In November and December 1969, between the release of their self-titled LP and the following year’s Loaded, the Velvet Underground held a residency at two venues in San Francisco: the Family Dog and the Matrix (a pizza parlor-turned-concert hall opened by Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin). All in all, the Velvets performed for 18 nights, and a significant portion of the gigs were captured on a four-track recorder.
According to a press release, The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes focuses on two gigs in November 1969: November 26 (the same day that former President Nixon authorized the Vietnam draft lottery) and November 27 (Thanksgiving).
The collection’s highlights include previously unreleased versions of “Some Kinda Love”, “Sweet Jane”, and “After Hours”, among others. Find the entire tracklisting below.
Rolling Stone editor David Fricke wrote the liner notes for the new collection.
The Complete Matrix Tapes isn’t the only Velvet Underground release coming soon; the 45th anniversary edition of Loadedis due out October 30.
The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes:
Disc One
01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 1) 02 What Goes On (Version 1) 03 Some Kinda Love (Version 1) 04 Heroin (Version 1) 05 The Black Angel’s Death Song 06 Venus In Furs (Version 1) 07 There She Goes Again (Version 1) 08 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 1) 09 Over You (Version 1) 10 Sweet Jane (Version 1) 11 Pale Blue Eyes (Version 1) 12 After Hours (Version 1)
Disc Two
01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 2) 02 Venus In Furs (Version 2) 03 I Can’t Stand It (Version 1) 04 There She Goes Again (Version 2) 05 Some Kinda Love (Version 2) 06 Over You (Version 2) 07 After Hours (Version 2) 08 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 2) 09 Sweet Bonnie Brown/Too Much 10 Heroin (Version 2) 11 White Light/White Heat (Version 1) 12 I’m Set Free
Disc Three
01 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 3) 02 Some Kinda Love (Version 3) 03 There She Goes Again (Version 3) 04 Heroin (Version 3) 05 Ocean 06 Sister Ray
Disc Four
01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 3) 02 What Goes On (Version 2) 03 Some Kinda Love (Version 4) 04 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 4) 05 Beginning To See The Light 06 Lisa Says 07 New Age 08 Rock and Roll 09 I Can’t Stand It (Version 2) 10 Heroin (Version 4) 11 White Light/White Heat (Version 2) 12 Sweet Jane (Version 2)
Here’s one version of “Heroin” from the band’s stint at the Matrix: