Extra tracks make this great CD
"Hedda Gabbler" is particularly good and "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores"
[covered later by Bauhaus] is not far behind. The extra tracks - from the EP "Animal Justice" make this a must buy for Cale fans.
The live tracks capture a good performance from Cale with the band in good form.
A CD for when you can't pick one out.
It grabs you from beginning to end. An album that you don't really have much concern over when one song stops and the next one starts. Cale can knock you off of you chair as well as wake you from any stupor. Play this one over and over! It rocks.
A good start.
My method is to check out 'live' albums - this give me a better impression of the artist in action. As a fan of Lou Reed, I decided to check out John Cale (post Velvet Underground). Overall, I liked this album, but I found that while it started out quite well, it did tend to drag a little from midway through. It is a good collection of songs, but the album itself did not play as well as the 'Circus Live' set. I will purchase more of John Cale's material, specifically 'Even Cowgirls Get The Blues' and 'Fragments of a Rainy Season'. This will then give me a better overall picture of his work.
By hook or by crook...
" At the two minute mark there are some nicely descending minor chords, which resolve into a brief guitar solo somewhat reminiscent of the Hunter-Wagner intro to Lou Reed's "Sweet Jane" on "Rock & Roll Animal. The centerpiece of this live album is "Captain Hook," an 11-minute exercise in psychosis and fuzz guitar, nicely augmented by the spooky, wailing background vocals of percussionist "Deerfrance. " More tortured lead guitar arrives at the four minute mark, followed by Deerfrance, then by Cale declaring "I lost my memory today, the day my ship set sail. . . " At nine minutes, another distorted guitar solo winds its way into more Deerfrance wailing and the repeated howling refrain "By hook or by crook, I am the Captain of this life. . . " The song is very moody and slowly builds to its apocalyptic climax. It's a great album, but "Captain Hook" is the terrifyingly essential song here. The next song is the tranquil "Only Time Will Tell," a lilting Velvets-style ballad with lead vocals by Deerfrance, which sets you up for the dissonant arrogance of the title track, and that's followed by the hymn-like weirdness of the album's closer, Chorale. " A true gem in the Cale catalog. .
all out aural assault
)and partly due to the combination of ferocious and restrained performances. This is one very intense album, partly because of the subject matter (genocide, colonialism, denial, etc. A big part of the power of this album is imagining what it must have been like to hear this music performed live, the thought of which sends shivers down my spine. To me, the album works very well as a cohesive unit (even including the bonus studio tracks); there are some standouts though, like "Baby you know", "Dr. Mudd", "Captain Hook", "Walking the dog", "Chorale", and all of the bonus tracks. All in all, I wouldn't suggest this as a starting point into the ouevre of John Cale, but for those acquainted with some of his work from the 70's, it's a fascinating and visceral experience. .
You can see a complete list of all John Cale discography, or go back to the John Cale tabs
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