John Cale - A few albums
 

How many artistes can still make relevant music into their old age? But a handful in my opinion. One of these is the great John Cale. I had the pleasure of seeing Cale perform at a venue that would hold 1,600 but there was lucky to be 250 people. Brisbane Australia on a rainy night is a strange place indeed. The rain just seems to scare people away, or do I overate his importance to the town that produced Punk pioneers The Saints?:o:
Be that as it may he was on his Circus Live tour and it was a wonderful show for a small audience.

I thought that as I am the owner of a few of Cales albums that I just might present some reviews. Defying convention I also thought that I would work backwards.

From 2005 we have Black Acetate
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The first track Outta the Bag is a funky number sung with a falsetto that the brothers Gibb would have been proud of. But not staying still we are then offered Foraride a mid paced rocker with Cale's fine vocal over some good crunching rhythm Guitar along with great bass and drums with lead guitar coming in late. Brotherman is Cale experimenting with an electronic spoken word track. Some may say that he has been in this spoken word direction before but in the context of his free form musical background it may be enjoyed by some but not others who care for a more Rock driven direction. 4 slower paced tracks follow. Satisfied has a lush feel and has Cale singing a love song. In A Flood is darker and brooding with a slight blues feel. Hush follows and also has a slow funk feel with Cales vocal backed by female chorus. Gravel Drive slows things down even further as we reach the middle of the album. A ballad of slow picked guitar and hushed organ. Perfect ups the tempo as we have a standard rocker with Cales vocals hitting a height with the Rhythm section showing their stuff. Sold Motel follows with a slower grunge style guitar and male backing vocals with Cale again singing beautifully. For me Women is a highlight. Cale for me has been at his best when he stretches himself and he is seemingly doing that in this song that mix's slow spoken word over electronica but slips into a straight rock chorus with crunching guitar and a further change into a scat style vocal. Not to be stuck in a rut the chorus gets almost choral to take the song out to the end.
Wasteland slows the pace but with simple piano and acoustic guitar behind Cales plaintive vocal and sharp Viola. Turn The Lights On is a straight out rocker and the final track Mailman(Lying Song) is a mid paced song with the acoustic guitar and various electronic sounds meandering away in the background as Cale again sings very well.

I am of the impression (though I am very far away from the musical universe that is the US and Europe so may well be wrong) that Black Acetate was seemingly ignored. Why? From the first to the last each track has a different feel and direction and covers his many and varied styles from his long years of making mostly quality music. Rockers through to slow ballads and even folk and blue's influences are here. Cales vocals are as good as ever. He has even embraced technology as is shown by the electronica background of some tracks. Lets be realistic, Cale is never going to make or be involved in anything as important as the first two VU releases but that should not stop anyone with some admiration of his career at least enjoying some parts of this not too bad album.

More later.

Hobo Sapiens. 2003.

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This is at times a very accessible album by the usual standards of Cales past. There is one album that is an exception to that and I will discuss that with a review later in the thread. Here that accessibility starts with Zen, the very first track. From Zen’s slow meandering atmospheric pop to the mid paced tales of travelling in Reading My Mind Cale gives the impression that he is out for a bit fun with this collection of tunes. On Reading My Mind the Italian found sounds add a bit of light heartedness to a fine piece of Pop. Things and Look Horizons continue down the same path with each being mid paced pop with lyrics that keep interest up. The lushness of the instrumentation and good production is standing out. We do take a slow and solemn turn with Magritte though. When I first heard this song I was convinced that it was a personal tale to tell but no, Cale said in an interview that he got his ideas for the lyric while sitting around the studio reading magazines. A more adventurous song that after additional plays gets better with time. With the sound of the tide racing along the beach at the start to the then sadly played strings and softly sung backing vocals this song also has a lot of background lushness that only becomes apparent with repeated listen. This has been where I feel that Cale has always been at his best, his ability to quietly add texture to a song. Archimedes has minimalist keyboard whirling under Cales strong vocal and is followed by Caravan. This is an exceptionally strong piece of atmospheric music and is as good as anything that Cale has ever written. With background drone, his sound, whirling away under a steady beat, along with keyboards, guitar and orchestration this leads to a beautifully lush and compelling listen. Bicycle is a tuneful little piece of disposable pop that has Cale and Brian Eno’s daughters Do Do Do Doing away over an 80’s style synth sound with looping thrown in just for good measure. Naturally the next song Twilight Zone ups the pace. Letter From Abroad is the most experimental track on what to this point had been a very accessible album. Should this be a worry? Not really. Cale subjecting us to this type of track, one completely out of sync with the rest of the album, makes him what he is. With Indian style sounds, electronica loops, his vocals at times processed and then with an acoustic guitar strumming away, this is great for those with a prog or experimental bent. Things X is another version of the third track but with his avant garde roots taking over and changing this song into something far less easy to listen to. Again this would appeal to those with a prog or experimental bent. Over Her Head finish’s the album and a fair degree of normalcy is returned with a slow atmospheric song. But is it? Nope. He reaches the last minute of this song and off he goes on a tangent rocking it up with all types of weird and wonderful sounds in the background.

Considering that I stated that this was as accessible as it gets when compared to some of his past solos efforts there is still a fair degree of the experimental in Cales approach, especially towards the end of the album. He is not, nor has he ever been afraid to mix things up. From solid rockers and ballads to the downright avant garde, Cale has really made himself a bit of an outsider. Sometime too odd for those who like it straight, other times too straight for those that like it odd. I rather like that.

Cale has through the years been a noted producer and has also collaborated with other artistes. One such collaboration was with Brian Eno in 1990’s Wrong Way Up.

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This was easily the most accessible recording that Cale had done in years and arguably in the future. Some could also make the claim being the same for Eno as well. Being accessible does not always a good album make but that is certainly not the case with Wrong Way Up. This is chocked full of catchy pop songs that are full of good hooks and easy to listen to vocals from both Cale and Eno. The production and musicianship add to a fine album of 10 tracks that is seamless in presentation. The opening track Lay My Love makes a nice start with a slow lazy piece of pop that leads in to a terrific second song One Word, a funky number with very good vocal harmonies. On initial listening it was hard to imagine that this was two of the more experimental artistes of recent time’s collaborating on what is a less than avant garde album. The Cale sung track In The Backroom has to my ears a Leonard Cohan feel to it. Empty Frame follows with Eno singing lead vocals over again good harmonies. One of the best songs that Cale ever sang is Cordoba. This is a wonderful soft ballad and worthy of recognition by anyone with a passing interest in the career of Cale. The slow background effects remind me of Trip Hop, a style that developed a couple of years later. Spinning Away is an Eno vocal with beautiful chunky reggae style guitar along with viola work from Cale. Again vocal harmonies finish the track and add to one of the best songs that either of these pair has been involved in. Footsteps has Cale singing in his deep voice over a song of Synth powered sounds and then follows the magnificent Been There Done That. Just under 3 minutes this is as good a piece of mainstream pop that there has ever been with a great vocal by Cale and the usual perfect vocal harmonies to fill it out. Crime In The Desert is up tempo with piano and organ whirling away with The River being an ideal piece to end. A gentle meandering song that, when it finishes, seems to softly fade into the distance.

Wrong Way Up is now 18 years old but is still a better album of constructed pop songs than anything that I can think of that has followed it. From the beginning to the end there is a feel that both Cale and Eno have had a chemistry that has allowed their 2 differing paths in the experimental/Avant Garde to collude and produce an almost perfect album. There are no weak tracks, there is no hint that any one song was thought of as filler, the vocal performances are sublime in that they suit the style of each song, as is the production and musicianship. I read once that when asked if they would work together again the answer was no as this took too much out of each other. I also am not too sure that I would want them to work together again. If it was not up to the standard of Wrong Way Up I would be very disappointed.

I only have 'Fear' by Cale and it's a great album. I may delve a little more into his back catalogue on the strength of this thread.

Fear will be reviewed. I fear though ( fear is a mans best friend:o:) that I may be coming over as a gushing fan. FWIW Fear along with Slow Dazzle and Helen Of Troy are available as a compilation called The Island Years and is comparatively cheap in this part of the world.

Songs For Drella. 1990

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Songs For Drella is a collaboration between Cale and fellow Velvets member Lou Reed. Much has been written as to the relationship that Cale and Reed had and have had from the VU days. Whatever the truth they got together to record this tribute to Andy Warhol who had passed away in 1987. This is an album for the VU, Cale and Reed purist. There is a certain dynamism that suits each of these two reported egotists who, when they have worked together, have produced some rather interesting to wonderfully great music. Sadly they do not seemingly have the ability to work together too comfortably.

This is in it’s self a concept album about their thoughts, recollections and their own narratives as if Warhol, their early VU mentor. There is generally a certain minimalism in instrumental approach with Reed playing only the Guitar and Cale the keyboards and the occasional Viola. There are no drums and bass. The backing instrumentation plays its part in filling the sound out but with the lyrics, being generally of a narrative style, the key to the album.

Reed sang all of the tracks bar 5. The opener Small Town is sung by Reed is a sing/talk discussion of the trials and tribulations of being different in a small town. This lyrically sets the tone for the entire album. That Warhol was a different individual than most is evident from Small Town to the dreamy words of Hello It’s Me the final track. There are five tracks that Cale sings and they are Style It Takes, Trouble With Classicists, Faces & Names, A Dream and Changed Forever. Style It Takes and Trouble With Classicists are both Cale as Warhol narratives and actually stretches the guitar of Reed and Cale’s piano. A fine song indeed and would not be out of place on any of Cale’s albums. Faces And Names, the next track sung by Cale, is also Warhol the narrator/singer and it wanders softly along with nice guitar work by Reed and the keys warbling away as background. Images is a Reed sung song that has Cale’s drone viola bringing back strong memories of VU. Lyrically the most interesting song is I Believe, a song with an almost bar room piano played by Cale and Reeds distorted guitar coming in and out. The lyrics are pointed. This is a song about the attempted assassination of Warhol by Valerie Solanis. Reed sings

From inside her idiot madness spoke and bang
Andy fell onto the floor
And I believe life's serious enough for retribution
I believe being sick is no excuse and
I believe I would've pulled the switch on her myself

A Dream will bring back slight memories of The Gift from VU’s White Light/White Heat. This is a deadpan to whispering narrative from Cale with the Keys and Guitar freeform in the background. Forever Changed is another Cale sung song with Reeds Guitar playing a leading role. Finally we finish with Hello It’s Me. An at times poignant lyric by Reed with some regrets by him. Cale’s Viola is as tuneful as anything he has done.

This is a very good album and should appeal to those that are Cale, Reed and VU fans. It is lyrically very strong but then it should be considering the intimate knowledge both Cale and Reed had of the subject matter. The songs themselves are tuneful and the limited instrumentation suits the concept as it fills the sound where necessary and keeps away when not. This may not be a good start for the beginner looking to hear the works of either of these artistes or VU but none the less they have done worse work.

Music For A New Society. 1982.


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Taking Your Own Life In Your Hands indeed! Slow, melodic, haunting, lyrical.
"The children are all leaving school today
Mama said, don't worry, I'll be back one day
The blue men in uniform smiled and waved goodbye
She was hiding those tears in her eyes."

Thoughtless Kind. Keyboard introduction. A machine in perfect metronomic timing. Bleak! Found sounds:- crying, laughter, bagpipes. A swirling soundscape.
"When we grow tired of the friends we make
In case we mean to say something else
Say they were the best of times we ever had
The best of times were the thoughtless kind and does not stop"

Sanities. Cale voice! Mad talk. Intense lyric. Periodic beating drum, a church organ, hard to understand background talk! Demanding. But demanding what? A listen? Rejection?
"She was so afraid
Since her mother, white with time,
Told her
She was a failure."

If You Were Still Around. Cue church organ. Cales plaintive singing.
Morbid organ hanging. He sings.
"Shreds of dread
If you were still around
I'd turn you facing the wind
Bend your spine on my knee
Chew the back of your head
Chew the back of your head
'Til you opened your mouth
To this life"

I keep a Close Watch On This Heart Of Mine. Melancholy but...?
Those bagpipes. The drum beats. Fading to the distance.
"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep a close watch on this heart of mine"

Broken Bird. Cales voice sad. Always that sadness. A slow song, a sad song.
"Like a broken winged, like a broken bird
She senses every damn thing that's near her
And nothing in the light of day could see how
Her happiness faded away
Her happiness faded away with the night" but then uptempo and almost uplifting but in the end no.

Chinese Envoy. Acoustic Guitar. Viola. Cale sadly sings, more sadness
"She was a princess, much lower than people thought
A master of nothing a mistress of something she thought"

Changes Made. Out of place. Electric Guitar, almost funky, what is going on? Mood shift?
"Cause I'm a lofty man
I'm a hungry man
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be, gonna be some changes made round here"

Damn Life. (In)sanity restored. Ode To Joy? Like hell! The irony.
"Damn life
Damn life
What's it worth?
Damn life"

Risé, Sam and Rimsky-Korsakov. Risé speaks Sam's words. Almost monotone. Rimsky-Korsakov in the distance.
"I knew a guitar player once, who called the radio friendly He felt a kinship, not with the music so much as with the radio's voice,"

In The Library Of Force. Cales voice, his voice he just talks and talks and that voice and that swirling synth and that freeform guitar and that voice. Always the insaneness of his voice!
"From the Last Day of Language
Beaten
Bludgeoned
Ransacked
Stoned
The Written Word
The Written Word
Written Word
Commands to the Sky to Starve the Sky
And the crawling skin of God"


10/10. 0/10.
5 stars. No stars.
Brilliant. Trash.
Sane or "Cale was clearly nuts" Ask James Young.

"John Cale is a ****ing elitist. He did not like the people he was playing for. He's Welsh, and they're all nasty bastards."
Nat Finkelstein

Good, concise reviews man. I've only got a copy of Paris 1919 (well, had - long since lost it in a move) which I remember really enjoying. It's been a good few years since I last heard anything by him - probably should hunt down a few of his albums. Cheers for the pointers

I should be able to add something to this thread once you start the 70s stuff.

Helen Of Troy. 1975.

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Cale released 3 albums with Island records with this being the final. Though reaching some good highs it does have a few tracks that don't work and I am surprised that it is as highly regarded by Cale fans as it seems to be. An interesting band line up on this album to say the least. How about Phil Collins, Brian Eno and Chris Spedding for a start. I presume that all the Guitar solos are by Spedding as Cale, brilliant all round musician that he is, has never been a lead guitarist.
Helen Of Troy starts out with My Maria. One of Cales obscure lyrics. Does he love a catholic girl? Guitar along with female choir. The title track, Helen Of Troy, follows and is to me Cale at his near brilliant best with a guest vocal that is sadly off-putting. The effeminate voice that he uses for various verses has the glam rock of the day in mind but the song does not deserve such a throwaway vocal. The lyrics are of the *** hag variety and may seem a little old hat today. They may have had some impact in 1975 though VU 1968 would have been the time. There is some great singing by Cale and the Rhythm section is chunky and allows the horns, Guitar and synths to work well. China Sea follows and is a soft pop song that Cale is more than capable of producing. This may have been better passed on to another artist (1975 Donny Osmond?) as it is far too saccharine for my Cale tastes. Engine follows and is vintage Cale. A somber start with lovely soft vocals and slowly played piano and then hits the heights with the vocal going gruff and manic and the song changing direction into a mélange of noise. Save Us is an off kilter track with organ and thumping bass. Cable Hogue is a slow paced almost ballad like song of slow guitar being strummed and slow paced rhythm that is saved by Cales voice. I Keep A Close Watch is a wonderful song that was used to fantastic effect on the brilliantly manic Music For A New Society from 1982. This version has a more lush orchestral production and though I prefer the future version it is still a fine song that could easily have had good airplay if covered by famous crooners. Pablo Picasso follows. A Jonathan Richman track that Cale covers brilliantly. Great lead guitar and crunching rhythm over Cale sing speak vocals. Coral Moon is slower paced song that lacks the intensity of the last couple of tunes. Nice in a meandering way but feels like filler. Cales vocal is a bit too far back in the mix. Baby What You Want Me To Do is a Jimmy Reed cover and allows the guitar to crunch away on what is a standard blues number. Nice little toe tapper but Cale can do throwaway blues covers like this in his sleep. Sudden Death is also a slow number with a blues feel that has a good lyric that saves the song as in the end it just feels again like filler. Leaving It Up To You is the final track and is a great end to the record. A fantastic lyric with a growling gruff and manic Cale vocal with fine guitar playing. "I'd do it now, I'd do it now, right now, you fascist I know we could all feel safe like Sharon Tate." A Cale fan site that I read states "Island Records replaced the track Leaving It Up To You with Coral Moon on the Helen Of Troy album, because it mentioned Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, who was killed in 1969 by the Charles Manson gang. Things turned sour, and Cale and Island did go their separate ways. The CD version contains both tracks."

I am in the minority of Cale fans in that I consider this album a bit of a failure. Sure there are the odd tracks that stand out but my feeling is that the general haphazard approach that works for Cale most of the time just did not gel with this album. It feels as if it was put together with little thought to the general flow. Most of the time the lyrics are as good as ever but they can not always carry a song that feels rushed or uninteresting. Given Cales split with Island records and the (pointless) controversy over the Leaving It Up To You lyric he may have been disinterested in taking a few of these tunes as far as they could have gone.

Slow Dazzle. 1975.

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Cale produced an album with a predominant mix of MOR pop and rock and one avant garde surprise. A who's who of the 70's elite helps out with Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, Chris Spedding and Chris Thomas. Starting with Mr Wilson we get a homage to Brian Wilson with a wonderful pop/rock song. Thumping keyboards and key changes aplenty whisk back and forth to an orchestral production that Mr Wilson would have been proud of. Taking It All Away is more pop that has a good lyric and female backing vocals under Cales slightly gruff vocal. Dirty Ass Rock "N" Roll is a rock and roll song that, though a good song, needed a just a touch more grunt. Piano and punchy rhythm with fine female vocals and horns. Darling I Need You is more MOR pop/rock and has one wondering why Cale is writing a love lyric considering the bitter lyrics of other tracks. Rollaroll follows the same musical path but has lyrical content that veers away from the love of the previous track. Heartbreak Hotel is covered and is reconstructed to become something that sounds like a classic Cale song. The tempo of the album is changed for a moment. This is Cale at his experimental best as we are taken on a ride of his vocal sounding slightly insane and menacing, the female backing vocals wail away when required and the instrumentation is dark and rocks slowly. Ski Patrol takes us back to the pop rock feel of the previous tracks though this is a poor song that does not have the usual redeeming quality of at least a good lyric. Entirely disposable. I'm Not The Loving Kind is a slow anti love song
"When my lady passes me by
I leave the love I thought I had in mind
Send no flowers or words of regret
I'm not the loving kind"
In context of the next track, Guts, all is revealed with this MOR track. Guts has a bitter lyric that jumps out and hits hard.
"The bugger in the short sleeves ****ed my wife
Did it quick and split
Back home, fresh as a daisy to Maisy, oh Maisy"
Reportedly Cale sang this about Kevin Ayers who had a dalliance with his then wife. Oddly this verse is sung in an almost whispery style and musically lacks the spite of the lyric. Cale may be the only musician that can sing a song like this and make me think that Robbie Williams could have covered it and made it sound like a love song. The final track, The Jeweller, is classic Cale avant garde. Think The Gift from the VU classic White Light/White Heat and one knows what one will get. The music a soundscape of synths and viola drones. The spoken lyric is mesmerising and concerns a Jeweller who has the misfortune of one of his eyes turning into a part of the female anatomy. Completely out of place in the MOR pop/rock context of the album but for me a perfect end.

This is a strange album to look back at. Heavy in the pop/rock sensibilities of the day and, other than 2 tracks, lacking any sense of musical adventurism. I have no criticism of Cales singing, in fact that is always a strength, no criticism of the musicianship or production but it does feel slightly dated. A couple of these tracks Cale has performed live and they are better for that. I do like Slow Dazzle but it had its time and Cale had produced better previously and has, with hindsight, produced better into the future.

Thoughts on Paris 1919?

Fear is next with Paris 1919 to follow

Awesome. Do you prefer w\VU or solo? Reed or Cale (each at his best)solo?

Great questions considering. I had actually intended to sum up my thoughts at the end of the thread. Can you hang in there? :beer:

with bated breath...

Fear 1974.
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Fear is the first and best of the 3 Island Records. Cale shows his song writing prowess in that he turns what are potentially standard pop/rock songs into, at times, slightly left of centre lyrical treats that ask what is on his mind. Fear Is A Mans Best Friend and is a sublime start. Beautiful piano dominates initially with a well sung lyric by Cale. The track picks up the pace late as the vocal stretches and then heads into noisy soundscapes with Cales voice very edgy. The beautiful Buffalo Ballet is next, a slow ballad of lovely strummed guitar, piano and strings. A lyric that I presume is written to the US frontier. Barracuda is a mid tempo piece of funky pop/rock and works well with wonderful violin making crazy sounds in the middle and at the end. Again a fine lyric that points to women trouble. Emily is slow pastoral pop with found sounds of the tide racing behind lazy piano and dreamy synths. Even when just the bass and piano take over for a few seconds and that tide races again one sits back and relaxes as Cale sings about lost love. Ship Of Fools does not let what is turning into a seamless album down. Chiming keys with another lyric that has me thinking about Cales state of mind.
"By the time we got to Swansea it was getting dark
Mumbles, jungles, bugles and the prized
The tides turned west at Ammanford
As if they didn't know what to do
But Garnant stood its ground and asked for more."
What does all this mean?
Gun changes the tempo entirely and the album is not hurt at all. 8 minutes of rocking and pounding rhythm and guitar work by Manzanera that is exciting as it is long. Cale sings a story as a Cop on the job. The Guitar solo by Manzanera from the 4 minute mark may just be the best solo on any Cale album period. Crunching brilliance. The Man Who Couldn't Afford To Orgy by the wonderful title alone should be an absolute rocker but no! We have a slow paced pop song that sings in an almost sad voice with seductive female cooing away "Come on, honey, keep breaking my heart
Ooh, you're breaking my heart. Aah, aah". But Cale lucks out
"Sorry to hear it, sorry to see it
Sorry to mention I couldn't afford to orgy
Seems such a bother, one thing, another
Tempting and teasing, just for an orgy"
Oddly sexy synth finishes and leaves me thinking that this titillating pop just maybe too edgy for the masses and too mainstream for those that like it more hardcore.
You Know More Than I Know follows and Cale sings another slow catchy pop song with jangly piano and female backing vocal. Mommama Scuba closes with a slow moody piece that has Cale singing about women (again). Repetitive rhythm and edgy leads guitar late in the song makes for a good finish.

Fear is easily the best Island years album. The lyrics are showing Cale in, one would have presumed on first listening on release, women trouble and after reading excerpts as to his life at the time this proved ultimately true. There is a certain edginess that is even there at the slower moments and this is what gives the album intensity to this day. Considering Cales experimentalist background this is not one for those that have a desire for the avant garde but then any Cale fans would understand that is not the way with this idiosyncratic musician. A class album. If anyone is interested in either Fear, Slow Dazzle or Helen Of Troy all three albums are available as one compilation called The Island Years.

Paris 1919. 1973.

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An album of generally soft pastoral style pop Paris 1919 starts with Child's Christmas in Wales. Considering the title the lyric is rather obscure but I guess Cale knows how this relates to a Child's Christmas in Wales as I don't. A catchy start that relies very much on the melody with standard guitar, organ and rhythm section. Hanky Panky Nohow has more obscure lyrics and we know now that we are in for lyricist's feast even if we have (just) another catchy pop song. What is this about? The religious side of prostitution or the prostitution of religion? I could be so off the mark that those comments are no doubt laughable but.........who cares. An oddly attractive piece of pastoral pop even so. The Endless Plain Of Fortune follows and is more pop with wonderful orchestration that serenely meanders along for 4 minutes though the lyric again has me questioning the motives. Transvaal. Segovia? Who's Amanda. I have always been curious at to the lyrics and I am none the wiser. And then Andalucía follows. Is this a travelogue? Andalucía is another soft pop song with some nice acoustic guitar and nice little shakers in the background as Cale sings in what at times is his most innocent. We get all Shakespeare now with Macbeth and Banquo even gets a mention. Is this what it is all about? Songs about Classical Literature? But after the pop of the previous songs this song rocks. Most peculiar. The albums title track follows and is a masterpiece. Paris 1919 is an orchestrated chamber pop song that stands out as one of the best compositions that Cale has ever written. A ghost song? More lyrics that have had me thinking that I am missing the theme. This wondrous song has me humming along. Graham Greene is next. Literature! Literature! More bouncy pop with a Cale's slight Welsh accent pronouncing the words very precisely. How many songs called Graham Greene would mention Chipping and Sodbury and Enoch Powell? Nice trumpet break there John! Half Past France has us in Cale travelogue mode with mentions of Dunkirk, Paris, Norway, Dundee and Berlin. What an itinerary! The poignant lines are "Wish I'd get to see my son again" and "People always bored me anyway" The toil of touring? Who knows but a nice song none the less. We finish up with Antarctica Starts Here and the album ends where it started with a slow gentle pop song as Cale sings in whispery tones about the life of an actress who seemingly only comes to life while in character. At least that is what I think it is about! But who knows.

This is a very good album that has stood the test of time. Considering Cale's avant garde roots and the fact that this was released at the height of Glitter, Paris 1919 was a bold and brave recording for it's time. It neither met the the needs of the teens that were the soul of the Glitter rock movement and was far too gentle for the Prog and harder Rock fans of say the Zeppelin, Sabbath, Purple ilk. Goodness know what the VU/Reed crowd thought. Lyrically it is as thoughtful and as challenging as anything that came out at the time and indeed today they stand up. A fine album that has stood the test of time.

Church Of Anthrax. 1971.

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This is a collaboration with minimalist composer Terry Reilly. Consisting of 5 songs in total this was no doubt what the more avant garde/experimentalist fans of Cale were after as the VU days that had not long passed were still a strong memory. This is an album that is rather unique in my Cale listening, in fact if I had been given the opening track blind I would have thought that I was listening to a jazzy jam by say someone of Keith Emersons ilk. The opening track is the title track Church Of Anthrax and is a rather jazz oriented 9 minute improvisation of keyboards and saxophone. Late into the song the familiar drones of Cales VU and earlier days appear and make this a chunky opener. The Hall Of Mirrors In The Palace At Versailles follows and having visited this wondrous room I for the life of me had never imagined that this was a tune that would somehow suit the ambience. Be that as it may it is a nice piece with minimalist piano under a free form sax. I am reminded of something that Nyman may have composed from his soundtrack work for a Peter Greenaway movie. The Soul Of Patrick Lee is a vocal pop song that is an odd change of direction considering the non pop/rock nature of the 2 previous songs. This may have been better on a Cale solo album considering that he headed in the direction of Pop with several of his 1970's recordings. Ides Of March follows and normal service is resumed. Chunky piano and off beat drum start out and end this 11 minute song. To me there is an almost ragtime feel to this song though in a thoroughly modern and minimalist kind of way. I like the drumming as it compliments without being overbearing. We finish with a short 3 minute track called The Protege with the piano the prominent instrument and the drums keeping a good beat.

This is a minimalists dream and I suspect that those of the progressive jazz ilk will be impressed as well. Considering that Cale and Reilly both play keyboards, the most prominent being the piano I am presuming that they are duelling as most of the time there are two playing as counter points. Reilly also plays the Sax with Cale playing his trusty viola. A good album for the progressively inclined.

Vintage Violence. 1970.

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Cale was 2 years out from The Velvet Underground when he released this his first solo album. Considering that he was considered the experimentalist within VU this album may have been a shock to the hardcore fans of his avant garde bent.
Hello There starts with a piano based pop song with blues elements and a lyric that proved that Cale was not only a composer of good tunes but a good word smith. This is apparently a lyric about his VU departure. Oh and Spain gets a mention.
Gideon's Bible follows and is again catchy pop with the hook and the lyric and the male chorus doing a few ooohs! in the background and even the trusty viola adds a bit of fill. China gets a mention this time.
Adelaide follows and we have a boppy little song with a male basso in the back occasionally, harmonica and it is a complete shock to the rock/avant-garde system. What is this all about ex Velvet Underground member? This is pop with a sing song Cale singing "Oh, Adelaide, Adelaide, I want you tonight Adelaide, Adelaide, I want you tonight". Adelaide gets the obvious mention and he wants to go back there. I have never been to the place but have been told it has lots of Churches and some great wineries a bit of a drive out but that does not seem to be what the song is about.
Big White Cloud is well..........an Elton John circa 1974 song in disguise. Ahead of his time is Cale. Nowhere gets a mention.
Cleo. This is pop pap with cheesy hand claps and the background vocals that make one think of The Partridge Family. Nowhere gets a mention.
Please is bit more of the Frank Sinatra style of ballad though it does at times have a country feel about it. Maybe I meant Glen Campbell as I think he would have enjoyed singing this one. Trinidad gets a mention.
Charlemagne is another meandering pop song and there is another hint of country. Is it the slide guitar? I think so. Mississippi and San Sebastian get the mention.
Bring It On Up. More Country style pop, a drinking song and no mention of anywhere in particular.
Amsterdam. A slower style ballad that starts with just a strumming guitar and not Cales best ever vocal. Somewhere called Amsterdam gets a mention. Apparently the journey to this place done her well.
Ghost Story. This remind's me of something that The Walker Brothers may have sung. A 60's pop song but then this is 1970 so what am I talking about. Catchy and summery with a wonderful organ, a great lyric and the last minute of the song gets a bit more complicated. The best song so far and Liverpool, Detroit and Holland get a mention.
Fairweather Friend follows and is a Garland Jeffries song. Purely a Rock N Roll song and a French emissary gets a mention just to keep the travelogue going.
The copy of this album that I have has 2 bonus tracks, another version of Fairweather Friend and a song called Wall. Wall is completely out of place. This is 6 minutes of a viola drone that is what some would have expected from the most avant-garde member of VU on his first solo album. The only problem is that this was from the 2001 re-release. Also being an instrumental there is absolutely no mention of anywhere on this planet. My imagination does take me to the bandstand on The Esplanade in Bognor Regis, West Sussex, England on a winters day though. Not really sure why:usehead:.

So what did I think of this album? I don't particularly dislike it per se but it just seems so inoffensive (or is that offensive?) depending on how one wants to view it. On a personal level after the wonderful VU I would have expected something more daring from my hero. Be that as it may I think that Cale the composer was testing his ability to write pop songs with West Coast roots and at times it failed in the presentation but so what! The next few albums were also basically pop albums anyway and though a touch hit or miss at times, he went on to produce many brilliant songs on all of them. The other thing to take out of this album is that he is damn fine lyricist and within those lyrics has always mentioned many destinations around the world and I think that that is not such a bad thing for those of us with an imagination. I just have not found a lyric of his anywhere that mentions sunny Bognor, though he has not mentioned Bangor in the land of his birth so I should not complain to much.

For those who have not heard Cale's solo stuff, or the Velvet Underground. you really should, this thread gives great inisght into his albums and should provide you a personal starting point for exploration.

Of course you are 100% correct:yeah:. A couple more posts to come and then I can devote my listening elsewhere.

Back to the future.

Words for The Dying. 1989.

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I have only come across this album in the last few weeks so was reticent to review it without giving it a fair listen. In researching it I have found there was a tendency to dismiss it by some fans and critic's but I like it. It is to me what the career of Cale encapsulates. The strangeness of the musically safe and the expectation of something experimental and this oddly sums that up. The album starts out with 6 tracks consisting of The Falkland Suite.
Their various titles are as follows. 1) Introduction, 2) There Was A Savior/Interlude I, 3) On A Wedding Anniversary, 4) Interlude II, 5) Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed and 6) Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. They are all orchestral pieces with the lyrics being the poems of Dylan Thomas. As well as orchestra there is a boys choir. I tend to find this all softly and gently melodic for the majority of the time. I have always enjoyed Cales voice so have no issue with his singing. I am no reader of poetry so have no idea how the lovers of Thomas' poems would react but it is all fine with me. Of all the pieces Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night would be my favourite.
The next 2 tracks are Songs Without Words I and II. Both short piano based tracks I find them pleasant and enjoyable enough and in keeping with the direction of the album. The final song is The Soul Of Carmen Miranda and some would consider that this piece of pop was out of keeping with the general feel of the album. Well that's Cale, get used to it. This may not have been out of place on the magnificent Cale/Eno Wrong Way Up reviewed earlier in this thread. A nice meandering electronic pop song with Cale throwing in a viola for good measure.

5 tracks. 2003.


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An EP that I have also been able to secure in the last few weeks and in hindsight showed a good insight to the direction that Cale eventfully took with Hobo Sapiens and Black Acetate. Cale made extensive use of ProTools for these 5 tracks and it shows with a less than organic sound. Verses starts us out with a moody song with Cale's gruff voice backed with a wordless female singing in the background. Waiting for Blonde follows and is a tale of a travelling salesman on a train. A funky song with the lyrics spoken at times. This is a very good song. Chums Of Dumpty (We All are) is a bit less melodic though it does come across that he is having fun using his new found music software. Plenty happening in the background an lots of direction changes. E Is Missing has a Guitar leading before getting back to the programmed music. A sad tale and Cale sings accordingly.
Wilderness Approaching finish's this EP. A strong vocal performance with a more minimalist approach to this musically with this song with the vocal and the lyric taking the forefront initially with processed vocals in the background of this slowish song.
A good EP and well worth tracking down for those who like Cale.

The final review is the last release that Cale has made. A live album called Circus Live from 2007.

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Live albums are by nature a generally hit or miss affair. I am of the opinion that the live atmosphere is rarely recaptured and they are fan fodder at best. There are always exceptions. Though to a degree this is in the most part fan fodder it has it's moments and I put that down to the fact that Cale has had no issue with reconstructing a couple of his songs for live performance. It is also generally a "best of" with a few recent tracks and has wonderful packaging consisting of 2 CD,s and a DVD.
There are a couple of VU songs on Disc one. Faithful versions of Venus In Furs and Femme Fatale. Femme Fatale melds with an obscure Cale B Side Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores with good effect. A couple of blasts from the Island years in Save Us, Helen Of Troy, Buffalo Ballet, Cable Of Hogue and Dirty Ass Rock and Roll. A track follows called Set You Free from an album I do not have nor have I heard called Walking On Locusts. The other tracks are of recent vintage from both Hobo Sapien and Black Acetate and are performed very well and faithfully. Disc 2 opens with a cover of Walking The Dog and a totally reconstructed 12 minute version of Gun shows Cale at his experimental best in a live situation. If you are looking for that famous guitar solo forget it. Hanky Panky Nohow from Paris 1919 harks back to the early days and then he rocks out with a nice crunchy version of Pablo Picasso that segues into Mary Lou a nice obscure rock and roll song from a compilation called Guts. Cale whips in a drone, what would be a live performance without Cales famous drones, and then we get the recent Zen from Hobo Sapiens, Style It Takes from Songs for Drella with a version of Heartbreak Hotel. The anti war Mercenaries (Ready For War) from Sabotage Live follows and we finish out with another Drone. The DVD is good as it has band practise in dribs and drabs and a new song with a cartoon film clip called Jumbo In The Modern World and a couple of audio tracks, Gravel Drive and a 2007 version of Big White Cloud. I actually prefer this to the original from Vintage Violence. Modern Production techniques are better for the song. This DVD alone makes the package a worthy addition to the Cale fans collection.

So after this extensive review of Cales discography just where does your reviewer stand as to his place in the music world since his first appearance in the 60's? First as is obvious I am a big fan. My thinking could be considered biased but I would like to think not. I have not reviewed the first 2 VU albums as there are already very good reviews on this Album Review Board that are worth the VU/Cale/Reed novice looking up. I consider them both masterpieces with a slight feeling that I would have The Velvet Underground and Nico over White Light/ White Heat. Though commercially unsuccessful at the time of their release both, with time, they have become two of the most influential albums in modern music. Of all the artistes that I have listened to over the years it is only Dylan that I can think of that has had a more profound influence on what I have heard in contemporary rock music and its various derivatives. Even today when I listen to some releases, this years Songs In A and E by Spiritualized for example, I hear some Cale VU influences. Though Lou Reed was the major songwriter, and in the end the leading force, it would, in my opinion, be disappointing for anyone to not consider the utmost importance of Cales contribution in the making of those 2 seminal albums.

Cale was a child prodigy and it has been reported that he had composed his first piece at High School. He moved from Wales to study with minimalist composers in 1963 but hooked up with Reed and came into rock. He plays bass, guitar, various keyboards and viola. He is also a noted producer. Horses by Patti Smith or The Stooges anyone?
When listening to the first 2 VU albums the Viola drone and pounding keys add a sense of minimalist adventure and experimentalism to the music that was a rare commodity in rock of the time. What I have found profoundly odd about his solo work, thus consequently attractive, is the odd mix of standard composition in pop that at times takes in avant-garde changes that in the end would not be attractive to those that are more, shall we say, mainstream in listening but at times far too mainstream for those that, shall we say, are dismissive of the more friendly melodic song. Be that as it may he can still put together some amazingly left field albums when he has the inclination. Music For A New Society comes instantly to mind. His last couple of albums, Hobo Sapiens and Black Acetate, are as good as anything that he has produced outside of VU and I would suggest he has shown a few younger bands, that are more popular than they should be in comparison, a thing or two in song composition and album construction. But he is a bloke in his mid 60's now and the world is for the young even if older music listeners like me may not understand that.

JayJamJah asked as to how I felt about the solo career of Cale when compared to Reed. I have a strange musical relationship with Reed. I consider him an at times brilliant songwriter. The VU albums, even the ones without Cale stand the test of time and are brilliant. As a young man I first heard Reed via Walk On The Wild Side and then Transformer. I had a few of his early albums and generally liked them but I had the misfortune to see him live at Brisbane's Festival Hall in 1977 and he had the tough luck to follow the night after a spellbinding live performance by Osibisa and he was tame and lame in comparison. I did not look into his solo material again until a couple of years back. This was unfair in hindsight but at 17 one is prone to be this intransigent. As of late I have been replaying his music and have gained a new appreciation. In fact I am thinking of giving him the same treatment as Cale if anyone's interested. But in answer to the question as to where they stand I am a Cale fan first and foremost but it would be wrong of me to suggest that Reed has not had a bigger impact as a solo artist. Reed can fill a large hall and appear as a headliner at Festivals etc where as Cale is unable to follow that. Cale being a bit more diverse in style and delivery has not the impact that Reeds best work, Say Transformer and Coney Island Baby that were focused rock albums, have had. I have noticed that Reed has become more experimental with age and as reviewed I rate Songs For Drella as an excellent album. I noticed that Reed has even produced an ambient album. That should make interesting listening.

For those that have not heard or read of VU's impact I recommend a crash course and after an appreciation is gained take time to listen to some Cale as he is a unique musician who is worth giving time to. If I was to recommend some of his albums I would suggest The Island Years compilation, the highly avant garde Music For A new Society, Wrong Way Up and one of the two recent releases, either Hobo sapiens of Black Acetate. If he performs live in your town go just out of curiosity as you will be seeing one of the most influential artistes in music ever.

I hope that this has not been too long and boring but if it has I doubt anyone go this far;).

Good work. I really enjoyed following the thread.

Big bump. Praise be to blog world. I have found an album of Cales that passed me by. I have been giving it a good play over the last couple of weeks.

Honi Soit. 1981.

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Dead Or Alive opens and we are treated to a vintage Cale song. Wonderful trumpet to start with Cale's singing at a peak. Good Guitar work along with solid rhythm make this a fine and melodic start. Excellent song. Strange Times In Casablanca follows and has Cale's talk/sing voice ripping through a rocker with synth sounds swishing away. Cale's career is littered with songs like this, lyrics that demand a listen, a standard rock beat and synth washes that give that slight experimental feel.
Fighter Pilot has female backing vocals with some sturdy lead guitar in the background. Wilson Joliet is Cale presenting his forte, a background viola drone and his plaintive then aggressive vocals with the usual odd lyrics that give him and edge over others of his vintage. Streets of Loredo is the only non Cale composition and is a Country folk standard given the Avant treatment.
Title track Honi Soit (La première Leçon De Français) has French lyrics and has a catchy chorus though odd male backing vocals. The interesting thing for this reviewer is that the song is seemingly a nod to the future in that it would not have been out of place on Hobo Sapiens or Black Acetate. Damn good song this.
Riverbank brings the tone back as we get a slow melancholy track.
Russian Roulette has one of those lyrics that has attracted me to Cale.

Well Delilah is your [envy flowing?]
Samson's shorn and hoarse
With fifty caliber bullets
For the [trutches??] in the human race
Japan, Japan, Japan, we love you
They carve you like Californian turkey
Feed to hungry missiles sucking
The moist vagina of the world
Leave it

This song rocks along and has fine guitar work that is both chunky and rhythmic. Cales mixes his singing and his speaking and just occasionally slurs his words and gets a bit of grunt into it.
Magic and Lies finishes with a melodic tune consisting of thumping piano, odd time changes and the usual enigmatic lyric.

This is a good album. It is probably just a rung below the Island years albums and the last 2 studio albums. It has the usual "problem" of being too experimental for those that are not of that ilk and the reverse for those that are. This makes Cale for me the most enigmatic of artists.

Great writing. I would have liked to have seen your take on Sabotage/Live, though.

John Cale is my favorite musician and I never understood why he's never reached a wider audience. It's great to read reviews of Cale's work by someone who understands his huge signficance as artist.

A good album for new listeners is Songs for a Rainy Season which may be the best live album I've ever heard. It's just Cale playing solo and the album showcases his strengths as a songwritter, vocalist and pianst.

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I saw Cale live for the first time when he released Honi Soit which is his most lividly uncomfortable album besides Fear. It's a lost jewel in the Cale catalog. I also admire the fact that Cale remained a friend and musical associate of Nico's long after everyone else had written her off as a hopeless junkie. I saw Nico perform in 1980 a few years prior to her death in 1988 and despite her legendary heroin excesses, she could still walk on a stage and mezmerize an audience.

My favorite Cale song is Dying on the Vine. Cale has said that Dying on the Vine is the one song he couldn't escape.. It's an autobiographical song in which Cale is ruthlessly self critical about his own decandent lifestyle. Notice Nick Cave at the other piano in this lineup in the video below.

Bump. I remembered this thread after coming into possession of a couple of new Cale albums and I also picked up a DVD at a very nice price. I rarely read so much music criticism nowadays as I am less prone to care what people think about music that I like. Be that as it may I am rather proud of this thread as I wrote some nice words and thought that I would add my latest finds.

I am not sure if Almauro contributes any more but thanks for the request. I will try and secure the album and let you know what I think. Also the same to Gavin B. Gavin B I have come across a DVD of Songs for a Rainy Season that on a couple of plays so far I am loving. I intend to give it a few more plays over the next week or two and will post a review.

I will have to also play both 1985's Artificial Intelligence and 1991 Even Cowgirls Get The Blues a few more times before commenting. I have also found a Peel Sessions, an album called John Cale and Strings Concert 92 Art Munich Project though these are not listened to as yet.

Any works of Cale that I own or have heard are reviewed on this thread or mentioned in this post. All others I have not heard. If anyone comes across links in their blog travels and would be so kind as to direct me via PM, I will be most grateful.

Excellent thread 4ZZZ,

Ive had a good re listen to Paris 1919 off the back of it, have to say I think this album is very underrated in the grand scheme of things, its tremendous.

^I just found your old The Cramps thread and couldn't believe I ever missed it. The same goes for you 4zzz, fantastic thread! I've really never gotten into much John Cale, but I've wanted to for a while. I did, however, end-up with Songs For Drella, which I thought was a pretty good album.

Good to see this thread bumped/back in action again. I've been on many a musical adventure over the last year but, despite my post on page 1, I kinda forgot to go on that hunt for John Cale albums that I mentioned. In fact, I think it's been at least four or five years since I last heard a single song of his. As such, I've enjoyed glancing over your reviews again, particularly the Paris 1919 one - it was the only Cale album I ever had which I've long since lost my copy of, and one I have very vague memories of that your review brought back.

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is you've done a great job with this here thread 4ZZZ. Looking forward to the next update.

Excuse the corny video footage I've embedded below, but this Cale version of Hallelujah is brilliant. Cale has recorded at least two other versions of this song....one is at a slower dirge-like tempo and on another session he added a string section.

This version I've embedded is my favorite rendition because of the sparse beauty of Cale's plaintive voice and his forceful but ornate piano playing. Cale's gifts as a piano player are underappreciated. Cale has been singing the once obscure Cohen song for nearly three decades... long before the current crop of vocalists discovered the lyrical magic of the song.

The song's composer Leonard Cohen's version of Hallelujah is a guarded and modest understatement compared to Jeff Buckley's effusive and spine tingling version which comes close to being a histrionic overstatement. I also have a recording of an Imogen Heap's acapella version of Hallelujah. Imogen's version is haunting but she cuts the song short after singing only two verses and it sounds like an unfinished project.

There's probably 100 other covers of Hallelujah out there, but the Cohen, Buckley, Heap and Cale versions are the real standouts. You'd have to be a masochist to suffer through versions of Hallelujah by a legion of singers like kd lang, Il Divo, Allison Crowe, Rufus Wainwright, Damien Rice, Bon Jovi, Amanda Jenssen (American Idol), Regina Spektor, the Roches, the Silent Monks and the rest of the usual musical suspects, just to prove to me that a better version of the song exists. Be my guest... It's seems that everybody and their uncle is doing a cover version of Hallelujah these days. Stay tuned for a Celine Dion version.

Buckley's version is dazzling and a formidable interpretation of Hallelujah . Many people mistakenly think Buckley (not Cohen) wrote the song because of the widespread recognition of his version of the song on the album Grace. A lot fewer people have heard Cale's version which trumps even the glories of celebrated Buckley version. I heard the Cale version long before Buckley version was recorded. Early on, I was under the spell of the Buckley version and Buckley's rendering almost eclipsed my devotion the Cale version. However there was a point in time when I returned to playing the Cale version and rediscovered my undying passion for his version. The Cale recording of Hallelujah is the one I'd run to rescue, if my house were burning down in the middle of the night.

Buckley's pristine voice was capable of leaping octaves over, under and around Cale's vocal range, but it's Cale who really owns the song like no one else. Buckley's version draws the listener's attention to the beauty and range of his singing voice while Cale's version directs the attention of the listener to the beauty of Cohen's lyric and music. And as Frank Sinatra once said, a good vocalist showcases the song, not his voice.

Cale's rendition is one the most soulful renditions of a song I've ever heard.

yo, gavin b....have a listen. Index of /John Cale/Sabotage Live CBGB's 1979. I'll have it up for the next couple of days.

i feel like all the songs on this album sound like they could go on forever. pure awesome.

Fragments For A Rainy Season DVD. 1992

Though not strictly an album a review of this is warranted.

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A live album recording from Cales European tour of 1992 with this concert in Brussels. There is also a CD of the same name from 1992 available with 20 tracks as opposed to this that has 16. As I have stated often live recordings are generally fan fodder but any admirers of the great Cale would be doing themselves a huge injustice not to track down this. This has many fine songs with Cales voice in fine form and his piano playing, to my ears and eyes, superb. Some could also accuse this of being just another best of set done acoustically but this holds no water with me. I have always liked artists striping back their songs to the bare bones as it gives us the listener, a chance to see of the songs stand up. Cales songs being of a compositional nature do.

It is Cale who has claimed in interviews that he is a composer as opposed to a song writer. There are those that could ask what the difference is but it is watching him perform various songs from his and other repertoires and how he can manipulate them in an entirely differing manner that stands out in my opinion. As an example it is hard to imagine say Thunderstruck being anything other than a rock song in the key of E whereas Fear and Paris 1919, so admirably performed on here in a stripped back manner with just voice and piano, show that Cale is a seriously good composer with the songs transformed. Fear I might add has Cale giving his piano an almighty clunking thrashing at the end as he screams the lyric in a startling manner.
All bar three of the songs presented are with voice and piano with 3 others covered with an Acoustic Guitar. As well as Fear and Paris 1919 other stand out songs are Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Cordoba, the sublimely brilliant (I Keep A) Close Watch and a splendid cover of Cohen's Hallelujah. See Gavin B's previous post. I agree with his sentiments 100%. This song is made for Cale's vocal and to quote Gavin B "Cale's version directs the attention of the listener to the beauty of Cohen's lyric and music. And as Frank Sinatra once said, a good vocalist showcases the song, not his voice."

For the fan an excellent DVD to add to their collection. Highly recommended.

"uh uh uh uh oh uh uh oh! She doesn't live here any more" sings Cale in his distinctive and under appreciated voice at the end of the opening track, Catastrofuc off Extra Playful, an EP that was released in September 2011. This track was played one morning, while I was driving to work, on my favourite radio station. The moment the vocal started I knew it was Cale. This had to be new as the production values were rather contemporary to his recording style circa Black Acetate.

"John Cales latest" said the presenter. But it was not and I had missed it's release by several months? Why?

Well to be frank, in fact lets be brutal, I hardly read the music press and steer clear, generally, of music opinion. At this stage in my life, I could not care that what some 15 year old Floridian Fraudsters, some headstrong Hamburg Hipsters, some limited London Lunatics nor some Pitchfork ponce has to say about what I like or dislike.

Be that as it may I did write some nice stuff on here and any new one from Cale deserves a mention for those that care.

catastrofuc is a good song and is not out of place in Cale's pantheon of songs that make an impact. Whaddya Mean by That? is typical of the slowish ballads that Cale produces at will. I think that this would have been better with just Cale with voice and Piano. The song is melodically good enough to be stripped back.

Hey Ray is Cale at his daring best. I first heard this track when he performed it live on his Circus Circus tour and announced it as a homage to the paranoid Ray of his acquaintance from his VU days. Sister Ray? He did not say/sing "She's busy sucking on my ding-dong" but does sing "Hey Ray your driving me crazy" and proceeds to give it to Ray (verbally) about the 60's being "all over". This is a great song. A piss take with a talk talk beat and a catchy chorus. "It's all over Ray"! This Ray is an artist by the name of Ray Johnson. Not a transvestite. Cale is a superb music man. Not a bleeding heart.

Pile a L’heure has our man almost going Air, as in French synth pop Air. Slow funk air, Exactly on Time? not like me. Just like a Watch repair shop in Lyon? Google that. Good song.

Perfection finishes the EP with a strong tune that starts darkly with a solid bass and head nodding beat. As usual Cale has that ability to turn a rock guitar sound pop and vice versa.

I have made a search and this is supposed to be a forerunner to an album that is in the works for next year. Cale is now 70 years old and is still producing vital music. There are no formulaic process for those that like order. He has gone from one style to another and some may not like that. Stiff I say. May Cale make music until he is 170.

Great write-up on Paris 1919 this is a great album that I still put on now and again and really enjoy.

Across the years, John Cale`s music has hopped around from one genre to another, so this is a great thread for getting to know his rather daunting discography. I thought I`d give it a bump, to mention two albums:-

^ I think 4ZZZ should have laid more stress on this album, as being an absolute stand-out in JC`s work. With the exception of one track, it`s an instrumental album of gloriously ramshackle playing, with so much going on that the "minimalist" tag is pretty misleading. Yes, there are insistent rhythmic piano phrases, but they always maintain a brisk pace and the overall impression is of two musicians so enjoying the collaborative experience that they are hardly listening to what the other guy is playing. Track after track bounces along as JC or TR swap from electric organ to honky-tonk piano to sax to give a change of tone to these long, exuberant workouts.
Whatever merits the one vocal track has, here in the middle of Church of Anthrax it sticks out like a dog`s bollocks, if you`ll forgive the expression. It really should`ve been put on another album because it`s a complete mood-breaker, in a stlye alien to the rest of the album.

Quite why JC didn`t make more albums like Church of Anthrax is a mystery to me. (The closest I could find on other albums were the tracks Philosopher and Days Of Steam.)


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Walking On Locusts (1996)

After almost a decade of silence, JC released this album, which no-one has mentioned yet. It features JC, the cryptic crooner of his own quirky style of sombre pop.
The opener, Dancing Undercover is a catchy, loping song about a trip to New Orleans or Mexico which closes with a few bars of sweet and satisfying violin.
Unfortunately, the album tails off after that imo. There are some agreeable, mellow songs that seem to be lamenting past relationships, most obviously on So Much For Love . Most of the songs are easy on the ear, but unadventurous; best title award goes to Indistinct Notion Of Cool which perhaps indicates what JC wanted to achieve with this subdued album; capture a kind of wry resignation. There is a track, Crazy Egypt , co-written with David Byrne, which is a lot livelier, but as with most of the album, the lyrics don`t make much sense and if you`re waiting for a hook line, then your wait will be in vain. Songs seem to be full of oblique references to events at which we weren`t present; lyrics that only John Cale understands, and ultimately, I suspect, only JC is interested in.
If you `re stuck indoors on a rainy afternoon, this album might quietly lift your spirits for a while, but for me it remains, to copy a phrase from Goofle, "pleasantly boring."