The Velvet Underground and Nico. Very Rare Initial pressing of The Banana Album

$

300

If you are reading this you are no doubt hoping this is the real thing, IT IS. About this auction: Up for sale is an early STEREO copy of The Velvet Underground and Nico (Not a remaster). I give it a solid 9.5 out of 10 for condition. Please notice in the pictures the Ziplock anti-static zip-lock sleeve in picture 4. The vinyl has been in this sealed jacket since the day I bought it. No skips, paper scuffs, or other visible issues. I am the original purchaser. I was and still am a total fanatic about caring for my vinyl. I would buy an album, tape it, and rarely ( if ever ) play the vinyl again. My playback system consisted of a Dual 1219 with a Sure M91 E Hi Trac stylus and cartridge  (stylus pressure and anti-skate adjusted perfectly).  I still have and use this turntable today! In picture 1 (this is very important), The Andy Warhol banana is labeled with the directive: "PEEL SLOWLY AND SEE". THE BANANA HAS NEVER BEEN PEELED FROM THE COVER, perfectly aligned, and is in premo condition.  RETRACTION: THIS IS NOT THE EMERSON TORSO VERSION.  AFTER A FELLOW COLLECTORS SUGGESTION I SUPERIMPOSED A KNOWN TORSO VERSION OVER THE ONE IN THIS AUCTION. Much easier to see the differences. Beyond the last track  Dead Wax Area is the pressing information, hand etched (?) into the vinyl by the press (visible in the side two label picture to the left of the label) . "This issue is known as the East Coast pressing"A rare version of a most important LP in the history of rock n ' roll in its original complete form! The only things that keep this album from being a "10" are a 3" split on the top edge of the cover, and a 1" crack in the middle of the bottom edge (images 7 and 8). Rarity and condition are driving the initial bid price. Examine the pictures carefully. Please ask your questions before you bid!

Two things: 1) I will ship internationally. The buyer takes full responsibility for loss, theft, damage, and non delivery. Insurance is required for at least the purchase price.

2) The buyer will pay for all shipping  and safe packaging costs.

MORE INFORMATION IF YOU LIKE:

The Velvet Underground& Nico is the debut album by American rockband The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records. Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol'sExploding Plastic Inevitable multimediaevent tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain notoriety for its experimentalist performance sensibilities, as well as the focus on controversial subject matter expressed in many of their songs including drug abuse, prostitution,sadism and masochism and sexual deviancy. While it reportedly took over a decade for the album's sales to crack six figures, glam, punk, new wave, goth, noise, and nearly every other left-of-center rock movement owes an audible debt to this set.

The Velvet Underground & Nico was recorded with the first professional line-up of The Velvet Underground, including Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker. GermansingerNico was also featured, having occasionally performed lead vocals for the band at the instigation of their mentor and manager, Andy Warhol. Nico sang lead on three of the album's tracks—"Femme Fatale", "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "I'll Be Your Mirror"—and back-up on "Sunday Morning". In 1966, as the album was being recorded, this was also the line-up for their live performances as a part of Warhol's Exploding Plastic Inevitable.

Lou Reed, who wrote the majority of the album's lyrics, never intended to write about such topics for shock value. Reed, a fan of poets and authors such as Raymond Chandler, Nelson Algren, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, and Hubert Selby, Jr., saw no reason why the content in their works couldn't translate well to rock and roll music. An English major who studied for a B.A.atSyracuse University, Reed said in an interview that he thought joining the two (gritty subject matter and music) was "obvious".[7]"That's the kind of stuff you might read. Why wouldn't you listen to it? You have the fun of reading that, and you get the fun of rock on top of it."[7]

Though the album's dark subject matter is today considered revolutionary,[8]several of the album's songs are centered on themes more typical of popular music. Certain songs were written by Reed as observations of the members of Andy Warhol's "FactorySuperstars". "Femme Fatale" in particular was written about Edie Sedgwick at Warhol's request. "I'll Be Your Mirror", inspired by Nico,[9]is a tender and affectionate song; in stark contrast to a song like "Heroin". A common misperception is that "All Tomorrow's Parties" was written by Reed at Warhol's request (as stated in Victor Bockris and Gerard Malanga's Velvet Underground biography Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story). While the song does seem to be another observation of Factory denizens, Reed had written the song (and even recorded a demo version in 1965) before meeting Warhol.

The album cover for The Velvet Underground & Nico is recognizable for featuring a Warhol print of a banana. Early copies of the album invited the owner to "Peel slowly and see"; peeling back the banana skin revealed a flesh-colored banana underneath. A special machine was needed to manufacture these covers (one of the causes of the album's delayed release), but MGM paid for costs figuring that any ties to Warhol would boost sales of the album.[3][7]Most reissued vinyl editions of the album do not feature the peel-off sticker; the original copies of the album with the peel-sticker feature are now rare collector's items.

1."Sunday Morning" 2:54
2."I'm Waiting for the Man" 4:39
3."Femme Fatale" 2:38
4."Venus in Furs" 5:12
5."Run Run Run" 4:22
6."All Tomorrow's Parties" 6:00
7."Heroin" 7:12
8."There She Goes Again" 2:41
9."I'll Be Your Mirror" 2:14
10."The Black Angel's Death Song" Reed, Cale 3:11
11."European Son" Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker 7:46

7.

"Heroin"

7:12

8.

"There She Goes Again"

2:41

9.

"I'll Be Your Mirror"

2:14

10.

"The Black Angel's Death Song"

Reed, Cale

3:11

11.

"European Son"

Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker

7:46

"Heroin"

7:12

8.

"There She Goes Again"

2:41

9.

"I'll Be Your Mirror"

2:14

10.

"The Black Angel's Death Song"

Reed, Cale

3:11

11.

"European Son"

Reed, Cale, Morrison, Tucker

7:46