Circus - John Cale Album Review

John Cale

Album Review

Sixty-four year old Welshman John Cale made his name as founding member of seminal 60s band the Velvet Underground, that included Lou Reed. In the intervening years since they split in 1973, Cale has continued to be a cult figure, though commercially he's faired less well than Reed. This excellent collection of career spanning compositions, (40 years) is unlikely to change anything, sadly. Using a more expansive setlist and band compared to the one I witnessed at Central Station Wrexham in January, 'Circus Live' is a much better gig than the one I saw. Like his Wrexham visit, it includes Save Us, Helen Of Troy, Walking The Dog, Dirty Ass Rock And Roll, The Ballad Of Cable Hogue and Pablo Picasso, all of which went down well. Added here are tracks from his last album blackAcetate ( 2005) - Outta The Bag, Hush, and Woman, along with credits to Lou Reed, Rufus Thomas, Jonathan Richmond and Elvis Presley et al. From first hand experience, Cale's music can be emotionally moving to down right average; however it's interesting listening, particularly for devotees.

On to trademark ( and annoying ) drone, Cale and co. get stuck in to VU single Venus In Furs, followed by thumping rustic rocker Femme Fatale complete with wiry solos by Dustin Boyer......with his rockier edge continuing on rasping Helen Of Troy bursting with more solos from Boyer and bumper stick-bashing by Michael Jerome

From blackAcetate, Woman chugs along nicely - this is Cale at his most accessible. One of his better rock sojourns is the dirty-funky Outta The Box: this rasping blast is a CD 1 highlight that contains some deft axework by Boyer.

On a mellower note, Cale can pull-off some quality ballads - Buffalo Ballet and Set Me Free are amongst his best songs, a gentle plodder that showcases his baritone voice, sounding strangely like Bruce Springsteen on his quieter moments. There are equally good songs like quirky Femme Fatale written by Reed.

A song about his favourite painter Magritte the famous surreal Belgian artist is a sombre affair with stirring violin. Rounding off CD 1, rock-belter Dirty Ass Rock And Roll thrills the crowd. Carrying on the rock mode on CD2, Cale embarks on Walking The Dog with slicing riffs form side-kick Boyer and catchy chorus, even if the lyrics are limited.

Eccentricity finally surfaces on Gun, a slap-dash cacophonous waster and almost pointless effort, as is the 4 minutes of weird drone that leads into the masterful Amsterdam Suite. Soft and gentle Hanky Panky Nohow restores some semblance of musical credibility; with the ominous Mercenaries (Ready For War) is a poignant reminder of the state of the world. Pablo Picasso, a rugged blast restores the Rock fever with an almost jam flavour over 12 minutes. Cale clearly has a thing about drones, so we're left with one again, for the outro.

Elly Roberts