“No one listened to it,” Lou Reed once said, referring to The Velvet Underground’s most divisive record, White Light/White Heat. “But there it is, forever—the quintessence of articulated punk. And no one goes near it.”
Well that was then, and this is now, the day two very different labels celebrate the album’s 45th anniversary—Burger, who asked six bands to cover the record for a cassette-only release, and Universal, who have spread remastered stereo/mono recordings across three discs alongside alternate versions, unreleased outtakes, John Cale’s last sessions with the band, and the official release of the group’s Gymnasium show from 1967, including five previously unreleased performances from Cale’s personal collection.
Check out Burger’s fully endorsed tribute below, and be sure to grab it here later today if you want a limited copy of your own…
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