According to Stereogum, a recently released book documenting the history of The Velvet Underground has revealed that the band has an unreleased song. The book, “Do What You Fear Most: The History of The Velvet Underground,” by Richie Unterberger, was revealed to include this exclusive piece of information by Richie Walsh on Tumblr. The author mentioned in his endorsement of the book that he played a part in uncovering the unknown recording, tipping Unterberger off to the potential existence of “some exceptionally rare recordings.” Unterberger clarified that this included multiple songs not released as part of any of the band’s studio albums and notably, one that doesn’t exist in any other form. 

Walsh added further context on Tumblr as to how he had learned about the recordings. He cited that Phil Milstein, founder of the Velvet Underground Appreciation Society, let him in on the secret. 

 “ [Milstein] reached out to me to see if I wanted to work with him on a VU mystery he had stumbled upon, and that this led to the discovery of an unheard Velvet Underground recording, and, most astonishing of all, a “new” VU song no one has ever heard before that is pretty darn fantastic,” he wrote. 

The complete story and history behind the unreleased song is unknown, but Unterberger provided fans with some further context. 

“Probably while they were in the Boston area, an unreleased tape of reasonable fidelity was recorded by the Harry Miller Express Company around this time,” he said. “This could have taken place in August 1967, and possibly at a rehearsal or even studio, though Miller (who had a Boston recording studio) has said it was at a concert with an audience. Although it suffers from imperfect sonic balance, it’s a fair snapshot of how they sounded and what they played in the months following Nico’s departure…” 

In the book, Unterberger also gave fans a description of the mysterious recording: 

“The song features a herky-jerky melody and an ominous instrumental break with collapsing, slightly chaotic rhythms, as if they’re detouring into ‘Son Of European Son,’” he wrote. “Moving suddenly back to a vocal section, it winds to a frenzied climax before suddenly cutting off. It’s not nearly as memorable as their best tunes, but it’s lyrically vicious even by the standards of their nastiest verse, the song’s unfortunate target not being worth a nickel or quarter in the singer’s measurement. There’s a hint of things to come, too, Reed declaring his victim isn’t good as a man and wouldn’t make it as a girl — a reference to ambivalent sexual identity that would move more, to the fore in later Velvet Underground songs, and even more so in his solo career.”

Currently, the track remains unreleased and has only been heard by a select few individuals. However, Walsh and Milstein have reportedly passed it along in hopes of getting it officially put out.