traveling the edges

Yes, I'm one of those contrary people who insist that, song for song, John Cale's post-Velvets career easily trumps Lou Reed's. Cale's certainly released relatively weak, bewildering records...but, two words: The Raven.

Anyway, Cale has a new record out, Black Acetate...and, who would've thought that now, forty years into his musical career (!), he'd release an album whose most common mode is straightforward guitar rock? But as usual with Cale, there are several other ideas at play here. Jefitoblog put three Cale songs up a month back: the opening track, "Outta the Bag" (a somewhat dancey number sung in, of all things, falsetto - which, except for a few notes on last year's Hobo Sapiens, is something he's never done; "Mailman (The Lying Song)" which I like, but whose grating, annoying background vocals really need the context of the rest of the album to make work; and "Hush" which for me is the weakest track on the album, built on a cheesy squished guitar loop and faux-soul femme backing vox. Anyway, here are three more tracks.

First up is "Perfect," which would be the single if there were such things, if anyone thought Cale should have one, and if anyone cared about guitars wielded by folks lacking mall tattoos and piercings, snotty attitudes, and raccoon eye makeup. From his pretty but relatively weak vocals on his first solo album Vintage Violence, Cale's become a powerful and muscular vocalist, as displayed on this track. I like the way the bridge eventually turns into a countermelody over the chorus.

One of a couple of left turns on Black Acetate, "Brotherman" uses loops much more effectively than "Hush" to create an off-center, somewhat spooky atmosphere, with Cale grunting contemptuously at the beginning, "I write reams of this shit every day..." (a line given different context when it recurs in the song's lyrics).

And Cale shares with Reed an ability to write truly affecting songs (although unlike Reed, he usually knows to let well enough alone and not overplay the sentiment). "Gravel Drive" is one of Cale's ballads, making effective use of his (yes...) gravelly lower register in its opening phrases. (My only complaint is that I think this song would be very well-served by Cale's viola playing.)

John Cale "Perfect"
John Cale "Brotherman"
John Cale "Gravel Drive"