Release and contents
In the early 1980s, as Verve (by then an imprint of Polygram) prepared to re-release the band's three Verve/MGM albums on vinyl and CD, they found nineteen previously unreleased tracks: five Cale-era tracks and the fourteen "lost album" tracks, some of them in two-track mixdown format, some of them even on multitracks. The cream of the nineteen tracks was released in 1985 as VU; the rest was released as Another View in 1986.
VU is a selection from the 1969 tracks as well as two previously unreleased songs recorded with Cale: "Temptation Inside Your Heart" and "Stephanie Says".
As the Velvet Underground moved from MGM to Atlantic, they re-recorded two of the songs on VU ("Ocean" and "I'm Sticking with You") for possible inclusion on Loaded. Neither made the cut, but six of the VU songs were recycled by the band's leader Lou Reed during his solo career: "I Can't Stand It", "Lisa Says" and "Ocean" on his debut album Lou Reed (1972); "Andy's Chest" on Transformer (1972); "Stephanie Says" (as "Caroline Says II") on Berlin (1973), and "She's My Best Friend" (which was originally sung by Doug Yule) on Coney Island Baby (1976).
VU is called a compilation album by some sources, As of October 2013, it had sold 90,000 copies according to Nielsen Soundscan.
In 2012 Sundazed Music released a five-LP box titled The Verve/MGM Albums, which contained a 10-track LP titled 1969 and pitched as the unfinished fourth album. In 2017 Universal released a double LP titled 1969 which expanded that 2012 LP into a 20-track collection of mixes and versions.
Critical reception
VU was ranked number 3 among the "Albums of the Year" for 1985 by New Musical Express. In the Pazz & Jop year-end critics poll, it was ranked the 12th best album of 1985. Robert Christgau placed it at number 6 on his "Dean's list" of the best albums of that year.
Village Voice rock critic Robert Christgau wrote, "It's goofy, relaxed, simultaneously conversational and obscure, an effect accentuated by the unfinished feel of takes the band never prepared for public consumption. As a result, especially given PolyGram's state-of-the-art remix, it's their most listenable record."
In a minority opinion, Mick Farren of Spin wrote of the recordings, "As a piece of rock archeology, they are clearly invaluable, filling a crucial gap in the Velvet Underground canon. As a piece of entertainment — even a period piece — they provoke the feeling that, if it had been released in sequence, the album probably would have been greeted as an almost unqualified dog."
Track listing
All songs written by Lou Reed, except "Foggy Notion" by Reed, Sterling Morrison, Doug Yule, Maureen Tucker and Hy Weiss.
The CD issue of VU omits the first few seconds of "Foggy Notion", which includes a practice guitar lick and the band members talking.
- All tracks appear on the box set Peel Slowly and See, except "She's My Best Friend", "Ocean" and "Andy's Chest". "Ocean" on Peel Slowly and See is a later version, recorded during the Loaded sessions April–June 1970.
Personnel
;The Velvet Underground
- John Cale – viola, celesta and backing vocals on "Stephanie Says", bass guitar and backing vocals on "Temptation Inside Your Heart"
- Sterling Morrison – guitar, backing vocals
- Lou Reed – vocals, guitar
- Maureen Tucker – percussion, lead vocals on "I'm Sticking with You"
- Doug Yule – bass guitar, keyboards, lead vocals on "She's My Best Friend", backing vocals on "I Can't Stand It", "Lisa Says", "Foggy Notion", "One of These Days", "Andy's Chest", piano and backing vocals on "I'm Sticking with You", lead guitar on "One of These Days"
;Technical staff
- The Velvet Underground – producer
- Gary Kellgren – engineer
- Bill Levenson – compilation, executive producer
Charts
VU is the Velvet Underground's highest charting album in the US, peaking at number 85 in the US Billboard charts on April 13, 1985. It remained in the Charts for 13 weeks.