Watch Lou Reed’s Live Performance Of “Sweet Jane” In 1974

The Velvet Underground recorded “Sweet Jane” for their fourth studio album, Loaded, which was featured prominently. In addition to performing the song as a member of the band, Lou Reed has also used it in his solo shows. A rare, high-definition of Lou Reed performing the song in Paris back in 1974 can be seen below.

Reed was trying to pen a hit for the Velvet Underground, who were critically acclaimed but never achieved economic success. The band’s final album was appropriately titled Loaded, alluding to the label’s insistence that their final release contains a number of chart-topping singles. “Sweet Jane” was written by Reed to discuss the dreamlike feeling of what it’s like to be a rockstar.

Two slightly different versions of “Sweet Jane” were released during the course of its first four albums. A version of the song recorded earlier that year and included on Loaded was the first to be released, in November of 1970. After the album’s release in May of 1972, a live performance recorded in August of 1970 emerged on Velvet Underground’s Live at Max’s Kansas City, which had a bridge not present in the original Loaded recording.

Listen to Lou Reed’s solo version of “Sweet Jane” here.