JOHN CALE

In mood it takes you on many of the tracks somewhere near the cosmic soundscapes of Ashra Tempel or Popol Vuh... and we hear Guru Guru-style yodelling more than once...

It is intensely relaxing and suffused with a Celtic heart intertwined with this more Germanic organ drift... The version of Frozen Warnings is exquisite ...

Spoken pieces by Cale are always welcome due to Cale's unusual mixture of New York and Welsh Valley tones; think of the Dream on Drella and The Gift back in the days of The Velvet; there is one here 'Melanethon' from a text by Swedenborg and a fine text and delivery they are.

Cale was always avant-garde first; like when he performed Cage pieces at Goldsmith College when still a student in 1963; when a year or two later he planned a concert with a multitude of pianos on a lake; each piano on a rowing boat to be scuttled at the end of the performance...

This is the Cale we get here... maverick in a world that is already non-conformist... track 4 Violin Solo sounds like the best number of a New Age album from the mid-nineties... Cale picking up on the Zeitgeist as always.

In his long career this is not the apex but a long way from its nadir ..... a must for all students and fans of The Welsh New Yorker

PS a good read on Cale is [Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography by Tim Mitchell ]

"The Academy In Peril" is a surprisingly fascinating work of art.

John Cale was the famous member of the legendary band Velvet Underground. His career as a soloist has some lovers, like also some haters. For some his music is too minimalistic and boring, for others it's beautiful, creepy music. "The Academy In Peril" is one of the musicians' first albums, where all the experimentation and eerie elements seem to many like a naive and immature attempt to be original. I personally have to disagree, being this album full of haunting and interesting moments that I truly did not expect, even because I didn't like it at first listen.

Cale has always been a huge follower of classical music, and his musical and technical preparation was obviously of this genre. Concerning the style of "The Academy In Peril", it is mainly divided in two genres; a more classical influenced part, where Cale finds himself mostly in front of the piano, but other times also with the violin, his main instrument. These tracks are easily defined as Modern Classical, as they aren't any rock elements whatsoever. However, the other songs are still all instrumentals and using classical instruments such as piano and violin, but they have a much more strong Avant-Garde feel to them. An eerie aura surrounds these Experimental compositions,so the music turns out to be very unique sounding.

The production is bleak and minimalistic, which is the element I love the most about the album. The songs themselves are good, some aren't as memorable or fascinating as they should. In fact, I can get bored on the longer songs like "john Milton" or the three instrumental pieces that are included in one, eight minute song, or even the title track. Sometimes it isn't exciting or captivating, an that is an element that is surely necessary for all kinds of music, but especially in Avant-Garde, otherwise people will call it pointless and dull. But the better moments are more frequent than the less better ones. The beautiful homage to Brahms, the opener "The Philosopher", or the disturbing "King Harry" can give a pretty good impression to the listener.

Overall the album is really good, with many great moments that are surprisingly beautiful and haunting. The flaws are present, but all the good stuff saves the album quite a bit. If you're into Classical music and Avant-Garde, I definitely recommend you check this out.

All the album is one long composition (drone). Violin, Cale's viola, minimalist percussion and hardly recognizable vocals. Long composition,filled with slightly changing sound of two acoustic strings instruments, without intonations,dynamics,rhythm or any structure.

Interesting evidence of early minimalist (drones) music from mid 60-s, with John Cale viola sound signature. Has no relations with progressive rock music though. For Cale collectors only (or minimalist avant garde fans, but it's a theme for different site than PA).

The albums continues to remain convincing " Please" being another great tune. There is something addictive about Cale's voice, whilst not the best around it has it's very own unique style. " Amsterdam" could be referring to Nico, I am not sure but is great nevertheless. There seems divided opinions on Cales debut. It is strongly recommended, richly rewarding musically and strongly indicative of this man's great talents. It is clear Velvet Underground would never have outlived him.Or put it another way, he squeezed the best out of them and moved on. Four stars!

Cale made quite a name for himself as a member of the Velvet Underground where he managed to associate his presence with highly controversial avant-garde experimentation that he depicted on now renowned The Velvet Underground & Nico and its even more experimental followup White Light/White Heat. After leaving the band it was only a matter of time until Cale would bounce back into music, but was Vintage Violence actually the album that the audience expected of his debut album?

To say that the album is a departure from the Velvet Underground sound would be an understatement because despite the very avant-garde-looking album cover this is actually a very accessible album comprised entirely of fun little pop tunes. Still, it wouldn't be fair to dismiss Vintage Violence as just a simple pop album of its time since John Cale definitely adds his own unique approach to the music of the time. The material is very mixed featuring everything from straightforward rock arrangements, like on the opening tune Hello There, low-key acoustic guitar-driven ballads like Amsterdam and even stretches to sounds of Country on Bring It On Up!

Even if there are a few questionable choices made on a couple occasions these missteps can be attributed to the fact that this was Cale's debut album and it definitely didn't take him long to find his own unique style which already began forming here. My favorite compositions are the two slower performances titled Gideon's Bible and Ghost Story. It's actually pretty interesting to hear how much of a difference of style these pieces have between themselves although both have that great moody sense in their arrangements that can only be attributed to the artist in charge.

Vintage Violence is a joyful little debut album from the Velvet Underground-mastermind John Cale. It might not be his most experimental 35 minutes of material but you'll probably be too busy swept by these great tunes to notice that!

***** star songs: Gideon's Bible (3:21) Ghost Story (3:46)

**** star songs: Hello There (2:44) Adelaide (2:19) Cleo (2:33) Charlemagne (4:59) Bring It On Up (2:22) Amsterdam (3:12) Fairweather Friend (2:29)

*** star songs: Big White Cloud (3:29) Please (4:17)

However, when it comes to writing pop songs, he is largely a mixed bag. On his solo debut, "Vintage Violence," he tended towards droning and melancholy ballads (a byproduct of his Welsh heritage, I suspect) and while some of these were enthralling, many were dull and lifeless. Well, he has certainly not escaped from this weakness on "Fear," but at least he has picked up the pace a little, and recruited some fine talent to help.

Brian Eno and Phil Manzanera lend their skills to the album, and their presence (particularly Eno's) is certainly felt. For example, the end of the opening cut "Fear is a Man's Best Friend" is a caterwauling free for all that sounds very much influenced by Eno's "Here Come The Warm Jets." It's an ending that transforms an otherwise radio friendly song into a bona fide piece of art rock, and it's one of the album's highlights. Cale is mainly known for his electric viola playing, but here he shows that he is no slouch on the bass guitar either.

Other standout tracks include "Gun." which is a slow, hard-rocking story song that never lets up, and the poppy-yet-eccentric "Barracuda," which never fails to bring a smile to my lips. Behind its simple two chord riff lies some truly weird mosquito-like keyboard playing. As expected there are some mournful ballads, and while "Buffalo Ballet" is pretty good, the others fall a bit flat, lacking the melodies or the lyrics necessary to pull off such somber fair. The album's low point is the dated sounding "The Man Who Couldn't Afford to Orgy." Besides the fact that Cale insists on pronouncing "orgy" with a hard "g," the backing vocals are horrendous.

Overall, this is a good album, but not one I can unreservedly recommend. All I can say is that if you are a fan of Cale or Eno or Manzanera, it will certainly be worth your time.