JOY DIVISION - SISTER RAY (VELVET UNDERGROUND COVER)

[paulrobertsun]

Ian Curtis will live forever!

[herecomesmrbillsdog]

Ladies and gentlemen: the only time you'll get to hear Ian Curtis utter the words "Sucking on my ding dong"

[sebsdadez]

as mr nintendo asked before me.. why IS this clipped?? should be 07:34 according to my copy of still

[JizmmmyJazz]

this is the bestt thiing ever. Ian Curtis I LOVEEEEE YOU!@!!!!!!

[NintendoSegaSonyGuy]

Why is this clipped?

[touchandgod]

This is great. Not the original, which is in a class of its own, but hell yes.

[LiveJoyDivision]

People are on crack this cover is just catchy as fuck... :s

[Nocturne2]

I heard this version before I heard the original.....and I loved it. In fact, this version made me search for the original, which is awesome in it's own right. Thanks JD and VU!

[EnokiSkai]

ouch, not good. but then again it's really hard covering a song like that...

[djmusicjac]

nice new wave psychedelic sound with some post punk too

[leedumett444]

it sounds great, rough and real.

[UHandsomeDevil]

I'm not digging Curtis' voice on this one. Shame.

[raymievision]

Class...

[UltimateVenom]

i can't make out what the third note is in the riff. :(

[LouReedsBooks]

@UltimateVenom it goes G ...F C

[ETLfromspace]

i LOVE this

[billybobthe3rd]

Not gonna be biased here...not that great...oh well, still love JD.

[djey308]

@billybobthe3rd cuz you gotta dig the sweet sweet noise.

[djey308]

@billybobthe3rd you gotta dig the sweet sweet noise.

[velatin01]

La canción original de velvet underground suena mal y esta versión suena peor! Así és QUE VIVA EL PUNK DE TODOS LOS TIEMPOS!!!

[leedumett444]

SOUNDS REAL. THATS WHAT GREAT. NOTHING FAKE

[THCSOUNDS1]

carajo nunca habia escuchado un cover tan malo jaja

pero esta pegostiosa jaja

[ybot1983]

He sounds like Jim Morrison mixed with Iggy Pop

[barryshostakovitch]

You should hear their version of 'Louie Louie'. Well...

[BohemianAsh]

R.I.P. Ian Curtis.... great cover dude. Whereever you are, we love you :)

[Megajosh2]

I don't know why I like this cover... it kinda sounds like shit but it's catchy.

[KingSandwell]

i have to say, Joy Division and The Velvet Underground are both in my top 10 favourite bands ever, but this is pretty shite

[clancy2k]

I have this pic on a tshirt

[utarefsonmetushelac]

such a wonderfull song

[andreasheinz]

I'm with ajwo1026, this is a hell of a cover. Means, perfect and brillant.

[noveltyme]

Schwing.....I didnt mean nico on this track......I miss her on every track VU did...though she only sang a few(witten specifically for her) on the BEST VU album...the banana album....I had a peal away i sold for 65 dollars I still wish I had.

[fredtable]

@noveltyme

saw one being sold for $700US on Ebay about 2 weeks ago. 35 years ago everyone had one LOL

[fredtable]

@noveltyme 

[noveltyme]

For some reason, (despite the absence of Nico of course)......I love this cover of sister ray off still.....I hope you know Ian was straight edge and didnt smack. Early stuff from JD Stiff Kittens and Warsaw shows that. Lou Reed approves.

[schwinglow]

@noveltyme Nico wasn't on Sister Ray

[nimatek667]

@noveltyme thank god nico wasn't on the White Light White Heat album...

[cwbell]

this is like two scoops of my favorite ice cream!!!!!!!

[JOANLONDES]

he had a beaiful and paiful conception about life ! sorry about my english !

[iTziNiQuiTyx]

This song is featured on the compilation album "Still". Still features a bunch of songs which were probobly about to be released like "Ceremony" which became New Order's rise back up to the top. The last third of the record is live tracks from a show.

[321joecakes]

They only made two studio albums. Still isn't a proper album.

[PublicJoe88]

+singles\sessions ;)

[gabriel94220]

Indeed Still had been finished AFTER Ian's death, in 198. But all the songs had been sung by him so still can be considered as a Joy division's album

[cecopiteco]

@gabriel94220 not really, is just a post post album.. I think you confuse with "closer"

[nikjagger]

and closer and unkonwn pleasures make 3 man !

[321joecakes]

Joy division only had two albums. Still wasn't one of them.

[knownpleasures]

still is a joy division album

[Nostrinian]

This is from "Still" the final Joy Division album, released after Ians death.

[cccroft]

I use to have this album, does someone know the name of the album?

[amandolin0]

"you should hear our version of Louie Louie... whoa."

[cccroft]

sorry I hit the wrong thumb

[Gigsixstring]

interesting

[TheMickricho]

knob head

[indiedrugmusic]

Predominately heroin, but everything else too. Lou Reed and Nico definitely seemed to prefer heroin though.

[Darkstarz25]

Nico was already not involved with VU. Also White LIght White Heat was the the Velevets move away from Warhol.

[Robinhoodarch]

Not a bad cover.

[72jjw]

The point of this cover is that they were paying homage to their favourite band ,not that Ian could remember lyrics that on any given day Lou couldn't remember.

[Remix4357]

Velvet Underground were notorious heroin users, but John Cale favored amphetamines, and there was much crossover drug use.

[cecopiteco]

VU were on speed not on smack right ?

[djboony]

both

[LeLimeLine]

I believe they were predominantly on smack, not speed, judging by the song "Heroine", and their slower paced music.

[Dranectrakon]

history says both- at the factory speed was the thing -

[oscarlittlebear]

white light/ white heat is about taking amphetamines (i.e. speed)--I'd think it'd be a safe bet to say they did it all.

[LeLimeLine]

I'm sure they did, but I was figuring that they predominantly did heroin.

[deadzeppelin]

i think they were into speed much more. i've read that lou had more of a romantic fascination with drug culture than actually participating in it as much as he let on.

[hightimesbruce]

But there was a point in his life where he was heavy into drugs. I think he preferred writing about those few moments of his drug use rather than using.

[michael07307]

@LeLimeLine i think lou did d earlyer but really was speed freaks remember back then diet pills were real speed like bams little yellow pills that drop in spoon put water on draw up and shoot were real big in the lower east side.

[michael07307]

@LeLimeLine before andy picked them up they did what was the cheapest and d. was when they lived on Ludlow st [ les ] $2 a bag for what would cost $100 today if you could even get real herion nowdays its all pills crushed up got to be an ass to do drugs nowdays

[michael07307]

@cecopiteco yes mostly speed freeks listen to white light white heat speed,also remember at max,s all the druging went on in the back of the bar, alot of them were gay, not that i care hey do your on thing just don,t hit on me.

[Vinseneb]

Awesome!

[Quodlibet123]

I've always loved the Velvets & JD, but this sounds like a busted dogshit nailed to the front of a train wreck. Boring music mixed with mumbled forgotten lyrics - primo!!

PS fuck all of you

[dastgahshur]

HA HA HA: "this sounds like a busted dogshit nailed to the front of a train wreck". I think Curtis and co. would have loved that description back then.

[jpfiloramo]

Love to hear their version of Louie Louie.

[karziflora]

JOY DIVISION!!! 

RESPECT!!!

[djtimelord]

I never heard this, great one!

[schackercrack]

yeah real good cover, but I need the last 12 minutes haha

[Abortive]

the feedback is funny

[thebong1]

IN THE VU ESPIRT BUT come on where is the other 5 min ?

[icutyouupsobad]

the last 5 minutes probably would have taken up a lot of their set and they had other songs but yeah i miss it too

[Somedaysoon70]

What a song! What a song! What a song!

A great velvet underground cover!

Love him!

[myslav]

i really love both bands, but velvet's version is far more better then this, lou reed just make frenzy atmosphere while distortion on drugs is screaming in.

[kinginthecorner]

i like how its quiet and creepy in the beginning, but around the 4 minute mark it gets really embarrassing... How about Louie Louie?

[CK2890]

good band but terrible cover

[nibs2lou]

Been a Velvets fan for 40 years; didn't know about this. JD was one of a handful of bands with the integrity and understanding to take on the VU's work. This is a good take but the problem is surely that in 1966-68 the Velvets were operating on another level entirely. To me, their first two albums are simply unassailably great. I'm not a musician, just a devoted follower, and over countless listenings I've never even begun to fathom out how the FUCK the unhinged genius of Sister Ray was created.

[door2yourheart]

From vague memory, the song is something about a transvestite sailor. Can't be bothered meself, but maybe u should google it.

Yeah, Velvets were the most original band of the late 60s, and I love them, but there is Zappa too, who i liked a lot, but not as much.

[djboony]

sister ray is slang for morphine

[OrchidOxycodone]

No Sister Ray is the name of a tranny.This song is about a bunch of amphetamine addicts and sailors shooting up speed at a party where someone gets shot and no one even cares.

[cactaceous]

Exactly. And the name Sister Ray comes as an homage to Ray Davies from The Kinks.

[michael07307]

@cactaceous that sounds dumb

[papajoveth]

i quite liked this!

quite possibly the best piece of rock music ever written? along with european son

[comradeash]

Maybe, except sister ray was completely ad lib.

[ajwo1026]

Quite possibly the last time the Velvets were covered with complete sincerity.

[beautydaddy]

Agreed and with a bit more oomph!

[tokyohalogen]

read: "I'm Beginning to See the Light" as performed by Factrix

[merdufer]

@ajwo1026 hey I'm sure many people (including myself) still cover the velvets with complete sincerity! just not as bold and awesome...

[TJmoneymaker13]

@ajwo1026 what does that actually mean, covered with complete sincerity? sincerity doesn't come into the matter. or by sincerity do you mean a stripped back version with an intense vocal?

[octaviano1296]

@ajwo1026 Oh, so you don't think that the Sisters of Mercy version of Sister Ray is with complete sincerity.

[poughkeepsiejohn]

Can you imagine if Joy Division tried to play "Sister Ray" the way the Velvets did? Considering Ian Curtis' shaky personal life and his epileptic fits, the whole band might have imploded on the spot.

[robert140602]

I thought JD did a good job on this,I have it on the Still double lp.

[schmrtz666]

Velvet Underground is my favourite band but I don't like Joy Division that much. Nevertheless, this is fine cover. I think covers shouldn't be simple imitation of the original, Joy Division gave their own feel to it.

I see it as some kind of hommage to VU!

[phobioid]

Joy Division is one of my favourite bands at this point (together with the Velvet Underground and maybe two more), but I personally don't like this cover. Or should I say, I don't think there's anything special about it. The orignial Sister Ray blows me away, but this tired, "heavier" version just kinda sits there. I'm pretty sure it was fun to play and to listen to if you were at the show, and I believe its current value lies in the fact that it was the only cover by Joy Division ever recorded.

[frottery]

They played a few covers live. Gimme Your Heart was a section 25 song.

[cecopiteco]

@phobioid it's a simple three chords classic such as louie louie but less jolly "..you should listen to our version of louie louie..."

it's a nyc louie louie sort of

[DarkFukt]

an amazing cover by a legendary band

[KidA270]

this song really shows that besides the fact that they are legendary now,, in their time time they felt as humble towards the Velvet underground as we now feel humble towards them!

Just a thought.BEST FUCKING SONG EVER

[ClemenzaKimble]

Curtis can't even remember the words, the mic feeds back, it's boring and goes on and on. Why did this end up on disc? It's awful.

[DanceBrooklyn]

The mic feeds back? The Velvet Underground album White light/ White heat has a fucken shitload of feedback.

[Justen1980]

half dead bullshit listen to the original

[GamerCall]

agreed, i'm a huge joy division (and velvet underground)fan but this cover is just terrible. terrible guitar

[ClemenzaKimble]

That's what I think too, but I ended up getting a load of thumbs down. I think Joy Division could be really energetic and let themsleves go, but this track sounds like a bunch of half arsed wankers.

[frazerrothko]

think its on the Peel sesions...great up thanks

[HappyYippie]

F*cking top drawer. Hadn't heard it before.

Thanks for posting it.

Much appreciated.

[serial841]

not from the last gig, but from the moonlight club, west london april 1980.

[negativecreep90]

this isnt from their last performance. it's one of the last but look as still, that'll tell you it has their last show minus 24 hours

[MariaVainilla]

to favorites!!!

[MrZZiZZler]

this cover was made during there last live performance! wow wat a song

[envika]

this version wasn't their very last show--it was around 2-3 months before their last show. the last show can be found on "still" (starting on the next song after sister ray, actually). i'm probably going to get some objections, but IMO the actual final show was not that well-played and terribly recorded.

this version of sister ray is awesome though, don't get me wrong.

[MrZZiZZler]

well this was a month before his death, another thing is there final performance is amazing but the recording for ceremony, a first time performance was poorly recorded other than that it was a amazing performance

[dioncat]

wow...thanks for posting...

[sp4172]

TUNE IN KIDDIES ..... Doesn't get any better than this !!! Pure Brilliance .... This is the stuff that legends are made of ... God I miss real music that makes you feel like jumping out of your skin ...