Comments on: “Stitches don’t help at all”

By: alesh

alesh — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 18:43:07 +0000

Oh, wow, I’ll check out that video…!

I had trouble getting into soft Cale myself at first, especially since I got into him via the Velvet Underground, where he was in charge of bringing the noise.

Funny thing is, though, a whole bunch of the songs from Paris 1919 pop up in my head regularly, even though I haven’t listened to that album in years (time to dust off the CD collection).

By: Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:01:21 +0000

Oh. And I've always liked that line you quote from "Paris 1919": Caravans and lots of jam/And maids of honor singing crying singing tediously You're a ghost La-la-la la-la la-la la-la

By: Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:41:23 +0000

It’s not too late, Alesh! I know that Cale was touring heavily last year, so there is still hope.

I do like the two albums you mention, and I’m with you about Hard Cale and Soft Cale. Both ring true.

My friend Cooper Renner is less fond than I am of Soft Cale, but that’s okay.

You’ve seen that great Amsterdam performance of “Paris 1919″ on YouTube, yes? (I think I prefer it to the ‘original’ version on the Paris 1919 album, the production of which never excited me beyond endurance. And Cale’s delivery — in the Amsterdam performance — really gets under my skin. In a good way.)

By: alesh

alesh — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 12:07:33 +0000

Never saw him live — before my time and all — but I do recommend two albums as a fine intro to Cale: Fear and Paris 1919. Sort of the two sides of the guy. It’s still pretty convincing that a guy could do both of those extremes so convincingly.

“Caravans and lots of jam and maids of honor singing crying singing tediously”

By: Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:41:42 +0000

Oh, “Baby You Know” is fine!

I’m glad I saw Cale live ’round the Sabotage: Live era. He was much better than one might judge from that recording.

Honi soit qui mal y pense, eh?

By: Cooper Renner

Cooper Renner — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:33:34 +0000

“Damn Life,” which I mentioned in Sheila’s Vintage Violence‘s post, is Cale’s desperate lyric paired to a truly cracked performance of the “Ode to Joy” and is only one of the joys of Music for a New Society, a mostly very slow and ‘avant-garde’ record, side two of which is broken very neatly in half by the upbeat rock of “Changes Made”, featuring one of Cale’s very fine growling vocals.

By: Cooper Renner

Cooper Renner — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:30:26 +0000

Wow, Sheila, no, that's new to me. Nice song. And seeing the things listed along the side on that YouTube page reminds of the 'criminally under-appreciated' '79-'84 period, beginning with the absolutely wonderful "Baby You Know" from Sabotage: Live (poorly recorded but still worth having), the rather charming Honi Soit, the mercilessly grim Music for a New Society, and even the least appreciated of all Caribbean Sunset.

By: Sheila Ryan

Sheila Ryan — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:07:30 +0000

Those are sure three great Cale songs. "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife/Did it quick and split" ("Guts") I never saw a Cale performance during the hockey mask era. The surgeon's scrubs era, yep. But not the hockey mask. Say, you've seen the video that accompanies that charming Black Acetate (2005) throwaway "Perfect", yes? No? Maybe?