The Velvet Underground (or whomever) announce 45th anniversary edition of White Light/White Heat, now with more superness!

When it comes to anniversaries beyond the 10th, few things stand the test of time. High school reunions cease being worthwhile by virtue of being high school reunions, and tragic events like 9/11 fade from significance as if by rule, as the 10th anniversary comes and goes. Obviously this isn’t the case for everyone or everything in a particular context. There’s wedding anniversaries, the later of which start to become compulsions for third parties to wonder, “Hm, do they still… ?,” but are nonetheless seemingly more prized as time goes on. And then there’s The Velvet Underground, who were famously unknown during their period of most activity, but have more recently been hailed as legendary and superlatively influential.

Such facts allow for a rarely justified 45th anniversary release, that of their first post-fruit album, White Light/White Heat. Universal Music will be doing the sponsoring here, as December 3 will coincide with White Light/White Heat 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition, comprised of three discs: remastered versions of the album in mono and stereo, and bonus material consisting of alternate versions, as well as new mixes. Additionally, and of particular note, it’ll come with a previously unreleased live set recorded at The Gymnasium in New York on April 30, 1967. Non-WL/WH songs like “I’m Waiting for the Man” and “Run Run Run” reportedly garnish the setlist.

Thank Lou Reed and John Cale for the content, as they helped out with the curative duties on this rather unprecedented collection.

• Universal: http://www.universalmusic.com

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