Record of the Day: John Cale, “Vintage Violence”

John Cale, “Vintage Violence” (Cd Columbia 499945-2)

Despite having been part of the Velvet Underground and having collaborated with the Stooges, Nick Drake, Brian Eno, Nico, Terry Riley and many other famous musicians, John Cale has never shown himself interested in cultivating a role as a rock star but has always preferred to stay behind the wings as a gray eminence, lending the sound of his viola and his skills as a producer-alchemist to many records (the most famous is probably “Horses”, Patti Smith’s dazzling debut).

Nonetheless, Cale has recorded several solo albums, documenting his progressive maturation also as a performer and songwriter, and within this composite group “Vintage Violence”, his debut album, remains one of the most successful efforts to date . The general sound of the album is linked to the experience of the Velvet Underground but already reveals those musical influences that will recur in Cale’s production: the love for orchestral sounds and arrangements with rich instrumentation (even if there is no shortage of much more sparse pages like the excellent ballad “Amsterdam”, supported solely by two guitars) to which on this occasion is added a singular exploration of the pop universe, with explicit references to groups in vogue at the time such as the Beatles, Kinks and Rolling Stones (especially in the version of “Fairwater Friend”, written by Garland Jeffreys).

Cale’s voice is deliberately flat, inexpressive (similar to that of his artistic mentor Andy Warhol), with an almost arrogant attitude in wanting to deny any expressive nuance to the melodies of the songs.

Cale’s previous work with Riley and LaMonte Young is particularly reflected in the instrumental track “Wall”, not included on the album at the time but available on this CD version. Entirely created by superimposing traces of electric viola, it develops through continuous dynamic oscillations within a harmonically immobile but melodically always varied continuum; the completely different character from the other songs on the album originally led to its exclusion, but it is one of the best songs in Cale’s entire career, whose artistic path will go through very different phases from a stylistic point of view through now classic albums in the alternative scene such as “Animal Justice” and “Honi Soit”.

Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.

This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.