Gold: The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground released four studio albums during their too-brief career in the late ‘60s, each representing a different stylistic approach. They also recorded a “lost” album that didn’t see release until the mid-‘80s as VU and Another View and had several fascinating live collections assembled after their demise. This collection features none of the recordings from their final studio album Loaded but does include several key tracks from that album in live versions (“Sweet Jane,” “New Age,” “Rock and Roll”), as well as two tracks from original singer Nico’s debut solo album that featured the contributions of Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison. Taken all together, with nine cuts from the band’s seminal debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, three from their abrasive masterpiece White Light/White Heat and five from their quiet and sublime self-titled third album. Gold doesn’t have any “hits” — only because the band never had any. But it does offer a decent overview of one of rock’s most important and influential bands.