The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes Box Set to Be Released

In November and December 1969, between the release of their self-titled LP and the following year’s Loaded, the Velvet Underground held a residency at two venues in San Francisco: the Family Dog and the Matrix (a pizza parlor-turned-concert hall opened by Jefferson Airplane’s Marty Balin). All in all, the Velvets performed for 18 nights, and a significant portion of the gigs were captured on a four-track recorder.

Now, recordings from those shows will be released as a four-disc box set, The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes. Arriving November 20 via Polydor/Universal Music Enterprises, the collection compiles 42 recordings, including nine previously unreleased tracks.

According to a press release, The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes focuses on two gigs in November 1969: November 26 (the same day that former President Nixon authorized the Vietnam draft lottery) and November 27 (Thanksgiving).

Many of the collection’s tracks have been released before, on the 1974 release 1969 The Velvet Underground Live, on 2001’s Bootleg Series, Vol. 1: The Quine Tapes, and last year’s Super Deluxe Edition of the self-titled album’s reissue. However, this marks the first time all of the tapes will be available commercially as a single release.

The collection’s highlights include previously unreleased versions of “Some Kinda Love”, “Sweet Jane”, and “After Hours”, among others. Find the entire tracklisting below.

Rolling Stone editor David Fricke wrote the liner notes for the new collection. 

The Complete Matrix Tapes isn’t the only Velvet Underground release coming soon; the 45th anniversary edition of Loaded is due out October 30.

Read our “Invisible Hits” column on the elusive “Sweet Sister Ray”.

The Velvet Underground: The Complete Matrix Tapes:

Disc One

01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 1)
02 What Goes On (Version 1)
03 Some Kinda Love (Version 1)
04 Heroin (Version 1)
05 The Black Angel’s Death Song
06 Venus In Furs (Version 1)
07 There She Goes Again (Version 1)
08 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 1)
09 Over You (Version 1)
10 Sweet Jane (Version 1)
11 Pale Blue Eyes (Version 1)
12 After Hours (Version 1)

Disc Two

01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 2)
02 Venus In Furs (Version 2)
03 I Can’t Stand It (Version 1)
04 There She Goes Again (Version 2)
05 Some Kinda Love (Version 2)
06 Over You (Version 2)
07 After Hours (Version 2)
08 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 2)
09 Sweet Bonnie Brown/Too Much
10 Heroin (Version 2)
11 White Light/White Heat (Version 1)
12 I’m Set Free

Disc Three

01 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 3)
02 Some Kinda Love (Version 3)
03 There She Goes Again (Version 3)
04 Heroin (Version 3)
05 Ocean
06 Sister Ray

Disc Four

01 I’m Waiting For The Man (Version 3)
02 What Goes On (Version 2)
03 Some Kinda Love (Version 4)
04 We’re Gonna Have A Real Good Time Together (Version 4)
05 Beginning To See The Light
06 Lisa Says
07 New Age
08 Rock and Roll
09 I Can’t Stand It (Version 2)
10 Heroin (Version 4)
11 White Light/White Heat (Version 2)
12 Sweet Jane (Version 2)

Here’s one version of “Heroin” from the band’s stint at the Matrix: