The John Cale thread
 

Disclaimer: Time to gush. I searched to see if there was a thread about the awesomeness of John Cale's work outside of the VU, and the only one I could find was one that sets everything off on the wrong foot by making it a bitch fight between Cale fans and Reed fans. Let's not do that here. Reed is great, and Cale is great, and the VU was so amazing because it combined both of their skills. It's not a competition.

Currently so massively obsessed with this stuff. I've totally loved it for ages, but periodically I get on a ridiculously big kick for it, and it appears to have swung around again. The man is, to me, simply one of the great under-appreciated musical geniuses. Not to be fawning or anything, but his eclecticism and general success rate just stuns me. From 1964 to 1975 he was consistently involved in some of the greatest music ever recorded, not to mention some of the most influential, across a startling number of genres and styles.


The early solo “song albums” are flat out some of my favourite singer songwriter/rock stuff from the 70s, possibly ever. Paris 1919, and the whole of the Island Years release (Fear, Slow Dazzle, Helen of Troy, and bonus tracks) are especial favourites. The way he runs from tender ballads like Amsterdam and I Keep A Close Watch to these deranged schlocky horror rock classics like his version of Heartbreak Hotel, or Fear Is A Man's Best Friend is breathtaking. Everyone who doesn't have Fear at least, get it.


Then there's his “avant-garde” work. Church of Anthrax, with Terry Riley, is the obvious one to mention, and is again one of THE essential records of the 70s to me. Crazily fantastic dreamy/hypnotic minimalist rock jam tracks that just slay me every time, especially on the first side. The organs are bliss. Possibly even MORE amazing than that though is the 3 CD New York in the 60s box set that Table Of The Elements put out, which just KILLS me. Recorded between 63 and 65 (66?), in many ways it's very much in line with the whole La Monte Young/Tony Conrad school of minimalism, but it totally has it's own unique vibe. The first disc especially, Sun Blindness Music, is a strong candidate for my favourite minimalist release, partially because it has the audacity to jump from this mind blowing 40+ minute solo organ meditation to this completely shocking proto Rhys Chatham/Glenn Branca guitar thrash. Pretty much un-toppable.


And THEN there's his production credits, which are just beyond legendary. I mean, JESUS, he produced the first albums by The Stooges, The Modern Lovers, and Patti Smith, all of which are hands down CLASSICS! Plus, that pretty much means he was instrumental in laying all the foundations of punk that hadn't already been laid down by the VU. Oh, and his production on Nico's The Marble Index and Desert shore albums is a whole other kettle of amazing. I mean, they're some of the most haunting and wonderfully layered music I've heard, and that would be an amazing production feat on it's own, but then you realise that he basically wrote, arranged, and PERFORMED all of the backing for those albums on his own, doing all the different instruments. That's just ridiculous .


So, to recap, in the space of 10 years of so, he was one of the great early minimalist composers, a major player in the fucking Velvet Underground, released some other amazing experimental compositional work, recorded 5 classic solo albums that are by turn rocking and beautiful, and he produced a good portion of the most significant music that would influence punk. Yet he's still often not that well known by people, or thought of as something of a minor, second fiddle (no viola related pun intended there), artist. It just baffles me. Show the love people!!!

*ahem*

Sorry for what is seemingly an absurdly long post, now that I see it like that. He's just so good!

i dont know much of his solo work, but i enjoy paris 1919 a whole lot, the song andalucia(sp?) is really nice. where would you recommend i go from here?

I'd kill for that 3CD 60s thing. I have dreamt about Sun Blindness ever since I read about it in Wire.....fucking a decade ago. I do have some stuff from that period, and it mesmerizes me.

Agree that Cale made VU really great. Fuck you Lou. (Well, I don't really mean "fuck you, Lou", but......I dunno.)

Great great o.p. btw.

Oh, AND he shows up on Nick Drake's Bryter Layter, which is just another awesome feather in his cap.



The album of his most similar to Paris 1919 is probably Vintage Violence, the album before it, which is also very pretty, and excellent too. However, I'd really suggest that your next purchase is The Island Years. It's a double CD which has his next 3, and to me best, albums on it, with some bonus stuff. More narrowly, the first of those, Fear, is THE one to check out.


It's just stupidly good. I have the original wooden box set, and it's my singly most treasured music item probably. If you have the Tony Conrad Early Minimalism set that TOE also put out then it's in a similar vein, but even better (and much more varied). Sun Blindness Music is just the first, and probably best disc of that. They actually just repressed that on it's own I think. They had a few copies in my local shop. If so, BUY IT NOW!

Well, fuck it, I just ituned the Sun Blindness CD. Crucify me now. (Unfortunate that TOE official page is a fucking messy myspace eyesore, but nvm.)

You forgot to mention his book "Whats Welsh for Zen". I found it an informative read. I have a fondness for Cale because in that book he explains, as well candid discsussion of drug use and sex, how at time he can only express himself through music and not so much through words. I also like how he threw off the shackles of his classical upbringing and played rock

He was totally ahead of his time and is impact is beyond measure. Its a pity that his work has not been re-issued or re-evaluated. I would go see him in a heartbeat if he came my way. Thurstons drone techniques could possibly be derived from him...

Work on Nico's albums, Paris 1919, and Fear = great
Rest of his 70s output = pretty good
Music for a New Society = shit

[/lazyopiniononeverycalealbumiveheard]

i like his more recent releases. they're pretty cool

Yeah, I really don't get why so many people always seem to love Music For A New Society. I've never even been able to get through a whole listen of it. The worst kind of "80's album". I keep thinking though that it'll somehow click with me later, because it's thought so highly of and I just can't see it...

Have you heard Helen of Troy or Church Of Anthrax?

He's Welsh.

I recently read he was injured while training for an skyscraper internal staircase race.

Cale also produced stooges first one(or yeah was there to produce) and modern lovers first one for a bit+some of his solowork is amazing.

Listening now to his 1992 live album Fragments of a Rainy Season, which is another underrated classic. Solo, pretty much all just acoustic piano and guitar, focusing on songs from earlier in his career. The versions of Fear, Guts, Dying On The Vine, Heartbreak Hotel are totally amazing. Oh, and it reminds me of another Cale achievement: he originally did the arrangement of Hallelujah that Buckley covered, and then everyone else did, including Coen himself later.

Good point. He was the first one to do that.

Well, he was the first to do that arrangement. Technically, he was the second major person to cover it, with the first being Bob Dylan, but I kind of don't count that because Dylan's version is pretty horrific, and definitely wouldn't have ever made the song the legend it has become since...

Yes, that's a great one. Other than that, I like most of his albums from the 70's, more or less. I actually like Music For a New Society as well.

Those really early recordings are pretty interesting, since it's fun to hear how he was before his time in many senses, but the production is a bit to low for my taste and therefore it's nothing I listen to very much.

The best stuff by him, not counting The Velvets, has to be his work on Nico's albums however.

You're a ghost la la la
You're a ghost
I'm the bishop and I've come
To claim you with my iron drum
la la la la la la

Speaking of Fragments, does anyone have the DVD? I didn't know the performance was filmed until today. Will have to get it as soon as possible. It looks fantastic.