Search - Lou Reed, John Cale, Nico :: Bataclan 72

I guess I just don't know...

greasy | now here | 04/14/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am a die-hard Velvets freak, and have had the Bataclan bootleg in various forms for some time now. I thus consider myself reasonably qualified to assess this release. The overall performance is very tastey. This version of "Black Angel's" is spooky and dark, but not blood curdling as it is on the Banana album. It conjurs visions of Gypsies dancing around a trash can fire in some littered Lower East Side back alley under a crimson moon (or at least an orange sky). Likewise, Cale's "Ghost Story" and all of Nico's material are at once creepy and pretty. They represent a certain bittersweet maturity that prevails throughout this set much like the dry wisdom and blushing warmth one might detect in a well-aged cabernet. "I'm Waiting for the Man" is perfectly introduced by Lou ("Hello. Took us a while to get here. This is a song about copping drugs in New York"). The song is given sublime treatment until Lou F***s up the lyrics by substituting the "brownstone" segment with a repeat of the "here he comes" verse. I sadly have to admit that this flub turns what would have been a stellar version into a decent version that gets monotonous toward the end. Oh well...The highlight is Heroin. With this version (my favorite), we are treated to one of Lou's best vocal performances of all time. I also find the simple but poignant accompaniment of Lou's acoustic and Cale's droning viola to be much more compelling than the Banana arrangement (and certainly light years better than those wretched Peel Slowly and See demo versions).What we get in performance, however, we lose in quality. Now granted, this should be no surprise considering the low-fi nature of most other officially released live VU material (I actually have a pristine copy from the End of Cole Ave master that sounds far better than the sources used for the original Live album). Nevertheless, there really is no excuse for having been so totally asleep at the wheel while remastering this release (In truth, I suspect there really was no remastering whatsoever). At the very least, it is in dire need of pitch correction. There are times when Lou's voice sounds so slowed down that I half expect to hear secretly embedded satanic messages. I actually took it upon myself to fix the speed in Cool Edit Pro, and in 15 minutes I was done. Which brings me to my point. This set is worth getting for VU fans, especially if they have access to pitch correction software. But this is probably not for n00bs or casual fans. Nice that it's out there, but shame on those who were supposedly "overseeing" this project. ZzzzZzzzZzzzz...."

VERY DISAPPOINTING AND POORLY EDITED

Michael Gross | Burke, VA | 03/19/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If you are a die-hard VU fan, then you probably had this show already in one bootleg format or another. I must admit, that this packaging job is outstanding. The booklet, the photos, the slipcase...everything about it, visually, is extraordinary and immaculate. However, what is it they say about "judging a book...?"The actual recording is CRAP. When this was originally issued on bootleg vinyl, the mix was recorded quite a bit too slow...which is the problem here. Unfortunately, the sound editors for this potentially stellar CD ignored modern technology completely, which is to say they did not download a sound editor for free off of the internet! Any freeware editing program could speed the mix up enough for Lou, Cale, and Nico to sound normal.I have a bootleg of this that not only sounds better, but has more songs! My 20 year old VHS tape of the concert sounds better than this.What a disappointment. Hopefully, this can be reissued after it is properly edited."

ABYSMAL sound quality...avoid this unless you're a VU fanati

Chet L. Young | 10/23/2005

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Sorry to rain on the parade of everybody who thinks, "Oh, well, that's what you get with an 'official bootleg'"...but this thing is bad, bad, BAD. The old bootleg versions(which were culled from one or the other of two sources, a soundboard recording and an audience recording) actually sound better than the official release of "Le Bataclan '72".

There were minor problems with the performance itself, of course--such as when the mic fed back on 'The Biggest, Loudest, Hairiest Group of All'--but most of the awful sound on this disc comes from the source tape that was used. Contrary to the liner notes, it's obvious that there was no attempt at remastering; the tape was waaaaaay too slow and they didn't try to correct the speed. 'Berlin' and the new arrangement for 'The Black Angel's Death Song' are interesting, but it sure would be nice to hear them the way they were played that night in Paris.

Number one gripe: during the second verse of 'Heroin', the tape cuts out for a split second. Listen closely and you'll hear it. Couldn't the people who put this release together have used the other source tape--at least for 'Heroin'--when they realized that there was a glitch? This drives me crazy every time I hear it.

Sloppy work. As I said, avoid."