Thursday, September 15, 2011

Some Necessary Music From John Cale



I want to thank "ME," who hipped us to new music from John Cale in the chatbox. The 5 -track E.P. is out next week, but you can listen to it all now. If you're a fan, you will love this. Click on it. It is prime Cale.







Coincidence then, that I had been thinking about posting this song since last week. I go on these John Cale binges every couple of years or so, where I listen to nothing but. I hope everyone owns "Paris 1919." If you don't, it is time. It is a baroque pop necessity.

But, the track above, "I Keep A Close Watch," is not from "Paris 1919." (See how I did that?) It happens to be from an album that almost never came out, or at least in the form that we now know. "Helen Of Troy" was unfinished, according to Cale, and released by Island Records without his consent. I am sure there's more to the story, but it's too early for investigative reporting.

I love this track. Listening to the new Glen Campbell album, with its lush production, brought this track to mind. The horns and the strings seem perfectly "finished" to me. Beautiful stuff, me thinks.

7 comments:

cmealha said...

Parts of the melody remind me of Russ Ballard's "I Don't Believe In Miracles".
It's time to break out Paris 1919 again.

steve simels said...

Paris 1919 is one of my favorite albums of all time. Has been since vinyl days....

JohnnyC said...

I saw Steve Forbert open for Cale at CBGB's in 1978(?). What a weird concert bill. Cale is one of the unsung heroes of '70s music.

Anything Should Happen said...

I've been watching a show from his wonderful 1985 European Tour tonight.

Can't agree more, you have these fortnights or so where you listen to one Cale album then have to have more and more and then he gets filed for another year or two.

Kevin said...

The amazing thing is his voice sounds exactly the same.
I loved his rocking stuff off of Fear like Barracuda and Slow Dazzle like Darling I Need You.
This sounds really good, and a buy.

A guy called Tak said...

Sal, you're right about that Cale/Campbell comparison. I love Glen's new album, his voice is very strong and its production - probably the best of his carrier.
And Paris 1919 - a hidden masterpiece.

Bill said...

This is a great song. One of the first concerts I saw after moving to NYC in 1986 was John Cale and Chris Spedding at the Lone Star Roadhouse on 13th St. They reworked a lot of his songs for two guitars. My favorite was a kind of C&W version of "Dying on the Vine."