Vintage Violence (Exp)
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Audio CD (13 February, 2001)
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Reviews (12)

a spectacular solo debut
Though I'm only really familiar with Cale's work with the velvets, and his work producing and playing with Patti Smith, the Stooges, Nick Drake, Nico, etc. this is the only solo album of his which I'm really familiar with.While I can't make comparisons with his later work, I can say that this album is just a really well written, well performed piece of work which surpassed my expectations.While there is quite a variety of material on the album, there is a certain sensibility and overt moodiness which pervades throughout.I find it is one of those rare albums that can really change your mood every time you hear it.This is a rich work which only sounds better each time I hear it.

John Cale's pop music
Vintage Violence is one of those albums where you just can't believe your ears the first time you hear it. Any expectations at all you bring into this will be blown away about four bars into "Hello There"; you'll realize there is so much more to this guy than the feedback/experimental genius you hear on the first two VU albums. Cale reveals himself here as a student of pop songwriting in the line of the early BeeGees and Paul McCartney. Actually, songs like "Adelaide" and "Cleo" sound like lost B-sides from the Merseybeat era. His adventurousness displays itself on the swirling climax to "Ghost Story" where he finds the perfect instrumental only to mercilessly cut the song short, leading into the closer "Fairweather Friend." The highlight here is "Amsterdam," a drop-dead beautiful song that Lou Reed could never have written. This isn't John Cale's best album (try the more cohesive "Fear"), but this is a gem that ought to be in every record store and in any pop fan's collection.

pop muzik masterpeice
John Cale is a genius, much more talented than Lou Reed. This album blows anything Reed did in his career out of the water. Get it and stand in awe at this pop masterpeice ... Read more

Asin: B000058T7J
Sales Rank: 110622
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Paris 1919
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (26 October, 1993)
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Editorial Review

John Cale has one of the richest resumes in pop, with experience inavant-garde music even before he met Lou Reed and they formed the VelvetUnderground.His record productions include such landmarks as the debut by theStooges and Patti Smith's Horses.But as a solo artist, Cale has oftenseemed caught between his sophisticated leanings and his fondness for punkyattitudes.Two early albums, Vintage Violence and Paris 1919,were the work of a highly-developed pop musician; later albums found Cale thepop provocateur dominating the show.Cale's a fairly deadpan singer, but thesweet mix of rock band instrumentation and fuller orchestration make --Paris1919 one of his strongest efforts, and the lovely "Andalucia" oneof his very best songs.If the righteous boogie of "Macbeth" soundsfamiliar, that's because Lowell George and Richie Hayward, guitarist and drummerof Little Feat, formed the core of Cale's studio band. --John Milward ... Read more

Reviews (17)

Wanting Farmer John Cale
No use thumbing the pages of Cale's elegant scrapbook of an autobiography, 'What's Welsh For Zen?, to glean hard data on this one melodic gem. Coming after the heady, if problematic days of the Velvets, there's barely an acknowledgement of it as he strides into his rock format. The abrasive thrashing rock of 'McBeth'(while indicating his imminent direction) serves the one discordant note. Throughout,Cale namedrops to effect learnedness without destroying the mood of a distant past. Language had been severed from lineal meaning, in rock, since Bob went electric. Pete Brown writing for Jack Bruce's towering masterpieces, 'Songs For a Sailor', & 'Harmony Row'; Keith Reid with Procul Harum, were mixing up the lyric medicine, presumably with other pharmacuticals & making sumptuous music on a par with 'Paris 1919'. That date? The birth of Surrealism,(and similar writing to Cale's efforts herein) perhaps? The Russian Revolution? Cale's singing on 1919 had a world weary distance to it, which suited the reflective jabberwocky of the songs; stretched out vowells on,'planing lakes', 'elephants that sing','looking out from here at half past France.' It was far from banal music, however saccharine the orchestral moves from strings, viola & piano Cale painted. These lyrics were baffling but made perfect poetic sense when sung. 'Locusts' was something of a revisiting to this pastoral mood but lacks the roundedness. 'Fragments of a Rainy Season' is a good retrospective concert. And some of the fuge written around the hommage to Andy Warhol is very moving stuff. Go John!

Hidden in Plain View
This CD was released in 1973; I'm a big fan of the Velvet Underground; I have Cale and Lou Reed's Warhol aural bio, Songs for Drella.So how come I never stumbled on to Cale's solo work, and his voice that crosses Lou and Leonard Cohen, until getting to Paris 1919 by the roundabout way of Yo La Tengo's cover version of Andalucia.? Who knows, but I intend to make up the loss of 31 years by keeping this CD in the player for months.Pretty hard to make much sense of it -- what is this "sacheting of gentlemen" that "gives you grievance now and then"?, or what's Martha doing "down in Transvaal where Crocodiles and men fight on" -- but each one of these nine songs (only 31 minutes, very slim!) gets in the mind and stays there.A sampler: one raucous rocker, Macbeth; one so soft it's almost a wisp, Antarctica Starts Here; one sweet if obscure love song, Andalucia; one peppy hallucinogen, Graham Greene; and one instant all-time favorite, Half Past France, which may be about a World War I German soldier on campaign -- or maybe not.

A singular work.Don't wait a minute longer.

John Cales best album - his best blend of pop and classical.
How many rockers could write beautifully symphonic pieces of music and credit Brahms, Graham Greene, or John Milton as influences? Very few - probably just one - the singularly unique and exquistely talented John Cale. This is my favorite Cale album, with Vintage Violence and Fragments of a Rainy Season close behind - this is first and foremost a pop album, though the classical influence is obvious. But those of you who are not into classical, do not fear - this is extremely accessible pop music from a classically trained avant-grade rock musician. The songs are very catchy and endearing.The Dylan Thomas influenced "Childs Christmas in Wales" is my favorite track simply for the phrase "seducing down the door" - lovely language...lovely album - well worth the $. Enjoy! ... Read more

Asin: B000005JAB
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental    3. Experimental Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Proto-Punk    8. Rock   

The Island Years
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Audio CD (30 July, 1996)
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Editorial Review

Lou Reed has hogged the spotlight since the breakup of the legendary Velvet Underground, but his former bandmate John Cale has had a much more consistent solo career. Cale never scored a breakthrough hit like Reed's "Walk On the Wild Side," but this new two-CD collection of Cale's mid-'70s releases-including all of the Fear, Slow Dazzle, and Helen of Troy albums plus assorted unreleased rarities-is the perfect opportunity to reassess his influential merger of art-rock smarts, classical melodicism, theatrical drama, and punk-rock abandon. Cuts range from beautiful, lulling ballads such as "Buffalo Ballet" and "I Keep A Close Watch" to full-throttle sensory assaults like "Fear Is A Man's Best Friend" and an Elvis Presley cover that will make your blood run cold. Jim Derogatis ... Read more

Features

• Import

Reviews (6)

Among the best material Cale (or anyone) has recorded.
This set comprises of three complete albums, all released during John Cale's tenure on Island Records-- "Fear", "Slow Dazzle", and "Helen of Troy".Together, these three contain some of Cale's best and most well-loved works, and while the efforts are mostly uneven in spots, having everything in one spot emphasizes just how good the material is.The set also includes one b-side, three unreleased songs, and the song that was substituted for the controversial "Leaving It Up to You", "Coral Moon", when "Helen of Troy" was pressed.ALl the material features Brian Eno, and the first two albums have Phil Manzanera on guitar (he's later replaced by Chris Spedding).I'll discuss the albums a bit first, although I've reviewed each separately and more details are available there.

After producing a series of varied albums in moods and success, John Cale finally hit his stride with what is generally considered his best (at least of the Island period), 1974's "Fear".The album's most well known tracks-- the opener, "Fear is a Man's Best Friend", and "Gun", are somewhat paranoid exercises.The former features some chamber-esque piano, a loping bassline, and a manic reading of its title over a growling bass as a coda, the latter, a straightahead rock tune is famous for its dual solo-- Manzanera's guitar was run through Eno's synthesizers and somehow the two produced something magical.In contrast with this, there's "Buffalo Ballet", a pained, almost lazy-feeling ballad that lives on a razor-edge of tension.The rest of the material is decent as well, including a bizarre rocker ("Barracuda"), is a good enough bizarre rock song, a few pop songs and ballads ("Emily", "Ship of Fools", "You Know More Than I Know".But there's also some less than stellar material ("The Man Who Couldn't Afford To Orgy", "Momamma Scuba") that are extraneous and not particularly exciting.

My favorite of Cale's Island years is "Slow Dazzle"-- it doesn't quite have the heights of "Fear", but it doesn't have as much of the fluff that album has either-- it does, however, have "Heartbreak Hotel".Likely to horrify Elvis fans, this is often cited as the original goth songs-- heavy, distorted guitars, wailing keyboards, and a hissed and screamed vocal set the mood of paranoia and haunting illustrated so well regardless of style-- almost glam, explosive rock ("Dirty Ass Rock 'n' Roll", "Guts"), songs of loss ("Taking It All Away", "Darling I Need You"), even in a simple little ballad ("I'm Not the Loving Kind").Leaving behind one goofy pop song ("Ski Patrol") that doesn't do so well and the bizarre spoken word piece that I still can't make my mind on whether it works or not ("The Jeweller"), this one is superb.

Finally there's "Helen of Troy", in my assessment the weakest of the three.Its largely an experimental record in terms of moodand style, but I fear it doesn't succeed as well as you'd like.There are some stunningly brilliant moments-- some nice ballads (the overblown "I Keep a Close Watch", and the guitar churning "My Maria" with its almost operatic harmonies), a brilliant cover ("Pablo Picasso"), and one of the most disturbing pieces ever recorded-- "Leaving It Up To You".A tale of doom and horror, Cale whimpers, spits, wails and screams his way through this one-- this was deemed so disturbing the label yanked it from the album and replaced it with the gentle (and dull) "Coral Moon".The album after these though is kind of weak, filled with decent songs that just can't rise up enough to be noticed ("Helen of Troy", "Engine", "Save Us"< "Cable Hogue").

The bonus tracks are interesting-- "Sylvia Said" is a great little ballad, "All I Want Is You" is brilliant pop, although the rest is largely forgettable, including the dull "Coral Moon".

Still, this set is a great value and is highly recommended as it contains much essential John Cale material.

3 Of the Best albums of the early-to-mid 1970's...period
This is an amazing collection of John Cale's most commercial and powerful pop music.The three Island albums, "Fear", "Slow Dazzle", and the slightly less realized "Helen Of Troy" are here in glorious sound and completeness.Also included area handful of unreleased tracks (quite honestly, the least interesting here), as well as three odds & sods tracks of note;

"Sylvia Said", the B side of Cale's only Island single "The Man Who Couldn't Afford To Orgy" (included on the "Fear" album).I have the very rare single issue, and, unfortunately, the decision was made to completely remix it.I MUCH prefer the single mix.

"Coral Moon", a wistful song that replaced the more outragious "Leaving It Up To You" on all but the initial pressings of "Helen Of Troy", and,

"Mary Lou", a wild rocker that was the only previously unreleased cut from the 1976 "Guts" compilation album.

For anyone who treasures Eno, Roxy Music, Lou Reed, David Bowie or Mott The Hoople in the 1970's, this is essential listening.

This has been deleted in the US (why?? ....only the shadow knows), but run and get this import before it too disappears.

agressive/raw tender/lovelorn= strange mix (but it works)
This is a fantastic box set that collects most of John Cale's output during his stay with Island Records.The Three albums featured- Fear, Slow Dazzle, and Helen of Troy are all among his best work and ranks with anything that came out of the art rock genre during the 70's.He maintained an edgy approach that had made VU such a bombastic band in their first two albums but he also showed a great talent for melodies that had first come out in Vintage Violence and further progressed in Paris 1919.
Fear (1974), the first album cover is my personal favorite.He's got a pretty good musicians backing him up in the likes of Roxy Music's Phil Manzanera Brian Eno, and Andy MacKay, Archie Leggatt (who did some Kevin Ayers albums) and even Richard Thompson shows up to play slide guitar on one song.The songs jump from highs to lows in the most extreme way making Fear a very strange listen.The opening track, Fear is a Man's best Friend- jumps and jiggles in a paranoid sort of way only to fall intirely apart to move into the wistful and breezy Buffalo Ballet.There is no steady direction which I think was the purpose of the theme, and the album just seems to continue in that vein.
Next album is Slow Dazzle (1975) which retains many of the same musicians but adding on ace gutiarist Chris Spedding to the mix.Mr Wilson the first song on the album is a sublime homage to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys )it's amazing how well he captured the late 60's sound of the beach boys without totally ripping the sound off).Another really daring song of this album is the completely freekish version of Heartbreak Hotel- it sounds like a lovers triangle gone horribly wrong- both in the way the melody is totally angulated and Cale's raunchy vocal approach.
aND finally there's Helen of Troy, which actually works as a pretty good summation of Cale's pop career from Vintage Violence to H.o.T.He kept Eno on for the third strait album with Phil Collins coming in on drums (Of Genesis and Brand X fame) and Chris Spedding taking over full time on guitar.You've got the raunchy rockn'roll of the title track, orchestrated beauty of "I keep a close watch" and a stunning cover of Pablo Picasso (he truely was an a**hole).
There are some great singles in this box set not available on the individual albums like Coral Moon and Sylvia Says.Too bad Island records decided to discontinue this box set, although I don't think it's to hard to find used somewhere on this vast internet.
This music is everything you could ever imagine a man classically trained, with a sneering attitude towards anything nice and sugary but with a heart of gold could express with great art/pop music.Too bad Island records decided to discontinue this box set, although I don't think it's too hard to find used somewhere on this vast internet.Highly recommended ... Read more

Asin: B000001E9K
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental    3. Experimental Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Proto-Punk    8. Rock   

Music for a New Society
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Audio CD (03 May, 1994)
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Reviews (10)

This Is The New Society
This is still, quite simply, a stunning, brave record, twenty years after its release.
Cale's music has rarely been accessible in a commercial sense, and this recording seems to represent the extreme in that concept. Madness and violence are main themes in this record, but from the opening electric piano riff of "Taking Your Life In Your Hands", it becomes apparent that the route to Cale's no-man's-land is not going to be what one would expect. 'Traditional' rock arrangements areeschewed in favor of disjointed sonic treatments. Panoramas of depression, loss, hopelessness, and suicide sit side-by-side with poignant passages of sheer beauty and forlorn longing, as if to tell us that in our most hellish moments we can still attain a state of grace. That Cale trusts us as his fans to brave this ride through this particular darkness of his vision stongly suggests that we can indeed understand and appreciate our new society only after we weather the storms of its history. And the world is still a better place because we have people like John Cale to express those emotions that elude our conscious interpretation. If you posess an adventurous musical spirit, and are confident enough within your soul to withstand a journey through the darkest corners of life, this record is for you. I recommend it thoroughly. It is a record you will never forget.

Not Cale's best by far
After reading so many laudatory reviews of this album and being an avid Cale fan, I decided to purchase the album.Some of the songs are evocative, but they remain elusive and the album seems inchoate or incoherent.As far as being hailed as Cale's most experimental album, perhaps it is his most experimental lyrical album (cf. the much more avant-garde 'Church of Anthrax' and 'The Academy in Peril').'Sanities' is another exploration of madness by Cale, but is not as effective a spoken word piece as 'The Jeweller' nor is its musical accompaniment particularly felicitous.This more sober Cale prefers to tell rather than show the horrors of loneliness, nihilism, and insanity.The reworking of 'I Keep a Close Watch' is an improvement over the version on 'Slow Dazzle,' but a comparable live rendition is available on "Fragments of a Rainy Season" (as is a superior acoustic version of 'Thoughtless Kind').All in all, this album is hardly satisfying, perhaps even less satisfying than the other overrated album in the Cale oeuvre, "Vintage Violence". Yet, as it is with all music, each to his own taste, and the only sure test of liking an album is to listen to it oneself and not to rely on second-hand opinions.

Scary, realistic music
Listening to this is like being alone in a world without meaning. Your stomach gnarls, the hall echoes and your thoughts float aimlessly.When the melody rears its head it does so from somewhere far away, as if coming from somewhere beyond or beneath the ambience of music.Glimpses of well known melodies (from other people's music) take strange form, like a twisted memory, before disappearing again.Like reverie, stream-of-consciousness, you seem to enter J.Cale's head and go along with his vague longings, yearnings for something gone.This is like nothing I have ever heard.I don't know what it does, but it succeeds masterfully.Very experimental, but at the same time unsettlingly personal. Unique indeed. ... Read more

Asin: B0000033C7
Sales Rank: 112781
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Sabotage/Live [Bonus Tracks]
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Audio CD (11 July, 2000)
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Features

• Live

Reviews (4)

Rock that actually sounds threatening
From the opening chords of "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" it's obvious somebody's there to make a point. By the time Cale and his band get to the second piece ("Baby You Know") it's obvious they're not letting up (or letting anybody off the hook easily either--anyone at CBGB that night HAD to listen). Cale's band (Marc Aaron on lead guitar, Joe Bidwell on keyboards, George Scott on bass and Doug Browne on drums) are tight and play as if they're on fire. Cale sounds as if he's trying to devour the mike. His songs are cutting-edge material that explore things we don't like to think about. He doesn't paint pretty pictures but has a sense of humour, albeit a dark one ("my rifle is my friend"?). Not all of the songs are great. The title track is more of a rant with arpeggios than a song. "Dr. Mudd" and "Walkin' the Dog" aren't bad but don't stand well alongside the best works in the set. The best here more than makes up for the weaker spots though. "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" is a chilling and brilliant work. "Baby You Know" subtly suggests an understanding that things didn't have to be grim. The lovely ballad "Only Time Will Tell" is bittersweet and haunting. Deerfrance sings this one beautifully. Her voice isn't strong but it has a ethereal quality that suits the piece. Cale put a viola line into this one that he must have been playing with his heart. "Captain Hook" is a masterpiece on all levels. The song is brilliant piece of writing. The arrangement doesn't have a wasted note and the band executes it magnificently. The lead guitar line Marc Aaron came up with really sounds threatening and ominous. That doesn't happen often enough, at least not in this age of canned product. "Chorale" (intentionally or otherwise) comes off as a sort of a "wake" celebrating the evening. It's the perfect finish.

The extra tracks are a mixed bag that offers an insight into the different styles Cale delves into. Trying to judge any of them as "good" or "bad" is impossible (not many of us really have the vision to fathom all the places where a mind like Cale's will end up). Personally, I enjoyed "Hedda Gabler" and "Memphis", could have done without "Chickenshit" and am still trying to make up my mind about "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores". It has something about it that's intensely interesting.

This live set was a breath of fresh air in 1979 and it still is now. It was well recorded, well played and the material made you think. Its content is valid for all times because it's about things that keep happening. It's raw, raunchy and not always pretty but it's musically solid on all fronts. The sound quality on the reissue is just as good as was on the vinyl.

This is a must for anyone who likes their rock with a bite, a tender heart and a deep intelligence.

Cale goes wild...
If you like John Cale, and John Cale live with a punk band(and new material) then by all means get this cd! The sound is crisp. The music bombastic and John is at his sneering, nasty best. Note: this also includes the Animal EP as additional tracks.
It is...the perfect cd for the current times with a looming war with Iraq on the horizon "Mercenaries(Ready For War)" is suitably chilling, lyrically. "Captain Hook" which clocks in over 10:00 minutes is jocular. This cd sums up the FEAR, SLOW DAZZLE, and HELEN OF TROY trilogy of mad, erudite, and paranoic Cale compositions. This is a keeper.

sabotage cale's mind
this record justifies the beheading of cale's chickens and you can gob on stage and slam dance to this record with regards for your ancestors or any system of belief. keep in mind cale wouldn't want you to.....his band isvegetarian and never forgave him. ... Read more

Asin: B000040OIQ
Sales Rank: 100447
Subjects:  1. Experimental    2. Pop    3. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    4. Proto-Punk    5. Rock   

Modern Lovers [UK Bonus Tracks]
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Audio CD (05 August, 2003)
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Features

• Extra tracks
• Import
• Limited Edition

Reviews (8)

One of the best rock and roll albums ever recorded.
Hilariously, Richman remains very shy in person, but this record is like a dynamite explosion of emotion and romance, perfectly produced also.Extreme classic for all uses.

Jonathan Richman and the Theme to Shrek?!?!
Has anyone noticed that the theme to Shrek is almost identical to the riff from 'Egyptian Reggae' by Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers?

Mr. Richman, if you are reading this, my fee for bringing this information to you is just 7.5% of whatever you get out of DreamWorks!

Best regards


Ian Nicholson

who'd have guessed that guitar guy from that movie...
...had created something this important way back in the early 70s? not me. i'm rather embarrassed to say that little cameo in _there's something about mary_ was my introduction to the genius of jonathan richman.

i don't love this now (i almost typed "like") as much as i know i will love it eventually. that's not to say i don't love it already. i mean, these guys were the link between punk and the velvet underground...maybe the only true link between those two titanic artistic forces. this music is simple, naked, fun, unique, and amazingly ahead of its time. more than anything else that was recorded in the 70s (and these songs were recorded in '71, '72, waaay before punk), this album of demos--and that's what it is, they never got around to making an actual album--laid the foundation for 90s indie rock. this is one of those albums where every song is a stand-alone anthem, with shout-along choruses and skittering, feedback-laden verses. essential stuff (and the new rerelease is beautifully packaged), and easily one of my favorites from that time period. ... Read more

Asin: B0000A5BUA
Sales Rank: 11822
Subjects:  1. College Rock    2. Pop    3. Pop/Rock    4. Proto-Punk    5. Rock    6. Rock & Roll    7. Rock/Pop    8. United States of America   

The Marble Index
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (19 March, 1991)
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Reviews (28)

icy, scary, morphous and/or angular
This album sends chills down my spine (for several different reasons). Everything about it is haunting. Nico's vocal delivery is defeated and menacing at the same time. The way her harmonium drones over Frazier Mohawk's (I love you John Cale) loopy, entangled arrangements creates a swirling, crystalline ambience. Fans of Chelsea Girl have a lot to prepare for when approaching this album. I came to this album as a fan of Chelsea Girl, but I immediately favored this. Some might not. While there is a fair amount of experimentalism on Chelsea Girl, it is always within the context of pop music. I would not consider this pop music. Desertshore is worth checking out, too.

good beats.
living is so much better than sleeping.get outta bed.this cd (/record, natch) will make you want to get back in it but then you won't want to fall asleep anymore so you'll still be living don't worry.

No one is there
The life of Velvet Underground chanteuse/model Nico was a life of tragedy that fame couldn't soothe and drugs couldn't blot out. And beautiful "The Marble Index" is much like Nico herself was -- beautiful, vaguely gothic and laced with sadness and darkness.

The tinkly melody of "Prelude" leads up to the haunting chant of "Lawns of Dawns" and the string-led grandeur of "No One Is There." Things take a stumble with "Ari's Song," which is backed by painful whistling. But Nico got back on track with the majestic "Julius Caesar (Memento Hodie)," the frosty "Frozen Warnings," and the scintillating "Evening of Light." Two previously unreleased tracks finish it off: the melancholy "Roses in the Snow" and the a capella "Nibelungen."

Musically, Nico is best known for her work in the Velvet Underground. But after she left that band, she took on a different type of music -- not as controversial, smoother and darker, with a heavy and distinctly Germanic flavor. It could have easily been depressing, but instead it's moody and hypnotic.

Strings and harmonium form the core of this album, and it gives a vaguely medieval feel to the album -- imagine Nico playing inside a darkened cathedral. And her writing is almost as good, evocative and poetic. "Midnight winds are landing at the end of time/In the morning of my winter/When my eyes are still asleep..."

Nico's vocals are still unique to this day. Her vocals are heavily accented and sort of thick, and there isn't a lot of vocal variation either. But her voice sounds strangely rich and vibrant, especially when she sings the more heartfelt lines like "No one is there!" Her voice is especially striking in "Nibelungen," where the music is gone and she simply sings, with long pauses between verses.

The tragedies and sadness of Nico's life seep out of "The Marble Index," a gloriously dark and spellbinding collection of music. Wintry, polished, gothic, and a magnificent creation. ... Read more

Asin: B000005ITZ
Sales Rank: 82967
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    3. Proto-Punk    4. Rock   

The Stooges
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Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Editorial Review

Everything the peace and love vibe of the '60s wasn't the Stooges 1969 debut record was: dangerous, violent, chaotic, mean-spirited, and sex crazed. Iggy Pop's monotone birthday lament, "1969" ("War across the U.S.A. / Another year for me and you / Another year with nothing to do"), pretty much sums up the band's coldly disaffected outlook. Producer and Velvet Underground second banana John Cale lends the proceedings an appropriately ominous feel, although his attempt to transform the Stooges into V.U. clones on the 10-minute-plus "All Fall Down" is the band's weakest studio moment. But Iggy Pop and company more than make up for that misstep with the mind-numbingly ugly-and-great "I Wanna Be Your Dog" and the distortion-drenched "Real Cool Time." --Percy Keegan ... Read more

Reviews (53)

Well Come On!!! .....
I first bought Funhouse...which blew me away, then I got this one, and I was slightly disappointed because I didnt get all the fire and brimstone that I got from Funhouse. However after listening to this album a few more times I started loving it. 1969 was always good, I WANNA BE YOUR DOG really captures the spirit of banging a hot chick in the back yard by the garbage bin...pure magic. WE WILL FALL is a bit long but it has something different- a chant, a mesmorising effect, a bit hard to explain. Then NO FUN , a real song about what is important....having a girl in your life to love, without going mooshy. ANN in my opinion is The Classic! A slow burning song about this slut called ANN .The guitars are just so strong in this song , Try listening to this tune more. The last 2 songs finish this album off nice. I cant believe these guys did so much with so little technology and money at this time. I wanna start a new band when I listen to this stuff. This album is # 185 on the Rolling Stone 500. If you want the best of Rock N Roll...then you gotta have The Stooges first 2 albums (this and Funhouse), Raw Power has horrible mixing on the Remaster, it's a damn shame what the numbskulls at Columbia did with that record. But this one is a definite winner, listen to it on a regular basis!

Was the record player supposed to be set at 78 rpm?
I was 15 when I put this record. I recall everything about that day and how I thought the record was on the wrong speed because the punk I was listening to back in the early 80s only came on vinyl. It seemed so slow for the father of punk. I am so glad that I took the time to fully love the Stooges and started with this particular album. I think music would sound much different today if Electra didn't sign MC5's little brother band. Music doesn't die and is free of time. One person grabs it and manipulates it and passes it along. Iggy's raw power sparked the by the turmoil of his time passed this this like a kidney stone to the late 70s punks and beyond. I don't know how well this album would be received to someone who isn't looking for just this thing but if you are into this then you will consider is a must I know I do. I also very much enjoy his later stuff with the deep bass drum. If you like to play garage rock then you should know how to play this entire album forward and backwards.

Thanks for listening

The first "punks"
They are never reconized for it, but The Stooges were really the first punk band, no, not The Pistols, The Ramones, or The Damned, but The Stooges. This came out in 69 were as most of the early punk came out around 77. This album, IS raw power (another good Stooges album), this cd has great songs like No Fun (Pistols did a great cover of this) and I want to be your dog... If you want to have the true roots of punk, get this. ... Read more

Asin: B000005IU1
Subjects:  1. Detroit Rock    2. Glam Rock    3. Hard Rock    4. Pop    5. Proto-Punk    6. Rock    7. Rock & Roll   

Horses
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (18 June, 1996)
list price: $13.98 -- our price: $13.98
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Editorial Review

On her 1975 debut, Smith was full of piss and vinegar, seriously interested in bringing together high art and low three-chord rock & roll.As a result, her free-form poetry meshes with covers of "Gloria" and "Land of a Thousand Dances," and the album centers on two long, highfalutin' pieces, including the three-part suite (warning! warning! art!) "Land." (The CD version appends a messy live take on The Who's "My Generation.") Led by Richard Sohl's piano, the arrangements don't exactly rock, and some of Smith's songwriting gets buried in its stylistic affectations (there's a great song under "Redondo Beach"'s fake reggae). But the point of Horses was Smith's persona of volume, cunning and exile, and it comes through distinctly. --Douglas Wolk ... Read more

Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (48)

misplaced joan of arc meets late-night joan of arc, love
It gives me great pleasure to think that if anyone ever tried to cover any of the songs they would be making a complete joke of themselves. Ironically, "land of a thousand dances", a cover of a song made popular by wilson picket, and van morrisons "gloria" have got patti's guts all over um. If Neil Young was about one thousand times sexier maybe his "down by the river" could be a male equivalent. But, Patti Smith transends any gender issue despite the fact she and janus will never be matched in the female frontman category. If I had to attempt to show anyone the power of rock and roll I would just play "free money" and walk away. Also, the ballad "birdland" despite its 9 minute and 14 second span is probably the most captivating song on the album. She is simply put, fierce and fearless. Too many of our precious baby boomers missed this classic album in 1975 and now they scratch their heads as their own precious little one's slam good charlotte and simple plan into thier sad souls.

Mass with the High-priestess
SIX STARS
For me this was the most important album of the seventies.
Patti Smith's debut album Horses came on the scene with a fury.
Eight songs (plus a bonus track) take you on a long mystical journey.
Patti Smith initially fell into the broad catagory of punk but Patti Smithis in a catagory all of he own. Her lyrics are very literate and poetic and yether words and music can at times have the raw power of punk.

This Beat/Punk mass begins appropriately with the song "Gloria" and with the same "appropriateness" begins with the line

"Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine"

It starts out slow but then Patti begins to rock. Patti comes across like an icy blue Janis Joplin because like Janis she puts heart and soul into every song.

The second song "Redondo Beach" is somewhat down beat and slightly morbid but through out the album an atmosphere is established - and through the joy and the pain expressed one is reminded of many of Allen Ginsberg's poems.

The third song "Birdland" is by far the most moving. And here takes us from the lows to ecstasies it is intricate both lyrically and musically and to my mind is the best example of Patti Smith at her craft. The song inspired by the son of Wilhelm Reich takes off as though part incantation part revival meeting. If you listen to this song alone and give it your complete attention you will find yourself emotionally exhausted by the end of it. The first portion of lyrics are as follows (limitations of the space given prevent me from printing out the entire lyrics here but it must be heard to truly appreciate its vision. There are parts of the song that literally give me chills up my spine.

Birdland

His father died and left him a little farm in new england.
All the long black funeral cars left the scene
And the boy was just standing there alone
Looking at the shiny red tractor
Him and his daddy used to sit inside
And circle the blue fields and grease the night.
It was if someone had spread butter on all the fine points of the stars
'cause when he looked up they started to slip.
Then he put his head in the crux of his arm
And he started to drift, drift to the belly of a ship,
Let the ship slide open, and he went inside of it
And saw his daddy 'hind the control board streamin' beads of light,
He saw his daddy 'hind the control board,
And he was very different tonight
'cause he was not human, he was not human."

Oh my.

The fourth track "Free Money" gives us somewhat of a break from the tension and the artistic and literary references but only slightly and is sung by its end with great urgency.

The fifth track "Kimberly" is a beautiful poemsparsely backed up by music. Once again we feel as though we are in the hands of a master.

The sixth track "Break it Up" Smiths voice goes from pleading to sweeping and one point even singing while she pounds on her throat. It is as if like Harry Partch, Patti smith is out to create her own form of music.

The seventh track "Land/Horses" is perhaps Patti Smith's most ambitious and once again the priestess pulls out all of the stops as story teller, conjurer and giver of rapture.

The eight track is Elegie. As the title suggests it is somber but Patti again does some marvelous things with her voice to emphasize every phrase.

There is one more track but at this point stop. The last track is quite worth while but my advice it to letthose 8 songs linger in your mind for a while before yougo on to the next.

The last track is My Generation the famous Who song. But in my opinion Patti does a better job with it.

Best to be listened to loud with the lights off and a few candles lit.

beautiful and arresting, punk aspect inherent
this is Smith's first, and best, album.Her voice is so terrific in its sarcastic drawl I can't beleive it.I never heard another person sing so effortlessly like she does, it contrasts and uplifts the beautiful piano oriented music backing her up.The whole cd is oriented around a lilting piano/arrangement, with punk-rock type subjects, but then changes to complete punk on their live cover of "my generation."THis is a strange and beautiful creation, and a true rock classic.If you want to expand you cd collection with unusual and thrilling music, get this now! ... Read more

Asin: B000002VQQ
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Fragments of a Rainy Season
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (25 September, 1992)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $10.99
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Reviews (17)

"Rainy Seasons" Showcases Cale, the Minimalist
Fragments of A Rainy Season" has graced my CD player more than any other album in the twelve years since it's release. This is the after-hours incarnation of John Cale, not the menacing sabatouer personna that Cale created for himself in the Seventies.This live album focuses on all of Cale's strengths, his lyrical song craft, his tender and anguished voice, his instumental wizardry and his larger-than-life stage presence.

"Rainy Seasons" is ample evidence that Cale's post-Velvet career has outlasted those of his bandmates, even Lou Reed. Cale has always maintained his avant gardist sensibility while Lou Reed, for better or worse, has stuck with his original black leather, NYC street hustler image that marked his Velvet Underground years. Cale's back catalog is a wealth of undiscovered treasures. What is most striking about this live performance is the passion and immediacy Cale brings to all of his classics. It's a revelation that Cale's music is better suited to this accoustic format, because his strikingly original classically influenced piano is not drowned out in a wall of guitar noise. In performances with a band, Cale generally sticks with a guitar, which he doesn't play with nearly as much conviction as piano.Cale's expressive voice simply works better with a piano.

I own most of Cale's albums and the three career retrospectives of his work. I like "Rainy Seasons" better than all of them because this live recording proves that Cale's music stands on the strength of his songwritting and doesn't need a lot of orchestration or post-production "enchancement" to work. The additional tracks that have been piggy-backed onto the original 1992 release make this CD a real dollar value.

Simply the best ever
There really isnt alot one can say.You will listen.And listen.And listen.

Cale at his best and barest
This is John Cale pure and simple. Unpredictable, elegant, manic, literate, articulate, witty, bittersweet, psychotic, passionate, stately, dark and romantic. I could go on and on. It's very hard for me to review Cale's records because they're so wonderful and perfect; they warrant essays. This is indeed a classic album. It reveals John's creative intent in the simplest forms, from brooding quiet ballads to manic, ham-fisted keybashing exercises in noise and chaos. JC is an artist and this album is a testament to that -- GET THIS ALBUM NOW! ... Read more

Asin: B000000624
Sales Rank: 16235
Subjects:  1. Adult Alternative Pop/Rock    2. Experimental    3. Experimental Rock    4. Pop    5. Pop/Rock    6. Prog-Rock/Art Rock    7. Proto-Punk    8. Rock   

New York in the 1960s, Vol. 1: Sun Blindness Music
Director: $11.98
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (08 January, 2002)
list price: $19.98
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Features

• $11.98

Reviews (Album RockPopProto-PunkRockRock & RollSinger/Songwriter)

Drone on
Ohhhh man. If you can find this, buy it! It reassured me of how integral John Cale was in the Velvet Underground.
These songs sound so private. I almost feel wrong by listening to it. I doubt he'd ever meant to release these when he recorded them, which is what makes them so great.
The first song is a sprawling organ drone, it sounds so insane!
The second song is this tense, harsh guitar, appropriately titled Summer Heat.
The last song is noise via broken organ keys, totally awesome.
I can't say anything that hasn't already been said by other reviews or by David Fricke's writing in the liner notes, so if you are an aspiring experimental musician, seek this out now!

Music For Open Ears
Before he was a part of The Velvet Underground, composer and multi-instrumentalist John Cale was involved in a unique group of New York-based composer/musicians known as the Dream Syndicate. Other members of this group included LaMonte Young and Tony Conrad.
"Sun Blindness Music" is the first in a series of three CDs which showcase John Cale's avant-garde experiments from the mid to late '60s. Three lengthy tracks make up this album and although each of them are different from each other, the idea behind them is basically the same. What we have here is simply a series of drones created on different instruments.
The opening title track runs close to 43-minutes and was performed entirely on a Vox Continental electric organ. Listening to this piece requires some patience and appreciation. It simply consists of a single chord which is held down for a dangerously long time. Over the course of it's 43-minutes, the chord sometimes shifts by a few tones or even a few microtones. Also, the volume of the piece shifts back and forth between normal hearing range to almost complete inaudibility to full volume that sometimes overloads into distortion. This is a very challenging piece of music in both performance and for the listener.
The second piece "Summer Heat" was performed on an electric guitar and consists of a heavily distorted jagged rhythm similar to Cale's later work with the Velvets. At times, the music refrains from its rhythm and sustains into humming feedback.

The third and last piece "The Second Fortress" again features the Vox organ. Instead of focusing on a single chord as on the opening piece, Cale modifies the organ to create an eerie sweeping electronic soundscape. This predates what was to become known as 'ambient music' by nearly a decade. Perhaps, Cale's early work was influential to Brian Eno as this piece is not too disimilar to Brian's ambient experiments of the mid '70s.
This is definitely very different music. It's not rock and roll and could only marginally be classified as modern classical music. It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for music that is out of the ordinary. Before buying this album, I would recommend finding a friend who already has a copy to let you listen to it. Chances are that "Sun Blindness Music" will either be something worth owning or something worth throwing away. It's Open-Minded Music for Open-Minded People.

rare
since I have not heard it, I can only give it the highest remarks ... Read more

Asin: B00005YPIX
Sales Rank: 245360
Subjects:  1. Experimental    2. Experimental Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Seducing Down the Door: Collection
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (19 July, 1994)
list price: $29.98
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Editorial Review

Welsh composer, viola terrorist, and art rocker John Cale remains aunique link between "dirty ass rock & roll" (as one '70s missionstatement was titled), the avant garde and classicism--a droll, thoughtfulmusician who studied with John Cage, joined the Velvet Underground, and went onto craft a series of often divergent post-Velvets solo projects.Early projectsthat confronted the clash of classicism and pop head-on, like The Academy InPeril and the classic Paris 1919, which mixed string sections withelectric slide guitars, gave way to more stripped-down, primal rock in the '70s,but Cale's music has always left a door open to musical and thematic invention. This intelligently assembled two-CD anthology offers a smart entry point into abeguiling maze of Cale personae. --Sam Sutherland ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Cale at his best
This is some beautiful and scarey and intellectual music.
On of the items in heavy rotation on my stereo.

CALE IS KING
This dude should not be a cult artist only! This vast swathe of prime cuts from his magnificent oeuvre contains lots of very melodic, even hummable songs that should have ruled the charts. I was pleasantly surprised bythose tracks I had not heard before (Protege, Dixieland, Coral Moon, Ooh LaLa). I bought "The Island Years" compilation at the same time,because "Dirtyass Rock 'n Roll" should be heard as a sequencetogether with "Roll a Roll" and "Where were you when Ineeded you" from the Slow Dazzle album. Although "One Word"& "Cordoba" are good choices from the Wrong Way Up abum, Iwould also have included "Lay My Love" and "The River."Very pleased to have "Soul of Carmen Miranda" from Words For TheDying album ; to me, it's one of his most glorious creations. The followingsongs are accessible enough to have been top 5 chart material: Paris 1919,Andalucia, Fear Is A Man's Best Friend, Dirtyass R'n R, Guts (perhaps tooextreme? -- I love it), Dead Or Alive, Ooh La La, Carmen, One Word,Cordoba. Get this one and The Island Years too -- only about 7 tracks arerepeated.

Shows How Good Cale is
Seducing down the door is an excellent overview of John Cale's career after the Velvet Underground. It really shows how much Cale changed over the years; The beautiful Beatlesque Parisi 1919 to the wrenching Fear is AMan's Best Friend and Gun to his dismal cover of Heartbreak Hotel to thegreat Jack The Ripper to the peaceful Strange Times in Casablanca to hissongs with Lou Reed Trouble With Classicists and Faces and Names. If youare looking for only one album to get by John Cale, Seducing Down The Dooris the best choice. It is just about one step away from a box set. Buy It. ... Read more

Asin: B0000033AE
Subjects:  1. Pop    2. Rock   

Inside the Dream Syndicate, Vol. 3: Stainless Steel Gamelan
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (08 January, 2002)
list price: $19.98
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Reviews (1)

Minimal seminal
The issuing of Tony Conrad's archival recordings was a gift from Heaven. Everybody'd heard about the bold avantgarde in the New York sixties, within or without LaMonte Young's Dream Syndicate, but few had actually heard the recordings. This instalment is the best. Why? Because (a) it offers the best mesmerising drones (b) it offers some "real" music too, and (c) it contains collaborations between John Cale, the minimalist visionary of The Velvet Underground fame, with his fellow (ex-)band members Sterling Morrison and Angus Maclise. So, this is a must-have for everyone who's remotely interested in either minimal music or the Velvet Underground. ... Read more

Asin: B00005YDIA
Sales Rank: 249308
Subjects:  1. Experimental    2. Experimental Rock    3. Pop    4. Rock   

Songs for Drella
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (11 April, 1990)
list price: $11.98 -- our price: $11.98
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Reviews (27)

VERY EMOTIONAL AND BEAUTIFUL
One of Lou's finest albums.This is one to keep coming back to - it has stood the test of time, and Cale's work on it is also very strong.I think Lou is at his best when he lets some warmth REALLY come through (like on the 1970's song, "Coney Island Baby"), and he does that on this album, a tribute to Andy Warhol.Definitely get this if you like Lou Reed, even if you just like his 70's and Velvets stuff.Also check out NEW YORK and THE BLUE MASK.

One of Lou's finest recordings.
Great album.Supreme.This is an album that I keep coming back to listen to over the years - the mark of a great recording.Brilliant job - magical.Enjoy...

Worth thinking about
At the beginning of the CD liner notes is a page devoted to a description of "SONGS FOR DRELLA - A Fiction" which states that this "brief musical look at the life of Andy Warhol . . . is entirely fictitious."All fifteen of the songs are mentioned in a quick run-through of the plot, but some are merely quoted, and "A Nobody Like You" has the title "Nobody But You" on the other pages.Musically, this is a series of performances by two persons.I hesitate to name them because this CD deserves to be considered without comparison to their other work.I think it is more like church music than rock 'n' roll:two people often play together for simple musical interludes in the services that I have been to, and these songs seem to be offered in a similar spirit, though institutionally this music was "co-commissioned by The Brooklyn Academy of Music and The Arts At St. Ann's."There are two pictures of a performance in the CD liner notes, so it looks like those institutions received what they were paying for.

Me too:I had a lot of difficulty understanding Andy Warhol as a person with an exalted position in American society until I listened to this CD often enough to get a sense of the innumerable steps ("I drew 550 different shoes today It almost made me faint") that he went through before "He'd probably say you think too much That's cause there work that you don't want to do."The songs on this CD are not trying to be big hits.The perplexity of making statements like "And he doesn't know who he is, standing, staring at this log" reaches too far out for truly popular success, but it scratches the surface of the primal mystery about these things.

I have a big problem with the modern, thinking that most knowledge is about things that are far more primitive than life as we know it.This is particularly true of the guitar solo in "Nobody But You."The first time I tried to figure out what it was, I thought it was all one note.Maybe I am missing the experience of seeing someone's foot on a wah-wah pedal or playing with a tremolo bar and tone settings on an electric guitar, or holding the guitar in front of an amplified speaker to produce feedback while the guitarist played that one note, which produces enhanced overtones that standard musical notation does not record.This really ties into the events of 1968 for me:Andy Warhol got shot, but I was only drafted.The feeling:"Inside I've got some shattered bone for nobody but you" seems as absurd as the politics of 1968, when a new Nixon and the nobody Spiro Agnew were elected because everybody believed South Vietnam would get a better deal from the Republicans and neither of them had promised to send me to Cambodia, so the U.S. was as safe as it had ever been from anything that I might say.I like the song "Nobody But You" for its great bouncing bass line, but in spite of the line "Sundays I pray a lot," you can't sing this song in church because it ends with the kind of idea that only becomes a fictitious hero:"all my life -- It's been nobodies like you." ... Read more

Asin: B000002LKS
Sales Rank: 46408
Subjects:  1. Album Rock    2. Pop    3. Proto-Punk    4. Rock    5. Rock & Roll    6. Singer/Songwriter