Paris 1919 - JOHN CALE***

Child's Christmas In Wales/Hanky Panky Nohow/The Endless Plain Of Fortune/Andalucia/Macbeth/Paris 1919/Graham Greene/Half Past France/Antarctica Starts Here

John Cale was best known for the more experimental and avant-garde elements of the Velvet Undergound sound. On Paris 1919 he embraces a more mainstream style with a disparate range of songs.

“The lyrics are matched with music that triggers the imagination and emotional senses, as well crafted pop met with classical influences while managing to capture some of Cale's odd charm.”

“It might be a shock to hear this if you mainly know John Cale for his avant-garde work with Velvet Underground, but I think this is ultimately a sign of his genius. He chose to make a really lovely sounding album with some bizarre lyrics that can slip right by you if you're not paying attention.”

“John Cale's softer side has often been on display, but Paris 1919 is really his only album where it's given total free rein. The gorgeous baroque/chamber pop arrangements, the wistful air to songs like Andalucia and Half Past France, the quirkiness of Graham Greene show there's something so touchingly vulnerable about the record that it's only on the third or fourth listen that one realises just how dark it really is.”

“This record is pleasant, but hardly attention grabbing. Part of the problem is Cale's voice, which is not remotely expressive. I've always found vocals to be an important unifying element in music, so when the vocals are bland, it's a lot harder to grab attention.”

“On Paris 1919 John Cale offers up a disparate range of songs in a range of styles that collectively evoke an air of mildly wistful nostalgia but otherwise don't seem to have very much in common. Those who know him from the Velvet Underground may find the album disappointingly conventional, and it seems to consciously balance Cale's art rock aspirations against a rather bland production. Whenever the two are in tension, blandness wins.”

“The songs are built upon some lovely, memorable melodies and arrangements. Cale's lyrics are as wry and intelligent as on any of his more raucous releases; there's insight, humour and irony in these tunes. He comments on a range of subjects - loneliness, history, morality, longing, love, pretension, art, religion, etc.”