Recorded between February 12, 1968 and October 1, 1969. Includes liner notes by Kurt Loder and Bill Levenson.

VU features tracks recorded mostly between THE VELVET UNDERGROUND and LOADED which were never released until they were rediscovered in the 80's.

Composed principally of songs that would have appeared on the Velvet Underground's unreleased fourth MGM album, this is only slightly less impressive than their first three LPs, striking a balance between the searing pre-punk of their first two efforts and the calm eloquence of the third. "Lisa Says," "Ocean," and "Stephanie Says" are some of Lou Reed's greatest ballads; "I Can't Stand It" is one of the Velvets' toughest and best conventional hard rock songs. Some of the other tunes are slight (if engaging) in comparison with the Velvets' prime work. Many of the tracks were re-recorded by Reed on his early solo albums, and in every instance, the Velvets' versions are better. ~ Richie Unterberger

One of two volumes of previously unreleased Velvets tunes, VU consists of songs that were discovered in the early-'80s when preparations were being made for reissue of the band's first three records. A few of the songs ("I Can't Stand It," "Lisa Says," "Ocean") can be heard elsewhere in different versions, but most had never seen the light of day before in any form. Nine of the ten cuts feature the celebrated 1969 version of the band, with Reed, Tucker, Morrison and Yule, while "Temptation Inside Your Heart" is a Cale-era gem from 1968.

The propulsive "Foggy Notion" is somewhat reminiscent of "Some Kinda Love" in its insistent pulse and slightly kinky lyrical bent. "I Can't Stand It" is the band at their most rocking, laying down an unswerving 4/4 beat that sounds destined to outlast even Twinkies and cockroaches. All the tunes on VU provide an illuminating glimpse into the band's musical closet, in which all manner of goodies--aesthetically comparable to their better-known cousins--apparently lurked.