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John Cale - Vintage Violence CD (album) cover

VINTAGE VIOLENCE

John Cale

 

Prog Related

3.36 | 31 ratings

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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
1 stars < ugly title, ugly cover, ugly album>

Out of the psychedelic 60's came one band I never cared for, because they were more about attitude and artsy-fartsy than musical. If The Velvet Underground appears to be groundbreaking still today, it's partly because of the Andy Warhol tutelage and the presence of uber-model (and then chanteuse) Nico, but also because of a certain kind of minimalism, mostly induced because all but one musicians were actually quite crappy at their respective instruments, the exception being the classically-trained Welshman John Cale. After this group's slow gradual demise, Lou Reed would be the first to return to fame, John Cale never really seeking the spotlight anymore. Actually Cale had already left VU and already had produced a highly-acclaimed album for VU's ex-chanteuse Nico. His first solo album is anything but a good hint at his talent. Behind this ugly shot on the cover, the disc contains absolutely nothing worth remembering if you're a proghead, despite having some kind of (dubious) concept hinted in the lengthy liner notes.

This debut album is more like a collection of short, (all but two are under the 4-mins mark) mainly commercial or radio-friendly tunes aimed at America (rather than the UK), often having a slight country rock (Please and many more) tinge and at others showing a certain Beatles influence (Adelaide). The only track escaping the ugliness of the album is the enthusiastic Ghost Story track, even if ending in a maelstrom of white noise

Best avoided, unless you're a fan of the Lone Welshman, but this is not to say that will be true for all of his future, starting with the upcoming Anthrax collaboration.

Sean Trane | 1/5 |

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