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Paris 1919

John Cale - Paris 1919 Audio CD

A fair review of the John Cale "Paris 1919" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all John Cale reviews here, or go back to the John Cale tabs.

Band: John Cale
Title: Paris 1919
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-06-19
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Child's Christmas in Wales 2: Hanky Panky Nohow 3: Endless Plain of Fortune 4: Andalucia 5: Macbeth 6: Paris 1919 7: Graham Greene 8: Half Past France 9: Antarctica Starts Here 10: Burned Out Affair (outtake) 11: Child's Christmas In Wales (alternate version) 12: Hanky Panky Nowhow (drone mix) 13: The Endless Plain Of Fortune (alternate version) 14: Andalucia (alternate version) 15: Macbeth (rehearsal) 16: Paris 1919 (string mix) 17: Graham Greene (rehearsal) 18: Half Past France (alternate version) 19: Antarctica Starts Here (rehearsal) 20: Paris 1919 (piano mix) 21: Macbeth (different instrumental backing track) - HIDDEN TRACK

Elegant & melodious
Paris 1919 is atypical for John Cale, being consistently tuneful and mainstream with little experimentation. This classic 1973 album has been enhanced by the addition of 11 tracks of demos and alternate takes. Some of his most poetic lyrics are found on these elegant songs, most of which are ballads that bring to mind the music of Scott Walker at his creative peak on Boy Child 67-70. A reggae ditty and a powerful rock song ensure stylistic variety.

There is a subdued, desolate air about Child's Christmas in Wales, Hanky Panky Nohow and Half Past France while subdued, whispered vocals make Antarctica a brooding, moody track. With its impressive orchestral backing Paris 1919 is less of a rock album than most of his best later work, like for example the three Island Years albums. The exception is Macbeth, a robust, even blistering slice of up-tempo rock.

The ballad arrangements may be orchestral but the melodies are simple and appealing for the most part, as on the lovely Andalucia. The delightful title track with its edgy arrangement, birdsong and refrain of "you're a ghost, la la la" is especially striking, while the lilting reggae beat and trenchant lyrics of Graham Greene render it catchy and charming. Paris 1919 is simultaneously a very 'literary' album and Cale at his most accessible. The bonus tracks are interesting but there's nothing exceptional about any of them.
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Something unsettling beneath a beautiful surface
I bought this album on vinyl when it first came out, entranced by the title track . . but I really couldn't appreciate it at the time, because I was simply too naive & callow. Returning to it now, though, I can better understand why it was so troubling, even though it fascinated me in a way that few albums ever have.

An immersion in world history, in Dada & Surrealism, as well as more complex & challenging music, opened this album up for me. The gorgeous baroque surface remains enchanting, of course; but the ennui, the world-weariness, the despair & chaos seething just below the civilized veneer are all too apparent.

And so the "nonsense lyrics" are clearly the Dada-inspired response of the Western psyche at the end of its badly frayed tether to the monstrous horrors of the 20th Century. The characters in these songs continue to go through the motions of an organized, seemingly purposeful life . . . but darkness is breaking through the cracks, and the cracks are getting wider with each day.

As for the bonus tracks -- are they essential? Not really. But they are a treat, feeling a bit like the crumbling scraps & fragments of Western civilization that the ornate screen of the finished album barely conceals. As such, it seems to me that they add to the overall tone of the work. But that's just a personal interpretation, of course.

The in-depth essay that accompanies this re-release sheds a great deal of light on the work. It doesn't fit into any safely defined category, unless it's that of The Unique. I think it's a seminal work in its way, condensing a cauldron of the 20th Century's history & art into deceptively lovely songs. Most highly recommended!.

Gorgeous Album
Then I kept listening. I bought this CD initially for the Paris 1919 (title) track, and on my first listen I didn't really take to any of the other tracks.

This is a beautiful album. I think I couldn't appreciate the complexity of this album at first because each track is distinct from the others; I expected a CD full of Paris 1919-type songs and ended up with 22 individual masterpieces. Half of these are the rehearsal tracks, which include some string- or acoustic- versions, and lots of dialog between Cale and his producers and band. Many of the rehearsal tracks take on such different characteristics from the performance tracks that they sound like separate songs.

My favorite tracks (other than Paris 1919, which increases in complexity with each listening) include: Graham Greene [rehearsal], Paris 1919 [string mix], Half Past France [both versions], Andalucia.

Great Album
I put it along side Odessey and Oracle and Village Green Preservation Society as high-minded pop gems that were sort of forgotten and now are getting a renewed appreciation. There is a very good reason this classic has recently been re-released.
Other than a little bit of a muddled production this is a first class album. The mood is melancholy, but perfectly such. Although the songs are instantly catchy, they have such depth that they won't bore.
If you like gentle, blue pop music that has a decidely British feel. Get this. Actually if you like good music at all, pick this up.

"Graham Greene" is annoying
I've tried pretty hard to enjoy this CD, what with paying money for it and all, but I just don't get it. I know I'm going to get a lot of unhelpful marks, but with the invariably perfect reviews this record is getting, I thought I should speak up. Sure, the songs are pretty, but also repetitive and somewhat bland. This isn't helped by the incredibly murky mix this album has. I was hoping the bonus tracks would provide a clearer picture of what the songs sound like, but they sound the same for the most part.

The problem is that I got this along with Vintage Violence, his first solo album. I love that one. It has a great energy to it that makes the softer tracks more engaging as well as a mix that is loud and clear. Though I can easily see Paris 1919 as a good rainy day depression disc, its hard to take most of the songs seriously enough to do so. "Hanky Panky Nohow" is a good song until the lame chorus which consists of the words "Hanky Panky Nohow. " On Vintage Violence, the lyrics are just as nonsensical, but the compositions are simply more entertaining. That having been said, "Andalucia" is a great song and so is "Paris 1919" (especially the piano mix).

I keep having to replay bits of the rest of the album to remember which of the other songs I liked and which I didn't. That isn't a good sign since I have listened to it close to six or seven times now. Comparatively, I've listened to Vintage Violence once and I still remember almost all of the songs. Now, if you'll excuse, I'm going to go hum "Fairweather Friend. ".

You can see a complete list of all John Cale discography, or go back to the John Cale tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.