Artist:Velvet Underground
Song:Sweet Jane
Album:Loaded
Though Sweet Jane is now considered a classic song, the 1970 album Loaded was much different than the Velvet Underground's previous albums and should probably be judged a little differently. By 1969, John Cale & Lou Reed had enough of each other and Cale left. Cale is more adventurous than Reed. Also, they had been dropped by MGM Records because new MGM president Mike Curb didn't want any counterculture bands on the label. No, I'm not kidding. He dropped the Mothers Of Invention too. So the Velvets signed with Atlantic Records. Atlantic owner Ahmet Ertegun told Reed that he wanted a record that would get played on the radio. Meanwhile, Maureen Tucker was pregnant and was replaced by Doug Yule's brother Billy Yule. Then Lou Reed quit the group before Loaded was released and soon began his solo career because of a power struggle with Doug Yule. Then Atlantic edited Sweet Jane behind Reed's back to make it more radio friendly. Despite all this, Sweet Jane is still one of Reed's best songs and Loaded is their most accessible album. You should check out their MGM albums first. Yule continued to lead the Velvets but the group was gone after one more album. Lou Reed was a star by then. Here's Lou Reed & the Velvet Underground performing Sweet Jane at a 1991 reunion.
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