb, and if you tried to leave the door open to get some cool fresh air, the turntable would stop spinning. So while the concept was outstanding, they wanted to get you in and out as fast as possible. But not me ... some slick baby cakes showed me how to put a piece of masking tape over the button on the door, holding it down, the turntable on, and the door cracked just enough to make it all bearable. And here is where I heard “White Light White Heat” for the first time ... so you can dig the connection between the album and the listening experience.The first thing that hit me was how completely different this release was, as compared to their first outing. And even today, the albums of the Velvet Underground remain as distant, and all but forgotten landmarks of the bohemian underground that existed in New York City during the last half of the 1960’s. Non of my friends got what I was hearing ... remember, this was the hippie generation, flower power, love, and extended rolling jams designed to facilitate your trip. But “White Light, White Heat” was a nightmare set to music, with themes of death, incest, sex, and violence, all fueled by speed and heroin. Unlike “The Velvet Underground with Nico,” there were no hits to be found here for radio air play, the songs seemed incomplete, and open ended, reminding me of movie “cliff hangers,” where words like “Stay Tuned” would be plastered across the screen at the end of the show.I guess what I’m saying is that The Velvet Underground should be seen [or heard] as expansive. Certainly they drew from the times, and “Sister Ray,” a seventeen minute orgasm is the prime example. Here they take jamming to the next level, Maureen Tucker’s drumming is so crude it’s almost delicious, while the guitar distortion of Morrison and Reed finds a groove that metal artist would use for the next forty years. Surprisingly many of the songs possess a tender side, with graceful harmonies, upstaged only by the interlacing of guitar patterns, which at times have the feel of tape loops ... something John Cale would explore in much greater detail on his solo works.While as brilliant an album as “White Light, White Heat” was, I place it right beside The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper,” with its strength being the influence it had, rather then the lasting listenability of the record. I know that it sounds as if I’m sidestepping the importance and magic of this album ... I’m not. This is a body of work that is passionately held by all of those who discover it. But I tell you true, with the passing of time, the memory of the music, and the memory of the lyrics ... all that they inspired in my young head, were far better then actually listening to the record.Don’t go searching for meaning, “White Light, White Heat” is not the Holy Grail, it just is what it is, and the fact that it has stood the test of time, is all the testament that is needed. Never the less ... this is a once in a life time release, where each member of the band was on the same page at the same time, and an album that needs to be part of everyone’s collection, as it's a footprint from the rock and roll evolution. I’m just happy to say that I was there when it all broke free, and if that sounds like I’m bragging, well then maybe I am.*** The fun facts: In 1968, The Velvet Underground released White Light/White Heat with a seemingly all-black album cover. If you take a closer look, though, you can see a faint image of a skull tattoo on Andy Warhol collaborator Joe Spencer's arm. "After the first album came out, Lou [Reed] said the he would like me to be responsible for the album art for the second album,” explained Billy Name, photographer and former manager of Andy Warhol's Factory, who said, Why don’t you look through my negatives, see if you find something you like, and he found this one and pointed to it. It turned out to be a tattoo that was on Joe Spencer’s arm, his bicep. So I had to blow it up from a 35 millimeter negative, meaning that it came out pretty grainy. So we decided to do a black on black.” The darkened image is really hard to spot unless you know what you're looking for or you place the album cover under a black light. The reissue features a more pronounced tattoo image.Review by Jenell Kesler

There is also a mono Canadian pressing. Blue verve label, matrix V 5046.

Extremely bad sound, unfortunately. Very muddled and avoid of all the intensity.

Well, I read a lot about this lp issue on various publications. Despite the fact it is described as widely available I only met a copy recentely after many years..... for bootleg standard or illegal reissues , I must agree with other people it is too well done and detailed. A commercial suicide for anyone willing to reissue an album to make money. The cover, the label characters/colours are too well done. Thick good vinyl. The sound quality is also excellent. Considering how record companies work it would not be a surprise if the album was actually an official repress using a stock of defected early covers, predating 1977 ( Maybe 1971/72 ? ) . It can only be compared for perfection to Bowie " memory of a free festival" single repressed ( in japan ?? ... ) with machine stamped inner grooves , but it had no cover!

should this not be merged with white light white heat

Can someone recommend a version of this album that sounds good on vinyl? I know it's not the best recording but I've tried two versions of this album, stereo versions, one from '85 and one from '90 and neither sound that good. The polygram reissue from '85 is ok. Wondering if the mono versions are better?

So far the original copy sounds the best. I have a US yellow Verve label "DJ Copy" of this and it sounds the best so far. I haven't heard all the variations of this of course so I'm only speaking from limited experience.

My copy says 1967, the earliest ive seen elsewhere is 68.

Does this reissue contain an insert? Probably not, but just to be sure...

nope it doesn't, only the record by itself, colour is nice though

My copy has Matrix / Runout: UNIVERSAL 07314 531 251-2 04 # 50988258, and IFPI's L787 (outer) 0125 (inner).

There is also a version of the Super Deluxe box set (Ltd Edition) B0019246-02 which when ordered direct from UMC site came with a limited white flexi-disc single of Booker T live at the Gymnasium (1500 copies only).

It would be interesting to find out one day the origins of this edition. I have one signed by John Cale on the back cover which I bought on eBay a couple of years ago, then recently I found a seller here in Brazil selling both a White Light/White Heat and a VU & Nico which came from the very same person. According to the seller, the previous owner bought both of them at the same time. I noticed that the "Banana album" was a 70's edition (1973 stereo, no Emerson on back and printed banana, blue label with different font than original), so I thought that WL/WH was also a '73 or so reissue... well, imagine my surprise when they arrived and WL/WH was the same edition that I already had, that is: this one! Of course it doesn't mean anything, but maybe, just maybe, this edition was available at the same time as '73 reissues? I also find it interesting that there would be a counterfeit of this one made back in the day but not the others. It would be great to know the history behind this one.

I had a couple of these pressings and may have minimal differences. The name of the band is not on the spine of what probably is the counterfit from the 70s, the label colour is slightly different to the one pressed in the 60s . There is another one in the entries classified as bootleg that has the first pressing cover (?Warhol credits) but no skull and same 60s label of the originals with band/title/ cat numb credits at right place.....

It's a bit of a stretch, but I think that this press of WL/WH comes from the same unofficial origin as the Bowie "Man Who Sold The World" Mercury counterfeit. Both seem to have the same vinyl quality, weight, and properties.

Possibly released 1st September based on what's on the back of the LP. Price is ¥1800. However it doesn't say Heisei 3 which would make it 1991.

Hi,how does it sound? Is it worth having?

Agreed, clear and clean (as crisp as it can be given the original recording anyway!).

worth it for the additional lp sounds fantastic !

This album is pretty simple, there’s not much to say about it. Each of the songs takes a very simple groove and progression and just executes on it very well, rumbling along with a warm, rounded off sound. It might seem like a contrarian record based on its approach, with its lack of cymbals, its rambling jams, its minimalist aesthetic; but it still has that backbeat, all the way through, and each of the tracks just gets right down to the heart of rock and roll, and stays nestled in there contentedly. On shorter tracks, we get the groove explicated concisely, and we get in and out in just as much time as it takes to demonstrate how the song would run if it had infinite verses and no one ever got tired, so you can use your imagination/have an hour long jam of the title track with your cover band if you need to. Longer tracks shift around a bit; ‘The Gift' has a great driving rhythm section, approaching furniture music as it repeats tirelessly for the eight minutes of the track, as the lead vocal and lead guitar kind of build and flollop against each other, neither really rising into the foreground, creating a comforting cocoon of sound. You don’t need to listen too closely to the words here, or anywhere else, but they’re about a man posting himself to a woman, and they are probably far out. The other longer jam, ‘Sister Ray’, goes to a lot of places, and eventually the backbeat spreads to all of the downbeats and everyone has to be a bit abrasive to keep up (although in the entire album there isn’t actually enough high end to really be abrasive in any way), and then it quiets down in a beautiful moment as the vocals come back in. The side two opener, ‘I Heard Her Call My Name’ has some wonderfully crunchy stuff at the start and the end, but even that just hits a really pleasing stride in the middle. As I said, not much to say. It’s just a very well executed album sonically, and every song has some very well explicated groove, and it’s all nice to listen to. The cover of this release is like all black, but there’s a shiny shape in the bottom left corner, but it looks like an ink blot. The reverse has a cool white and black picture of the band. Nice.Watch for: budabudabudabuda bu da!

Obviously not the best sounding album due to the nature of the sessions but it's one of the best albums ever made and Sister Ray is a song begging to be heard on wax. I haven't heard any other pressings but this one sounds nice to me.

Kind of noisy album, anyway it would feel engaging if not for lazy and very out of tune voices, making it difficult to even hear sometimes.Sister Ray is the most interesting theme in this release.3 of 10

That's why it's so highly revered as avant-garde. Great music incorporates the genuine voice, the rawness of sound, the energy of the brash and-not least-the absolute genius of original lyric and story.

Why the Blu-Ray Audio edition is not listed yet?

Cuz you haven't entered it. Who wants Blu Ray audio, though! This is supposed to be heard on a crappy old turntable turned up to 10!

The reflection of the photographer in the cover image here looks like something else entirely.

Very bad sounding record

Sound of this release is very anti-Vervish; mud. Unfortunately i don't know the original.

Do not buy this on the "Vinyl Lovers" label - they source from CD. I unfortunately bought release 900044 (White Light/White Heat) and it instantly sounded very distant & wrong to me. The fact that it had the CD bonus tracks should have been a give away! After researching online it seems clear that this label takes no care in where they source from and are just looking to make a quick buck... BEWARE, DO NOT BUY ANY "VINYL LOVERS" RELEASE!

Thank you so much! I ordered this from Amazon yesterday, and I immediately cancelled my order once I read your comment. You're a life saver.

Preferable To Later remaster ?

Picture of the sleeve is not correct, mine has a cover without a skull and in the upper right corner it says ; Stereo 33 1/3 2353 024

There is a scull on my copy; Matrix / Runout (Runout Side A, Stamped): 2353 024 1Y 1 ℗1967 670 04 113Matrix / Runout (Runout Side B, Stamped): 2353 024 2Y 1 ℗1967 670 04 112

Ok, the "banana" album came first, but for me maybe the most influential rock album of all times!! Noise, feedback,repetition,pop songs,attitude everything is included! Still fresh even if it came out today.

Back in the mid-70's, when I was just starting to be interested in (weird) music, I was on my way to my part-time department store clerk job in upstate NY, driving my parent's Pacer and listening to WRPI in Troy (the Rensselaer Poly station). They played the Velvet Underground's "The Gift" with John Cale's strange, Welsh-accented narration, back to back with Patti Smith's "Horses". At that point, my life changed forever. I was even late for work because I had to stay in the car until the announcer said what the hell I'd just heard because damn it, I was going to go out and FIND it. And find it I did, but in some cutout bin at Big N discount department store, with a strange cover with two guys in motorcycle helmets standing in front of Woolworths flanking one of those old scales (which I did find here on Discogs, it's called ARCHETYPES, but it's the "White Light White Heat" album). Considering that this release was about 8 years old before I heard it, it was still the most bizarre music I'd ever heard and kind of started my musical direction veering off into nothing that anyone I knew was listening to (or wanted to). This is still one of my favorite albums to this day and was years ahead of its time. A classic.

Hi, I seem to have an unusual copy of this album which someone may have some knowledge of. The front cover is black without the skull and it has cat number V6-5046 top left and STEREO top right. It is made from very thick cardboard and the back cover is almost sepia rather than black and white with the mis-spelling of Here she comes now, Lou credited for lead guitar but no crediting of Andy Warhol for cover concept. (I read on another site that the first pressings didn't have Andy Warhol credited, but his name was added to subsequent editions). Also the spine says "V6-5046 White light/White Heat The Velvet Underground Verve" as indicated is on the original edition.However, it is on the record itself where there seems to be the real unusual attributes. It is the black rather than blue verve label and the matrix codes are unusual as Each side has both the mono and the stereo matrix codes. Etched into the run off groove on side A is the matrix code V6 5046 MGS 1258, and it is indeed a stereo recording on Side 1. Etched onto the run off groove on side B, however, is the matrix code V 5046 Side 2 MG 1258, and is indeed the mono recording of side 2! Has anyone come across a similar version of this album?Cheers,Ian

You are the proud owner of a mis-pressed copy of WL/WH. This is the so-called 'black label Hollywood reissue' from the early 70s.According to Olivier's site anyway - link here http://olivier.landemaine.free.fr/vu/discog/lps/usa/lpsusa.htmlVerve V6-5046, early 70sblack label "Hollywood" reissueSide 1: 'k' V6-5046 MGS 1258Side 2: k V-5046 MG1259Front cover with skull, V6-5046 on top left.Back cover has V/V6-5046 on top right and V-5046 written upside down on lower right hand corner. It reads There She Comes Now, Lou Reed lead guitar credit, Warhol credit.Spine reads: V6-5046 WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT THE VELVET UNDERGROUND VERVE.Black Verve label with Hollywood label address.Another mispressing!! Side 1 is stereo and side 2 mono.I have the previous mis-pressing of this album where side 1 is mono and side 2 is stereo.Both strange beasts to be sure. I've no idea how many were pressed and no idea of value either.

Hi there, I also have this pressing. Has anyone tracked down more info?

Hi Dave, it seems to be a second pressing of the album from 1970. I am trying to get more info on this but it has the black verve label and A side is stereo and B side mono which seems to be what the 2nd pressing was like.

Hi Thanks for the info but mine is not that version. I have owned my copy since the mid 1980's and it was second hand then whereas that version was produced in 1998. Also the front and spine do not say "Legacy cat#: V6/5046" it just says V6/5046 on it. Thanks for the suggestion though.

don't know if you sorted this out yet but is this the version:http://www.discogs.com/Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/1316194

don't know if you sorted this out yet but is this the version:http://www.discogs.com/Velvet-Underground-White-LightWhite-Heat/release/1316194

Hi Ian,I've just come across your post regarding White Light/White Heat, black cover without the skull. Like you I am going around in circles trying to find out when this was pressed and what it is. Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I'd appreciate any info you might be able to pass on.Thanks for your help,Dave ians4464 Hi, I seem to have an unusual copy of this album which someone may have some knowledge of. The front cover is black without the skull and it has cat number V6-5046 top left and STEREO top right. It is made from very thick cardboard and the back cover is almost sepia rather than black and white with the mis-spelling of Here she comes now, Lou credited for lead guitar but no crediting of Andy Warhol for cover concept. (I read on another site that the first pressings didn't have Andy Warhol credited, but his name was added to subsequent editions). Also the spine says "V6-5046 White light/White Heat The Velvet Underground Verve" as indicated is on the original edition.However, it is on the record itself where there seems to be the real unusual attributes. It is the black rather than blue verve label and the matrix codes are unusual as Each side has both the mono and the stereo matrix codes. Etched into the run off groove on side A is the matrix code V6 5046 MGS 1258, and it is indeed a stereo recording on Side 1. Etched onto the run off groove on side B, however, is the matrix code V 5046 Side 2 MG 1258, and is indeed the mono recording of side 2! Has anyone come across a similar version of this album?Cheers,Ian

I heard her call my name - the greatest and wildest guitar solo of all time. Rock on Lou - you cantankerous old git

This album is just that. White light/white heat. The music just sort seers and explodes from the speakers. From what I understand, the producer walked out during the recording because the Velvet Underground were insistent that everything should be in the red when recording. The producer was essentially like: Alright, if you wont listen to me and have your own idea of how this should be done, then you do not need me and Im outta here.