Sweet Jane

"Sweet Jane" is a song by the Velvet Underground, originally appearing on their 1970 album "Loaded". The song was written by Velvets leader Lou Reed, who continued to incorporate the song into his own live performances years later as a solo artist. The song is a fan favorite and frequently appears on classic rock radio stations.

When "Loaded" was originally released in 1970, the song's bridge was edited out, possibly to shorten the song for radio airplay. The box set "Peel Slowly and See" and reissue "Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition" restored the missing section. According to Reed, the deletion was made by Warner Brothers and it greatly upset him, as the bridge is what takes the three (or four, depending on the version)-chord chorus to a two-chord plagal cadence chorus.fact|date=May 2008 The band's bassist/vocalist, Doug Yule, says that Reed was present for the majority of the album's editing, sequencing, and mixing, and that the edits to "Sweet Jane" were done with Reed's full approval — in fact, Reed have suggested them in the first place.fact|date=May 2008 The factfact|date=May 2008 that Reed went on to perform the edited version of the song for the bulk of his career lends support to Yule's argument.

The song also appears on the albums "Live at Max's Kansas City"; '; "Peel Slowly and See"; "Live MCMXCIII"; '; "American Poet"; "Rock 'n' Roll Animal"; ""; "Live in Italy"; "The Concert for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"; and "Live on Letterman: Music from The Late Show".

tructure and history of the song

The version of "Sweet Jane" on "1969: The Velvet Underground Live" is an early version with a simpler chord progression (three-chord instead of four-chord chorus) and a notably different lyric. It was recorded during October or November 1969. The chord progression consists of three basic chords over two measures, D (D-A) G (G-A) D, used both in the verses and the chorus. Instead of opening with a standard verse, this version starts with what will later be used as a transitional pre-bridge piece, using the same chords as the verses but a different melody ("Anyone who ever had a heart wouldn't turn around and break it"). After one chorus, there are two measures of D, followed by the bridge, consisting of two progressions: D C#m G# A B B (x2), over which the "Heavenly wine and roses" lyrics are sung, followed by E B D A (x2), accompanied by "la-la-la...". The coda of the song, which follows, is like the chorus.

The full-length version of "Sweet Jane", released on "Loaded: Fully Loaded Edition", was recorded in early 1970. A Bm chord has been added to the main riff: D (D-A) G (Bm-A) D. The new version starts with a new introduction, and a verse. The chorus begins as a two-chord plagal cadence and its second part has the new four-chord riff. The start of the early version of "Sweet Jane" has been changed to a pre-bridge piece, which has been inserted before the chorus preceding the bridge. The bridge is used to transition from the E B D A sequence to a plagal cadence version of the chorus, D G (dropping the transitional A and Bm chords).

The version of "Sweet Jane" that was originally released on "Loaded" in 1970 was edited to remove the bridge. If left the "Anyone who ever had a heart" part to transition from a four-chord riff to the two-chord plagal cadence. This simplifies the original song effectively to two progressions: D (D-A) G (Bm-A) for verses and D A for the chorus. This is the version of "Sweet Jane" that most people are familiar with.

Reed has performed "Sweet Jane" in two keys: the 1969 and 1970 versions were in D. On 1972's "American Poet", 1973's "Rock 'n' Roll Animal", and 1978's "Take No Prisoners", the song is in E, while on 1984's "Live in Italy" the song is back in D.

Cover versions & other appearances

In 1972, glam rock band Mott the Hoople made a cover version, the opening song on their David Bowie-produced comeback album "All the Young Dudes". It was also released as a single in Canada, The Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and the United States.

Performed during a 'Save the Whales' benefit concert on July 8th, 1972, Royal Festival HallLondon, England as a duet with David Bowie. [http://www.teenagewildlife.com/wcgi-bin/dcinfo.wcgi?date=19720708]

In 1988, the Canadian band Cowboy Junkies covered the song on "The Trinity Session" album, which was later released as a CD single, and used on the Trent Reznor-compiled "Natural Born Killers" soundtrack. The Cowboy Junkies's version is based on the slower early version included in "1969: The Velvet Underground Live". Lou Reed himself described it as "the best and most authentic version I have ever heard". [ [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/01/2007_05_mon.shtml "Cowboy Junkies"] "Radio 4 Woman's Hour". BBC (29 January 2007)]

Phish covered the song on their album Live Phish Volume 16.

English band The Kooks performed a cover of the song combined with The Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden".

In March 2005, "Q" magazine placed "Sweet Jane" at number 18 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

In 2004, "Rolling Stone" ranked it #335 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Guitar World" ranks "Sweet Jane" at number 81 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Solos. [ [http://guitar.about.com/library/bl100greatest.htm 100 Greatest Guitar Solos] (as ranked by the readers of "Guitar World")]

The 2005 re-release of Gang of Four's debut album, Entertainment!, featured a live cover version of Sweet Jane.

On 18 January 2007, "" aired an episode titled "Sweet Jane", which also used the song to open the story and the cover by The Cowboy Junkies to close it.

Throughout much of their 2007 U.S. national tour, Secrets Between Sailors performed this as the encore at most of their shows.

Notes

External links

* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:76bsa9wgr2fk allmusic.com Song review]