John Cale: EP: Extra Playful (2011)

These five tracks were released prior to Shifty Adventures. It's not bad, and far better than Shifty Adventures.

John Cale: Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood (2012)

I like the previous two John Cale pop records - Hobosapiens and blackAcetate - much better. On the other hand, Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood is a far better effort than Walking on Locusts, which might be Cale's second worst record. Allmusic called this record "[s]illy, savage, and willfully schizophrenic..." A review quoted in Wikpedia referred to the record as "both provocative and strange." That sums it up nicely. I will add that I hate the auto-tuning with all my being.

John Cale: Fragments of a Rainy Season (1992)

Fragments of a Rainy Season is one of my favourite John Cale releases. I received this one, the double LP from 2016, as a Christmas present. I would have loved the limited edition triple LP, but that was sold out immediately, and the shipping was extortionate. I have owned a copy of the CD since 1992 and I have kept my eyes open for the DVD, but I have never found one.

The newly remastered version has a different track order, which might make more sense. As much as I love the original versions of these songs, these stripped down, solo versions are extraordinary, managing to capture something more engaging. I suppose this could have been entitled: John Cale Unplugged.

Oh, and by the way, you can forget about all of the other cover versions of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. Cale's arrangement, upon which many later versions were based, is the only one you need. It's here, accompanied by solo piano, and it's fantastic. I'd call this the definitive cover of this tune, and people should just stop recording it, as Leonard himself once suggested.

John Cale: Words for the Dying (1989)

I think that the Allmusic review of this record is just mean-spirited. To me, this is a fantastic record. The reviewer states that this record is "...Cale's unsuccessful attempts to translate [Dylan] Thomas' imagery through song." I do not agree that the "the words lose their power in the retelling." I could go on, but you can read the review yourself which includes an insult about his hair style. To me, these are great interpretations and I also like the stripped-down versions on Fragments from a Rainy Season.

John Cale: Artifical Intelligence (1985)

 
Dying on the Vine is a brilliant Cale track, especially in later renditions. On the other hand, Satellite Walk is dreadful. Although far better than the mediocre Caribbean Sunset, Artificial Intelligence is a bit of a disappointment. Still, the album is almost worth it, just for Dying on the Vine. And, I do like the cover art. Here's an interesting live version with a string quartet.

John Cale: M:FANS (2016)

I picked up a copy of this record when it came out (Jan 22, 2016, I think). Music for a New Society is one of my all-time favourite records, so I was a little worried about what Cale might have done to it on this update. My verdict after a few spins is, I prefer the original album from 1982, but I would say that the new interpretations are engaging and interesting. I would also say that some of the tracks work better that others. If I could somehow forget the original versions, I might regard this record as one of Cale's better later efforts (maybe his best rock LP since 1992's Fragments of a Rainy Season), but it is very difficult to forget music that is so ingrained in my head.

As an aside, I have to say that I find it impossible to believe that Cale is 73! Where has the time gone?

John Cale: Satellite Walk Dance Re-Mix (1985)

Imagine a dance re-mix of a John Cale song. I bet you can't. The other two tracks are Dying on the Vine and Crash Course in Harmonics. 

John Cale: Caribbean Sunset (1984)

 
Caribbean Sunset is the other Cale record never released on CD. Many fans would probably argue that this is Cale's least impressive outing, and I am tempted to agree. Even Walking on Locusts is better.

John Cale: John Cale Comes Alive (1984)

It used to irritate me that this record was never released on CD, but now I don't care. It's one of two Cale records that were not released on CD. The other is coming up. I think we have to thank Peter Frampton for all of the live albums that use "Comes Alive" in the title. I fairly certain that Frampton's was the first usage, and there are lots of other later examples.

Allmusic's rather savage review of this live recording is probably correct. It's pales in comparison to Sabotage. But, some fans are eager to complete their collections of favourite artists, so having this on vinyl makes my Cale collection complete, even if most of the rest of my Cale releases are on CD.

John Cale: Music for a New Society (1981)

 
Roll up the history books, burn the chairs
Set fire to anything, set fire to the air

It's difficult choosing favourite songs and albums, but I think my favourite John Cale record is Music for a New Society. It's a musical masterpiece. It's spare and minimal and engaging. Paris 1919 would be a close second, but I have to give this one the edge, just based on the lyrical power and the understated music. Paris 1919 is more of a pop affair, but it's great too.

In John Cale's autobiography, he wrote that he had hoped that Frank Sinatra would cover his song, (I Keep a) Close Watch. I have to agree that this would have been cool and it's too bad it never happened. I wonder of Frank even knew who John Cale was.

John Cale: Honi Soit (1981)

 
Honi soit qui mal y pense

Growing up in rural Ontario meant that concert choices were slim to practically nonexistent. In fact, I can only remember one concert from any rock band in my town. I really didn't see any real concerts until I went to university. Once I moved to Toronto, the choices got even better. Finally, I saw John Cale in concert, but only once, during the Black Acetate tour.

I had heard the song Streets of Laredo many times at home. My dad was a big fan of Marty Robbins and he had lots of his records. I recall thinking that Big Iron was my favourite song at one point, but that changed later on. One has to overthrow the music of one's parents sooner or later. Cale's version of Streets of Laredo is creditable. I prefer most of the other songs on this record, but it's hard to chose a favourite.

John Cale & Terry Riley: Church of Anthrax (1971)

It's difficult to adequately state how much I love this record. It's brilliant. This is 2012 repress. I have a copy of the CD as well.

John Cale: Helen of Troy (1975)

Part three of Cale's epic trilogy with Island records is Helen of Troy. Just kook at this cast of musicians: John Cale, Brian Eno, Chris Spedding, and Phil Collins. Hey, Phil is an excellent drummer. This record contains a song that Cale hoped Sinatra would cover. That never happened, but I see why Cale thought that is was a good idea. This is another record packed with awesomeness. He even covers Jonathan Richman's Pablo Picasso, and his version is much better than Bowie's cover.

Sadly, Cale never created any rock records quite like these again, though he released lots of music that I loved, especially Music for a New Society.

John Cale: Sabotage/Live (1979)

And now, we come to one of my favourite musicians of all time, John Cale. He was, as many people know, a member of The Velvet Underground, along with Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison, and Mo Tucker. Cale was classically trained on the piano and he also plays the viola, guitar, bass, sax, and a number of other instruments. I have more that 60 John Cale and associated CDs including his Velvet Underground period, his solo work, The Dream Syndicate, numerous soundtracks, collaborations with people like Terry Riley, Brian Eno, and Lou Reed, and several live recordings. On top of that, I have a number of recordings produced by Mr. Cale.

The Allmusic Guide really has an evocative summary of this record. The guide notes that Cale "was travelling the world in the company of a band of snot-nosed youngsters raised on hard rock, shrieking himself into a frenzy, wearing a hard hat on-stage, and writing songs like Chickenshit, a real-life tale of the time he beheaded a chicken (already dead) on-stage and threw the carcass into the crowd and his whole band quit in protest, set to the most merciless music he'd been a part of since White Light/White Heat."

That really sums up the record. The CD version, which I also have, contains four extra tracks, three of which come from the Animal Justice EP.

John Cale: Slow Dazzle (1975)

It's difficult to choose the best record of the three that Cale did for Island Records. My vote goes to Fear, but only by a slim margin. They are all pretty much equal and fabulous. And, having owned that Island compilation, all of the songs meld into one long album for me anyway.

If you want an example in how to cover a song, this record offers a killer example. You have never heard Heartbreak Hotel like this before.

Naturally, I did not hear any of these three records when they were released. I went through a crazy John Cale phase and discovered these overlooked records. Sure, many people knew about these records, but Cale never got any airplay in Toronto and area, ever. I have never heard John Cale on the radio. Hearing the Velvet Underground on the radio was a rarity, and I think that is something that has only happened comparatively recently.

The only tune I am not fond of is The Jeweller, but I fell the same way about The Gift, by VU. On the other hand, I love A Dream by Cale/Reed on Songs for Drella.

John Cale: Fear (1974)

"Life and death are things we only do when we're bored"

Between October 1974 and November 1985, John Cale released three ground-breaking records. To me, they are the three best rock records he has ever released. They are also, in my ever so humble opinion, the best three post-Velvet records. I love Lou's music, but Cale had him beaten with three three gems.

They are all brilliant from start to finish. The first, Fear, from October 1975, contains some stone cold Cale classics: Fear is a Man's Best Friend, Buffalo Ballet, Barracuda, Emily, Ship of Fools, Gun, The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Orgy, You Know More than I Know, and Mamma Scuba. Oh, wait, that's the entire record! Yes, the record is that good.

All three of these records were compiled on a double CD entitled The Island Years, which contains a number of quality bonus tracks, making the package extremely valuable. This collection is a companion on most every car trip I take.

John Cale: Animal Justice (1977)

Animal Justice is a strange name for a record (an EP, really) from a guy who once decapitated a chicken on stage, though the chicken was already dead. This disc contains three tracks: Chicken Shit (a song about the aforementioned event), Memphis (the Chuck Berry tune), and Hedda Gabbler. The only 12" version this record was a UK pressing.

Allmusic says this: "...Animal Justice can only be ranked among the true must-haves in Cale's ever-lengthening canon." While song of these tracks appear in other places (for example, two tracks appear on the Seducing Down the Door compilation, which I have), I think this EP is well worth having.

John Cale: The Academy in Peril (1972)

This album might have the best jacket in my collection. I guess that makes sense, because it was designed by Andy Warhol, though the story goes that Cale, or the record label, changed the cover to colour, abandoning Warhol's original black and white design. In any case, the cover is great.

My copy is a promo with die cuts for the images. I am not sure if the commercial pressing retained these cuts. I think I have seen later issues with a plain flat cover.

The music might seem a bit strange, following on from the unusual experiments of the Velvet Underground. Cale worked with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a couple of tracks. I think this album is fabulous.

Kevin Ayers, John Cale, [Brian] Eno, Nico: June 1, 1974 (1974)

This is a really cool record, as it features two of my all-time fav musicians: John Cale, originally of the Velvet Underground, and Brian Eno. Nico, who was also a part of VU -- for the first record -- joins in. Kevin Ayers is best known as a founding member of Soft Machine. 

This was both recorded in 1974 and issued in 1974. But, my Canadian pressing lacks a date, so I am not really sure when it was pressed. I'd guess it is from the very late 70s or early 80s. 

Side A contains a couple of Eno tracks, one "Cale" track (which is really an Elvis Presley cover), and a cover of Doors tune. Side B was all Kevin Ayers tunes. 

According to Wikipedia "other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert." In fact, the notes state: "Kevin Ayers-John Cale-Eno-Nico and The Soporificswith special guests Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt." 

Here is another fascinating tidbit from Wikipedia: "The bemused stare between John Cale (right) and Kevin Ayers is said to be explained by the fact that Cale had caught Ayers sleeping with his wife the night before the show. The couple would divorce the next year." Wow!

Cover Songs

As I was listening to Johnny Cash sing Personal Jesus last weekend, I said to C that this song makes more sense in this arrangement. I didn't mind some Depeche Mode songs back in the day, but I was never a huge fan, and I didn't really like Personal Jesus, until I heard Johnny Cash sing it. On the same note, I have to say that Johnny's version of Hurt is fantastic and maybe even better than the original, though I personally do not like the distortion at the end of the song.

This made me think of some other cover songs that are better than the originals. I don't think Dyan would mind me saying that Hendrix does a better version of All Along the Watchtower.  Still, we have to give credit to Dylan for writing such a great song.

And then, I was forced to think of all of the cover versions that are worse than the original, like Knockin' on Heaven's Door. In my humble opinion, Guns n' Roses ruined this song, but I guess it had the benefit of introducing the song to many people who had never heard it before, though now they probably assume that it was written by GnR, which I guess has happened many times with cover versions.

Although I am a huge Bowie fan, I was less than impressed by his cover of Cactus. I don't think it's possible to improve on the Pixies recording. I feel the same way about Bowie's cover of Jonathan Richman's Pablo Picasso. On the other hand, John Cale's cover of that song is awesome. And, speaking of Cale, I just picked up his new EP, which is OK, but I need to give it a few more spins to be sure (yes, spins: I still buy CDs).