Warhol Museum exhibit celebrates groundbreaking Velvet Underground album

From Staff Reports
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PITTSBURGH – The Andy Warhol Museum will dig deeper into one of rock 'n' roll's most influential albums.

"The Velvet Underground & Nico: Scepter Studio Sessions" opens May 12, highlighting the Velvet Underground and the music from that seminal alternative-rock band's first recording sessions in April 1966, at Scepter Studios in New York City.

The exhibition centers on the original tapes of the nine initial tracks recorded by the band, recently identified while processing Andy Warhol’s archive at The Warhol.

Those tracks became the bedrock of the 1967 debut album "The Velvet Underground & Nico"one of the most jarring and influential albums in rock music.

The monophonic reel-to-reel quarter-inch tapes feature alternate versions and mixes of songs later issued on the 1967 release, which was produced by Pittsburgh native Warhol, and often referred to as the “Banana Album”, as it featured a peel-away banana on the cover designed by Warhol.

"The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967" is part of a major exhibition opening at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.
"The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967" is part of a major exhibition opening at the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh.

Although an acetate version, which was made from these rare master tapes, was released for the 45th anniversary of the album, it is of a different sonic quality, given the generation loss inherent in an analog copy, a Warhol Museum press release said. The nine tracks from the tapes, which will be on view, will play continuously in the gallery and will be accompanied by a large selection of photographs by Steve Schapiro from 1966-67 of the Velvets, Warhol and associates.

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In addition to the tapes, on view will be rare, unseen footage of the band performing live, more than 30 Warhol "Screen Tests" featuring the five members of the band filmed during the peak of their collaboration in 1966, and 100 copies of the “Banana Album,” all from the collection of Velvet’s enthusiast, Mark Satlof, which highlight the listener’s interaction with Warhol’s art.

“This is an exciting opportunity to celebrate the Velvet Underground and the beginning of their relationship with Warhol, as their original manager, producer and cover designer of the iconic 1967 debut album ... through an experiential exhibition centered around the dynamic sonic quality of the original Scepter Studio master tapes, as a highlight of the museum’s archive collection,” Ben Harrison, senior director of performing arts and programming at The Warhol, said.

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To complement the exhibition, a schedule of public programs is being organized and will be announced at a later date.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Warhol Museum exhibit celebrates trailblazing Velvet Underground album