Taped in January 1970, from what I can piece together, this is the classic rock dog lineup of Lou Reed, Moe Tucker, Sterling Morrison, and Doug Yule, before Loaded was recorded and before Moe took maternity leave from the group later that year. And were they hot that night!!!
A low-ish fidelity room recording, it isn’t as schmick and clear as the Matrix Tapes or Live at Max’s Kansas City, but it’s still listenable. If anything the extra tape noise gives the band a bit of extra oomph and fills out some great moments throughout the set: Sterling with particularly killer licks (his solos on Over You and Foggy Notion worth the price of the LP itself), Lou losing it on Sister Ray, Moe with those gun shot snares, and Doug chugging the whole thing along.
I went through a semi-obsession with VU boots and live recordings a few years back, so it’s been real nice to hear a fresh one! Not just for collectors and nerds, this boot captures the group in the midst of their peak as a live band!! -Mitch