John Cale - A few albums

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 keyboarRAB 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 banRAB, 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 hinRABight 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 ReeRAB 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;).
 
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.
 
Helen Of Troy. 1975.

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Cale released 3 albums with Island recorRAB 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 m
 
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 sounRAB 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 premi
 
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 Andaluc
 
^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.
 
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 understanRAB 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.

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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 sounRAB 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.


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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 keyboarRAB 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 keyboarRAB, 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 adRAB 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 banRABtand 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.
 
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 worRAB and thought that I would add my latest finRAB.

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.
 
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 holRAB 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 stanRAB 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.
 
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