The Velvet Underground, Another View (side A)

The Velvet Underground were obviously one of the most important rock bands of the 60s, so any collection of recordings is worth a listen. Because VU came first and collected the important out-takes, Another View is far less consistent. The inconsistency of material is to be expected, but for such an important reissue, more attention could have been paid to the technical side. Many of the tracks are then-new mixes from the 80s—some are creative, while others are overly slick (notably "We're Gonna Have a Goodtime Together"—did the mix engineer really think this would be a hit?). It's also a problem that the level of the 60s mixes was not brought up in mastering to match the new mixes. Even the packaging makes it obvious that this release was a bit of a low-budget afterthought, unfortunately. The Velvet Underground, even in their leftover out-takes, deserve better.