Customer Reviews:
 An eye opening exposure of a classic album March 3, 2004
Jon (UK)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
If you love the Velvets you'll love Loaded, their last proper album - and including the timeless classics Sweet Jane, New Age, Rock 'n' Roll... Well, this is a double CD with not only the proper versions of those songs, with the bits the studio cut out for the original release, but also alternate versions of the whole album, some excellent demos, all fascinatingly different from the final release, and some rare items, like early velvets versions of songs Lou Reed later released on his solo albums. The alternate versions and demos are all great, especially if you know the album, and there are some surprising tracks. Overall , there's not a bad song, and the influence this band had on UK indie culture is plain to see. Well worth the money.
Don't believe those who say this was the end of the VU, lacking JOhn Cale's sonic innovations. The absence of JOhn set Lou free to write some classic songs (cf. 3rd VU album also) - and I'd rate the three mentioned above alongside any others from the VU/Lou cannon.
1997's deluxe reissue/remodel October 12, 2002
Jason Parkes (Worcester, UK)
36 out of 39 found this review helpful
As with the other three official Velvet Underground albums (The Velvet Underground&Nico, White Light/White Heat and The Velvet Underground)this is an obligatory purchase. The original ten-track album from 1970 is included, in both original form and demo/alternate versions. Sweet Jane, Rock & Roll and New Age are restored to their full-length versions.Vocals are generally traded between Lou Reed and Doug Yule, the latter great on Who Loves the Sun?. The best songs here- taking it that Sweet Jane and Rock&Roll are classics already- are New Age , Oh Sweet Nuthin and I Found a Reason (sampled by Massive Attack on Risingson). The album is more hippy and even country (as in Gram Parsons/Mike Nesmith/Gene Clark) than the previous album. Bonus tracks on disc one include Ride into the Sun (as covered by Throwing Muses), I Love You (found on Lou's debut) and a stunning version of Ocean- one of the Velvets finest moments. And for those looking for the definitive version of I'm Sticking with You (mostly sung by Moe Tucker)as used in whatever advert- this is it (and not the VU version which sounds too sparse). The bonus tracks on disc two include inferior takes of I Love You and Ocean (featuring John Cale), an early version of Satellite of Love (Transformer) and demos of Oh Jim (here Oh Gin) and Sad Song - which became part of Lou's finest 70's solo album, Berlin. This 'fully loaded edition' is a definitive album anyway, as great and as different as the previous Velvets albums; at this price it is extremely good value- extending on the previous 10 track Atlantic version. Rhino as ever make the finest reissues; the liner notes are luxurious. Personally I think this is worth buying for the version of Ocean on Disc one, which is one of the finest songs ever recorded. One of the key albums of the last thirty or so years in this ultimate edition.
 great album but hardly essential extras February 2, 2002
Mailian (Brussels, Belgium)
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
For the discerning rock fan this double cd offers a mixed bag of great originals and interesting, but hardly essential, alternates and bonus tracks. Despite its apparent listenability Loaded has some hard hitting rock and great lyrics (check the other reviews). The alternate versions mostly lack this urgency. The bonus tracks are more interesting as one hears first versions of tracks that later would appear on Lou Reed's solo albums. Maybe reissues as these should be put on one full lenght cd although the price of this double cd is totally acceptable.
Better version November 2, 2001
Paul S. Whiston (Lunacuem)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
This editions features bonus tracks recorded for the lp but unreleased and a great 2nd version of the album proper which, despite the annoying out of time cow bell version of "sweet jane", and the less aesteic version of "I found a reason" which suffers for the lack of multi-vocals... is much more Lou Reed and much better an LP for it... I love the Ocean as a song which I heard first as Lou's solo, here is more haunting, tho the Cale Keyboard version is nowhere near as good.. but in all this is a very good record, not matching past heights though, the beautiful torturous guitars on classics like European Son and Sister Ray are missed here...
The most 'listenable' of the velvets releases, smooth & neat March 25, 2000
jonel.1@tesco.net (Norfolk)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I have listened to the velvets for years and keep coming back to this album mainly because it is their most smoothly produced and 'listenable' offering. If you find the harsh, metallic sound of their early releases to uncomfortable or the self indulgance of 'Sister Ray' just too much this may be the album for you, though Lou and J. Cale may not agree.
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