Cool It Down

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Originally Performed By	The Velvet Underground
Original Album	Loaded (1970)
Appears On
Music/Lyrics	Lou Reed
Vocals	Page, Trey
Historian	Phillip Zerbo (pzerbo)
Last Update	2023-11-27

History

Phish first covered The Velvets' smutty jangle-rock "Cool It Down" during the performance of Loaded for their 1998 Halloween gig. The original is an understated, laid back rocker reminiscent of what the Stones would sound like a few years later; leave it to Lou Reed and the Velvets to be forever ahead of their time.

The Velvet Underground, “Cool It Down” from Loaded

Phish’s Halloween version cooled it down all right. After a fiery “Rock and Roll,” the audience was more than happy to be hosed off with the loping spray of this tune. It rocks, but at a very casual pace and energy level. It sashays. It shuffles. It’s a head-bobber. The band was unafraid to put their feet up on the coffee table with this one, stretching it out to just over seven minutes – more than twice the length of the original. Much of this overage can be attributed to the exceedingly laid back approach Phish took, extending the song’s middle instrumental section to sweat maximum groove out of its pores.

The band's clear appreciation and respect for Loaded lives on, as more than half of the album's songs have been performed subsequent to the full cover on 10/31/98: “Rock and Roll,” “Lonesome Cowboy Bill,” "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'," “Sweet Jane,” “Head Held High,” and "Cool It Down." 

"Cool It Down" has been played during incredibly strong sets: 10/31/98 (Live Phish 16); 9/24/00 (preceding the set-closing “Bowie”); 7/29/03 (a classic performance chock-full of both rarities and soaring jams); and 11/28/09 (follows a blistering "Seven Below" > "Ghost" combo). This streak was broken during its performance in a rather tepid first set on 12/27/10 in Worcester, though returned to form during excellent gigs on 6/28/12 at Deer Creek and on 8/15/12 in Long Beach, Phish’s final performance of the song to date.

Phish, “Cool It Down” – 8/15/12, Long Beach, CA

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