Loaded is the fourth album by The Velvet Underground, released in November 1970, by Atlantic Records' subsidiary label, Cotillion. The album was the final album recorded featuring Lou Reed, though he had departed from the band shortly before the album's release. In 2003, Loaded was #109 on Rolling Stone's reissue of their 500 greatest albums of all time.
Loaded was a commercial effort aimed at radio play, another step away from the Warhol-influenced days. The album's title refers to Atlantic's request that the band produce an album "loaded with hits". Doug Yule said, "On Loaded there was a big push to produce a hit single, there was that mentality, which one of these is a single, how does it sound when we cut it down to 3.5 minutes, so that was a major topic for the group at that point. And I think that the third album to a great extent shows a lot of that in that a lot of those songs were designed as singles and if you listen to them you can hear the derivation, like this is sort of a Phil Spector-ish kind of song, or this is that type of person song."
Reed was critical of the album's final mix. He left the Velvet Underground on August 23, 1970 but Loaded wasn't released until three months later, in November. After its release, Reed discovered that the album had been re-edited and resequenced without his consent.
One of Reed's sore points resulting from that unauthorized re-editing was that the "heavenly wine and roses" melody was cut out of "Sweet Jane". In the original recording, this part was intended to provide a perfectly flowing bridge to a full-fledged plagal cadence two-chord version of the chorus (earlier choruses in the song have a 4-chord riff). In Reed's initial solo performances, he would include the verse (see for instance American Poet), until 1973, when he would routinely leave that verse out, as the bridge fits less well in a more hard-rock version (as heard for instance on Rock 'n' Roll Animal). However, the post-Reed, Doug Yule-led Velvets always performed the song with the verse re-inserted. A career-spanning retrospective of Reed's recordings with the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967ΓÇô2003), which Reed compiled himself, uses the shorter version.
Reed also felt snubbed by being listed third in the credits on the album; and by the large photo of Yule playing piano; and by all the songwriting credits improperly going to the band, rather than Reed himself. Newer releases have satisfied many of Reed's concernsΓÇöhe now is properly acknowledged as the sole songwriter for the album; he is listed at the top of the band line-up, and since the 1995 box set Peel Slowly and See, another mix is available, restoring "Sweet Jane", "Rock and Roll" and "New Age" to the full-length versions Reed had originally penned.
The album does not feature Velvet Underground stalwart drummer Maureen Tucker, as she was pregnant at the time (she is still credited on the album sleeve, however). Drumming duties were performed mainly by bassist Doug Yule, recording engineer Adrian Barber and Doug Yule's brother Billy. Lou Reed has commented that "Loaded didnΓÇÖt have Maureen on it, and thatΓÇÖs a lot of peopleΓÇÖs favorite Velvet Underground record, so we canΓÇÖt get too lost in the mystique of the Velvet Underground...ItΓÇÖs still called a Velvet Underground record. But what it really is something else."[citation needed] Sterling Morrison had strong feelings about Yule's increased presence on Loaded, saying "The album came out okay, as far as production itΓÇÖs the best, but it would have been better if it had real good Lou vocals on all the tracks." Doug Yule claimed that "Lou leaned on me a lot in terms of musical support and vocal arrangements. I did a lot on Loaded. It sort of devolved down to the Lou and Yule recreational recording."
Original copies of the album have no silence in between the first two songs, "Who Loves The Sun" and "Sweet Jane", with the first note of the latter being heard at the precise moment the former completely fades. Some later pressings break the segue with the insertion of a few seconds of silence. All CDs of 'Loaded' retain the original segue without the silence.


Country: USA
Genre: Art Rock
Quality: FLAC,Tracks,Lossless
Tracklist:

Disc One (Original album)
"Who Loves the Sun" ΓÇô 2:45
"Sweet Jane" (full-length version) ΓÇô 4:06
"Rock & Roll" ΓÇô 4:43
"Cool It Down" ΓÇô 3:04
"New Age" (full-length version) ΓÇô 5:07
"Head Held High" ΓÇô 2:56
"Lonesome Cowboy Bill" ΓÇô 2:43
"I Found a Reason" ΓÇô 4:15
"Train Round the Bend" ΓÇô 3:21
"Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" ΓÇô 7:25
"Ride into the Sun" (demo) ΓÇô 3:20
"Ocean" (Outtake) ΓÇô 5:43
"I'm Sticking with You" (Outtake) ΓÇô 3:06
"I Love You" (demo) ΓÇô 2:03
"Rock & Roll" (Alternate mix) ΓÇô 4:41
"Head Held High" (Alternate mix) ΓÇô 2:15

Disc Two (Alternate album)
"Who Loves the Sun" (Alternate mix) ΓÇô 2:59
"Sweet Jane" (Early version) ΓÇô 5:22
"Rock & Roll" (Demo) ΓÇô 4:45
"Cool It Down" (Early version) ΓÇô 4:14
"New Age" (Full-length version) ΓÇô 5:44
"Head Held High" (Early version) ΓÇô 2:48
"Lonesome Cowboy Bill" (Early version) ΓÇô 3:14
"I Found a Reason" (Demo) ΓÇô 3:16
"Train Round the Bend" (Alternate version) ΓÇô 4:36
"Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" (Early version) ΓÇô 4:04
"Ocean" (Demo) ΓÇô 6:27
"I Love You" (Outtake) ΓÇô 2:03
"Satellite of Love" (Alternate demo) ΓÇô 2:51
"Oh Gin" (Demo) ΓÇô 2:54
"Walk and Talk" (Demo) ΓÇô 2:47
"Sad Song" (Demo) ΓÇô 3:43
"Love Makes You Feel Ten Feet Tall" (Demo) ΓÇô 4.09