One of the greatest albums of the 70's, the Velvet Underground's Loaded has just been reissued in a special Fully Loaded Edition from Rhino Records. Now a two-disc set, it includes two versions of the album (one in its original form with unedited versions of songs and the other of alternate takes, demos and underdeveloped versions of the songs), countless demos, outtakes, alternate mixes, and a flashy new take on the original cover art. What a great thing this is!

One of the four seminal Velvet Underground recordings (White Light/White Heat, The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground and Loaded), it was also their last. Lou Reed, brought down by bad reviews and grim record sales, abruptly walked out on the band, officially euthanising their careers.

Recorded during their legendary stay at Max's Kansas City in the summer of 1970, Loaded contains a lot of straight rock and roll (as opposed to their early darker material) which makes its entirely more accessible and fun. The Fully Loaded Edition's sound quality is far superior to previous reissues and it archives a lot of old demos and some previously unreleased material that may have eventually been forgotten. Folks always say, "Don't fix it if it ain't broken," but the folks at Rhino have just made a terrific album even better.

-Ryan Schreiber