It took the death of Andy Warhol, principal accelerant for The Velvet
Underground's career, to reunite Lou Reed with John Cale. In the wake of
Cale's unceremonious ouster from the band in 1968, the duo spent the
next 20 years casting stones at one another. Nevertheless, they managed
to set aside their differences in order to eulogize their departed
friend in the wondrously strange, mini-musical Songs for Drella, which,
in turn, paved the way for the reformation in 1993 of the original
rendition of The Velvet Underground. Alas, the group barely survived a
European tour that included several dates as the support act for U2 --
which, coincidentally, had been paying homage to Reed throughout its
international jaunt in support of Achtung Baby -- and as a result,
American audiences were left to ponder what might have been.  Recorded
over the course of three nights at L'Olympia Theatre in Paris, France,
Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII -- which already has been issued as single-
and double-CD sets as well as a VHS video and now is making its debut on
DVD -- offers a glimpse at both the promise and the frustration that the
enthusiastic Parisian fans experienced.

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