Jack’s in his corset, Jane is in her vest and me I’m in a rock and roll band… Ha!” “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” was kind of a throwaway, as was “Train Going Round the Bend,” but “I Found A Reason,” a gentle doo wop (later covered by Cat Power) and “Oh Sweet Nuthin’" (which has since found its way onto several soundtracks, including Stephen Frears’ "High Fidelity" and Sam Mendes’ "Away We Go") were stunners.īut it was almost immediately clear to me what I had been truly missing all these years. “Sweet Jane” is the second song on the album, after the bubblegum sweet “Who Loves the Sun” (a showcase for Doug Yule, who replaced the more avant John Cale), and it begins with a guitar squiggle followed by those steady, wave-like chords (unmistakable in any version), and just like in the live "Rock n’ Roll Animal" version, Lou sings: “Standin’ on the corner, suitcase in my hand. I loved “Cool It Down” and “New Age” (which reminded me of Sylvia Miles and Joe Dallesandro’s affair in the Paul Morrissey-directed Warhol film "Heat"). Lou, his alter ego “Jenny” (not to mention Perry Farrell and me, too) were all misfits from Long Island where there was “nothing going down at all.” Despite all the complications, we could dance to the rock and roll (and the disco and the hip hop) station. But when I finally found a copy of "Loaded" in college, I realized what I had been missing. I’d heard Jane’s Addiction’s slurry, meandering, percussive version of “Rock n’ Roll” before I ever heard the Velvets. Even the mighty Mott the Hoople did another anemic version in ’72: Some years later I happened to hear the Jim Carroll Band’s version of the song which is (although I adore and once dyed my hair orange to emulate Carroll …) pretty weak. He’s got bleached blonde hair and never takes off his extra dark aviators: But then there’s a wave of applause and Reed strolls onstage, and begins to sing in his tough monotone. That live version of “Sweet Jane” comes with an extended intro - if you happened to turn in before those chords smashed down, you might think you were listening to Yes. I knew as I scoured the bins that "Loaded" was the original home for a pair of Velvet Underground songs that had already taken on legendary status by the '80s, “Sweet Jane” and “Rock and Roll.” But the only version of “Sweet Jane” I'd heard at that point was the one off Lou Reed’s live album "Rock n’ Roll Animal," which was widely acknowledged as a way to place the irascible star back on the charts after he chose to follow up his breakthrough "Transformer" - which David Bowie and his late guitarist Mick Ronson crafted into a glitter-era sensation - with the dour, Bob Ezrin-produced "Berlin." Recorded at the Academy of Music with a shit-hot band around Christmas of ’73 and released the following February, "Rock n' Roll Animal" was indeed a big hit during an era when rock radio DJs had no fear of playing really ( really) long songs. (I know it’s difficult to imagine not being able to locate a record these days, but it was 1985.) For some reason, "Loaded" was the hardest one to track down. It was also the last Velvet Underground album I bought and listened to on my quest - 15 years after its original release, and in the flush of my teen rock-geek years - to own every note this band every recorded. Riding a Stutz Bear Cat, Jim Ya know, those were different times All the poets studied rules of verse And those ladies they rolled their eyes Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Now Jack, he is a banker And Jane, she's a clerk And both of them save their moneys When they get home from work Sittin down by the fire Ooo, the radio does play the classical music there, Jim The March of the Wooden Soldiers All you protest kids You can hear Jack say Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Sweet Jane Some people they like to go out dancin And other people they have to work."Loaded," the Velvet Underground’s fourth album, released in November of 1970 and getting the grand box set treatment next Friday to mark its 45th anniversary, was the last to feature Lou Reed. Standin' on a corner Suitcase in my hand Jack's in his corset, Jane is in her vest And me I'm in a rock 'n' roll band.
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