The
Velvet Underground – Under Review (Music Documentary)
Picture:
C Sound: B- Extras: C Film: B
The
history of The Velvet Underground is well known to music fans. Even those who aren’t fond of their music
acknowledge their influence. Though a
lot of material is available a tremendous amount of it focuses on the band’s
association with Andy Warhol and the Factory.
While instrumental in their formation and their early history the story
of the band goes well beyond Andy’s purview.
Luckily,
The Velvet Underground – Under Review looks at a bigger picture than
most other sources. Through archival
clips and interviews with band members Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule, Factory
member/artist Billy Name, and several music historians/experts this documentary
systematically traces the history of the band as well as the development of
their music.
The
first two albums, The Velvet Underground & Nico and White Light,
White Heat, are very much a testament to the different influences and
approaches to music of VU’s two primary songwriters, Lou Reed and John
Cale. Reed had worked as a songwriter
for a small record label that produced radio-friendly pop songs, and though
Reed wanted to be more experimental this principle stayed with him. Cale came from a much more experimental
background and brought with him an interest in discordance and drone. The tension between these extremes, as well
as the tension between Reed and Cale, produced the band’s challenging and unprecedented
sound.
The
tension couldn’t be maintained and after White Light, White Heat, Cale
left the band. He was replaced by Doug
Yule and Reed was free to be the primary influence on their musical
direction. As a result the self-titled
third album, though less challenging, is probably their best-realized and most
listenable work. In contrast their
fourth and final album Loaded, in spite of the inclusion of the classic
tracks Sweet Jane and Rock and Roll, is disjointed and ultimately
disappointing; the absence of drummer Maureen Tucker was a big factor in this
as well.
There
is obviously a lot of focus on Reed and Cale in this documentary but it also
takes the time to focus on the part played by Tucker, Yule, and guitarist
Sterling Morrison (who played on all four albums). Each was instrumental in the band and far too often overlooked.
The
1.78 X 1 image is PAL-originated and some slight ghosting here and
there is an issue, but with the great wealth of material and the variant nature
of documentaries anyhow, such flaws are not as distracting. The Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo is simple and
has no surrounds, but is very clean & clear. Extras again include a hard quiz and some text on the band and
its members. This
DVD is an essential part of any Velvet fans collection, as well as a
fascinating look into music history.
- Wayne Wise
Wayne Wise also wrote a review on this site
for The Velvet Underground’s reunion tour DVD, which you can read about at:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3361/The+Velvet+Underground:+Velvet
You can more by and about Wayne at www.wayne-wise.com
