The Velvet Underground is going back to mono, thanks to the Sundazed label.  On October 30, the seminal underground rock band’s first three albums will get the deluxe box set treatment in their original mono versions.  But that’s not all.  The Verve/MGM Albums will also include the mono version of Nico’s 1967 solo debut Chelsea Girl (featuring the Velvets’ Lou Reed, John Cale and Sterling Morrison) as well as what the label is billing as “the definitive version of the band’s unfinished fourth album!”

Uncompromising, stark and rough-hewn, the Velvet Underground’s 1967 debut on the Verve label (of all places!) remains as iconic as its cover artwork of a banana, supplied by the band’s nominal producer, Andy Warhol. In a year still dominated by big, bright pop sounds transmitting over the AM band, The Velvet Underground & Nico anticipated the sounds of the future.  Punk, glam, noise and even goth were hinted at, while the group still nodded at traditional pop, rhythm-and-blues, jazz and garage rock. Primarily written by Reed with contributions from bandmates Cale and Maureen Tucker, the Velvets dealt with drugs, sex and violence in a frank and bold way, while Nico’s deep, odd, gothic vocals lent themselves to the general feeling of unease that permeates the record. The seamy side of New York had never been so vividly illustrated.

The group, sans Nico, recorded 1968’s White Light/White Heat with Tom Wilson in the producer’s chair, aiming for an even more raw sound.  Cale himself described the album as “consciously anti-beauty,” although most would argue that the Velvets found a certain kind of beauty in the darkness.  Tensions between Reed and Cale, though, were splintering the band, and Cale was eased out prior to 1969’s The Velvet Underground.  With Reed firmly in control, the album was less sonically harsh than its predecessors, more lo-fi, folk-influenced and confessional.  Later in 1969, this iteration of the band attempted a fourth LP, with songs that exist somewhere between the low-key Velvet Underground and the more commercial pop-rock sound of 1970’s Loaded (not included in the Sundazed box).  The album was abandoned when the group signed with Atlantic, and a number of the tracks intended for the untitled LP eventually appeared on compilations and archival releases.  Maureen Tucker was credited on Loaded but didn’t actually play on the released tracks, due to a maternity leave from the band.  In any event, Loaded would mark the end of The Velvet Underground in all but name.

In August 1970, Lou Reed departed the band prior to the release of Loaded that fall.  Doug Yule, Sterling Morrison and Maureen Tucker carried on with bassist Walter Powers, but roughly one year after Reed’s departure, Morrison followed suit to pursue his studies.  Willie Alexander replaced Morrison, leaving no original members (though Tucker joined the group prior to the recording of the first album).  Following a European tour, this line-up of Yule, Powers, Alexander and Tucker was slated to record a new album, but Squeeze (1973) ended up being an all-Yule affair, with session musicians backing the lead singer.   Following its release, Yule toured again, this time backed by an entirely new Velvet Underground.  By the end of 1972, Yule had moved on, as well, and the Velvet Underground quietly disbanded.  Further collaborations between band members, of course, ensued, and the most unexpected reunion came when Reed, Cale, Tucker and Morrison reunited for a tour in 1992-1993.  Tucker, Reed and Cale reunited once more in 1996 for their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction.  Morrison, alas, had died one year earlier.  A 2009 joint interview even brought together Cale, Tucker and Yule.

After the jump: what’s on Sundazed’s box?

This 5-LP deluxe box set has been remastered by Sundazed’s Bob Irwin from the original MGM and Verve analog reels.  The box itself contains all original LP artwork in addition to two exclusive posters.  Music historian David Fricke provides a new introduction.  The Verve/MGM Albums follows Sundazed’s recent 2-CD Moe Tucker Anthology and arrives the same day in the U.S., October 30, as the six-disc Super Deluxe Edition of Velvet Underground and Nico from Universal.

You can pre-order below!

The Velvet Underground, The Verve/MGM Albums (Sundazed, 2012)

LP: The Velvet Underground & Nico (originally released as Verve V-5008, 1967)

1. Sunday Morning
2. I’m Waiting for the Man
3. Femme Fatale
4. Venus in Furs
5. Run Run Run
6. All Tomorrow’s Parties
7. Heroin
8. There She Goes Again
9. I’ll Be Your Mirror
10. The Black Angel’s Death Song
11. European Son

LP: White Light/White Heat (originally released as Verve V-5046, 1968)

1. White Light/White Heat
2. The Gift
3. Lady Godiva’s Operation
4. Here She Comes Now
5. I Heard Her Call My Name
6. Sister Ray

LP: The Velvet Underground (originally released as MGM E-4617, 1969)

1. Candy Says
2. What Goes On
3. Some Kinda Love
4. Pale Blue Eyes
5. Jesus
6. Beginning to See the Light
7. I’m Set Free
8. That’s the Story of My Life
9. The Murder Mystery
10. After Hours

LP: 1969 (Originally Unissued – Stereo)

1. Foggy Notion
2. One of These Days
3. Lisa Says
4. I’m Sticking with You
5. Ocean
6. I Can’t Stand It
7. I’m Gonna Move Right In
8. We’re Gonna Have a Real Good Time Together
9. Rock and Roll
10. Ride Into the Sun

LP: Nico, Chelsea Girl (originally released as Verve V-5032, 1967)

1. The Fairest of the Seasons
2. These Days
3. Little Sister
4. Winter Song
5. It Was a Pleasure Then
6. Chelsea Girls
7. I’ll Keep It with Mine
8. Somewhere There’s a Feather
9. Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams
10. Eulogy to Lenny Bruce