An album a day #9 John Cale - Paris 1919

[osgood]

Proably all of you know this album, but I don’t recall this record being discussed round here, so I’ll give you my view and experience and will wait for your inputs, if any.

I got to listen to this album in almost real time, probably 1974. Lou Reed was at the peak of his popularity round here with Transformer and Rock & Roll Animal on constant rotation in my circles, and his success had generated a lot of talk about The Velvet Underground (nobody I knew had heard of VU before Lou’s success). Though their records were not available in Spain and my exposure to them was limited to some friends whose parents travelled to London, I had an idea what they were about. So, I saw this Cale record at el Rastro (flea market) in Madrid and bought it without having a clue what was it like, not even a review or a track played on the radio. But if Lou Reed was that good, his old pal in Velvet Underground was probably worth a try.

So, it got me completely unprepared to its content. I clearly recall a mix of disappointment and bewilderment. I did not know what its music was, but certainly it was far from the little VU I had heard, and, except for the last track on A side, also far from anything I was used to call rock, which then was my main area of interest. But there was something enigmatic about it that called for repeated listens, no doubt aided by my limited buying power.

This proved to be the right decision, today it remains my fave Cale album, although I would not argue that his Island releases might be better. Then and now there is something in Cale’s voice that utterly captivates me. He is by no means a great singer, and he sometimes misses the high notes, but his unique timber has a certain velvet warmth that impregnates his songs like nobody else could, and this is especially true on this record.

Right from the start it makes clear that we are in for beautiful melodies, lush arrangements and precision mechanisms in the songs’ construction. The run of the first four tracks is just perfect, I can’t listen to one of them without wanting to hear the next one immediately. Pity about the fifth one, Macbeth, that, while not bad, sounds out of place in the sequence or in fact in the album.

B side starts with one of the highlights, the title track, but it is then marred by the only stinker, Graham Greene. Luckily it flies back to great heights in the last two tracks.

As stated, I am very fond of this album. I find it accessible but not slight, elaborate but not smug (though the lyrics could fall in there), at times bombastic but never overblown. It’s not a perfect album, but it feels like an old friend to return to.

I would expect some of you loving it and some of you hating it, but hardly indifference.

A few highlights:

Title track

Hanky Panky Nohow

The Endless Plain of Fortune

And the full album
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsGm7QjZJZYGPAlEKT0fuWkhaPrE0MTDx

[cousinlou]

Oct 11, 2021 7:04:14 GMT osgood said:

Proably all of you know this album, but I don’t recall this record being discussed round here, so I’ll give you my view and experience and will wait for your inputs, if any.

I got to listen to this album in almost real time, probably 1974. Lou Reed was at the peak of his popularity round here with Transformer and Rock & Roll Animal on constant rotation in my circles, and his success had generated a lot of talk about The Velvet Underground (nobody I knew had heard of VU before Lou’s success). Though their records were not available in Spain and my exposure to them was limited to some friends whose parents travelled to London, I had an idea what they were about. So, I saw this Cale record at el Rastro (flea market) in Madrid and bought it without having a clue what was it like, not even a review or a track played on the radio. But if Lou Reed was that good, his old pal in Velvet Underground was probably worth a try.

So, it got me completely unprepared to its content. I clearly recall a mix of disappointment and bewilderment. I did not know what its music was, but certainly it was far from the little VU I had heard, and, except for the last track on A side, also far from anything I was used to call rock, which then was my main area of interest. But there was something enigmatic about it that called for repeated listens, no doubt aided by my limited buying power.

This proved to be the right decision, today it remains my fave Cale album, although I would not argue that his Islands releases might be better. Then and now there is something in Cale’s voice that utterly captivates me. He is by no means a great singer, and he sometimes misses the high notes, but his unique timber has a certain velvet warmth that impregnates his songs like nobody else could, and this is especially true on this record.

Right from the start it makes clear that we are in for beautiful melodies, lush arrangements and precision mechanisms in the songs’ construction. The run of the first four tracks is just perfect, I can’t listen to one of them without wanting to hear the next one immediately. Pity about the fifth one, Macbeth, that, while not bad, sounds out of place in the sequence or in fact in the album.

B side starts with one of the highlights, the title track, but it is then marred by the only stinker, Graham Greene. Luckily it flies back to great heights in the last two tracks.

As stated, I am very fond of this album. I find it accessible but not slight, elaborate but not smug (though the lyrics could fall in there), at times bombastic but never overblown. It’s not a perfect album, but it feels like an old friend to return to.

I would expect some of you loving it and some of you hating it, but hardly indifference.

A few highlights:

Title track

Hanky Panky Nohow

The Endless Plain of Fortune

And the full album
www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsGm7QjZJZYGPAlEKT0fuWkhaPrE0MTDx

It is a terrific album. Top ten all time for me. I'll write some more later if I have a chance.

[Deleted]

Cale is one of them artists that we all probably have in our collections. He is the kind of artist who always seems to produce music that is genuinely interesting and enjoyable. He (in all honesty) probably has consistently made better records than his old band mate Reed. I like him as a vocalist and he is an interesting interviewee.Paris 1919 is as you say a terrific record. I would expect that few would argue, nice choice Os.

[Crunchy Col]

It's a beautiful album - warm, melodic. Easily his best, and as good as anything by his old pal, I think.

Lyrically it's pretty fucking wonderful throughout too - things come to mind now and again. 'if the sashaying of gentlemen/is a grievance now and then', and in the same song (I think) - 'nothing frightens me more/than religion at my door'. His intelligence shows, but he's not showboating, he's just telling stories. He's a smart man is John Cale.

I do like 'Graham Greene' too!

[Deleted]

Cheers Os. I've heard the odd thing from it over the years and gave it a quick listen just now.
It would probably take quite an effort for me to get into it as it's not the kind of thing I naturally gravitate towards. It's very mainstream mid 70s in sound in places, which is a bit of an obstacle for me.
The track that appealed to me most was the last track where the full on vocal steps back a bit and the music is given a bit more room to breathe. I can see the album as a whole is very melodic though.
I'll probably give it another play in a few days when I'm a bit more receptive (stinker of a cold today).

[Charlie O.]

Oct 11, 2021 7:04:14 GMT osgood said:

So, I saw this Cale record at el Rastro (flea market) in Madrid and bought it without having a clue what was it like, not even a review or a track played on the radio. But if Lou Reed was that good, his old pal in Velvet Underground was probably worth a try.

So, it got me completely unprepared to its content. I clearly recall a mix of disappointment and bewilderment.

If you had heard Church Of Anthrax and The Academy In Peril I doubt you'd have been any better prepared!

It is a wondrous album. I love (or at least like very much) every cut, I love the whole thing as a whole thing, and only wonder why he chose not to include "Burned Out Affair" (one of the bonus tracks on the last CD release) - I mean, it's not like there wasn't room for it.

[fearlessfreap]

I bought this over 40 years and couldn't believe this was the brown sounds of Little Feat, who to be fair, I like through 74. MacBeth sounds almost glam --didn't know they had it in them.

[DarknessFish]

For once I agree with G The sound of the opening track is typical mainstream mid 70s, and it's a sound I really dislike. Very smooth, no rough edges, a bit marshmallowy. I'm going to go through the album this morning though, and see how it sits.

[fange]

I'll play this over the weekend again - it's been a while. I liked it then, but it didn't become a fave; let's see if it has grown on me more.

[DarknessFish]

So, second go at trying to absorb the record during work hours. I still think the album is a bit overblown and schmaltzy in its arrangements and production. Hanky Panky Nohow is probably the best track here, lyrically excellent (as John noted), but even then I feel it would've benefited from a better hand on the tiller, it doesn't need the soupy strings, the echo on the voice is off-putting, strips the track of some intimacy. I think that's the problem with a lot of it for me, it's all big showtune arrangements, when the songs feel like they should be little intimate introspective numbers. Andalucia has a subtler style for most of it, the vocals are recorded much better, but it's got some kind of soft-country tinge to it, and the song is kinda throwaway.

You would've figured John Cale would've been less mainstream in his ambitions, wouldn't have wanted his own style to be so close to the mid 70s commercial mainstream, to stand out more. It's disappointing in that respect for me.

[Crunchy Col]

For the few years that followed he definitely took a couple of steps away from the mainstream. Bit like Neil Young after Harvest.

[Crunchy Col]

'Hanky Panky Nohow' is such a beautiful song.

[Deleted]

Oct 19, 2021 11:02:10 GMT Crunchy Col said:

'Hanky Panky Nohow' is such a beautiful song.

I'm surprised you like this album so much given your criticisms of things like Hunky Dory. This album has the kind of prim and overworked arrangements you usually detest!

[Crunchy Col]

I don't find Hunky Dory prim and overworked, I find it silly and hippyish (in places).

There's a simplicity to the melodies here that absolutely is not a feature of something like 'Life On Mars'.

[osgood]

Oct 19, 2021 10:58:01 GMT DarknessFish said:

So, second go at trying to absorb the record during work hours. I still think the album is a bit overblown and schmaltzy in its arrangements and production. Hanky Panky Nohow is probably the best track here, lyrically excellent (as John noted), but even then I feel it would've benefited from a better hand on the tiller, it doesn't need the soupy strings, the echo on the voice is off-putting, strips the track of some intimacy. I think that's the problem with a lot of it for me, it's all big showtune arrangements, when the songs feel like they should be little intimate introspective numbers. Andalucia has a subtler style for most of it, the vocals are recorded much better, but it's got some kind of soft-country tinge to it, and the song is kinda throwaway.

You would've figured John Cale would've been less mainstream in his ambitions, wouldn't have wanted his own style to be so close to the mid 70s commercial mainstream, to stand out more. It's disappointing in that respect for me.

When I mentioned in the OP "some of you hating it" I was thinking of you and G, and maybe Ray.

As I said before its arrangements and melodic approach are two of the things I love about this album. I cannot place what it is, but I grasp in this record some enigmatic atmosphere that puts it far away from the mainstream, with the exception of the two tracks that I mentioned as out of place.