Album #13: Paris 1919 (1973)
John Cale
Genre: Rock
Dedicated to MB Member: 4ZZZ
1. "Child's Christmas in Wales"
2. "Hanky Panky Nohow"
3. "The Endless Plain of Fortune"
4. "Andalucia"
5. "Macbeth"
6. "Paris 1919"
7. "Graham Greene"
8. "Half Past France"
9. "Antarctica Starts Here"
After splitting from the Velvet Underground Cale became a prolific solo artist displaying his vast musical talents in arrangement, instrumentation and song writing. The opening notes are a prototype for attention grabbing; from there Cale enchants the listener with a discipline serine harmony. The album is a traditionalist album, set in a style that works in any era and fits the template of many a great soft rock standards. This may seem a departure from the avant-garde roots of this precocious performer, but the era called for this type of daring return to roots. The 1960’s pushed us through Psychedelia, Flower Power and the popularization of the synthesizer and distortion as Rock & Roll principles.
Imagine the life of a guy like Cale at this point, you’ve wrapped yourself up a window dressing for the maniacal and flamboyant Andy Warhol, played along side the hippest cat of the era in Lou Reed and been exposed as a musical sage of the abstract and for your third album you decide to focus on classical literature and traditional arrangement of what in retrospect feels like contemporary rock. Still despite this all, it’s endured as one of Cale’s finest works and most popular albums.
Only so much I can say that hasn’t been better said prior on this site by 4ZZZ who I dedicate this review to, check out this
link for his review. I believe he already mentioned that the title track steals the show and oh how right he is. An absolute gem of a song I recommend as many of you with access to the net and a computer reading this…err…yeah…Google it kids if you haven’t heard it. "Graham Greene" is another particularly fun song and along with the opener and the title track my favorite highlights of the compilation. What I like best about Cale is his willingness to simply say “**** it” and just do exactly what he wants, cronies, critics and counterparts be damned. This is my favorite album of his with Slow Dazzle a close second.