John Cale - Poptical Illusion - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

What does John Cale have that the rest of us don't-some gene that engenders infinite restlessness, a rapacious mind that is never satisfied? For nearly 60 years, or at least since he was a young Welshman who moved to New York and joined The Velvet Underground, Cale has been reinventing his music with dazzling and inspiring regularity. Once again, here is Cale, reimagining how his music is made, sounds, and even works. His engrossing 12-track MERCY-his first full album of new tunes in a decade-moves through true dark-night-of-the-soul electronic blues toward vulnerable love songs and hopeful considerations for the future with the help of some of music's most curious young minds.

John Cale was never very kind to his solo debut, Vintage Violence. When it was released in early 1970, Cale had been out of The Velvet Underground for less than two years. He wanted to prove he could be the songwriter, the person penning the words and melodies behind which a band could work. InchI was masked on Vintage Violence,Inch he wrote much later. InchYou're not really seeing the personality.Inch Indeed, Cale's personality as a polyglot seemingly interested in everything emerged more and more on his next two solo albums, his only two for Reprise 1972's bracing and exploratory classical sojourn, The Academy in Peril, and 1973's masterclass in anxious but accessible songcraft, Paris 1919. By reissuing both records in tandem, Domino-Cale's home now for a dozen years-affirms the artistic fearlessness Cale then fostered at the edge of 30, when all of music seemed like one inviting playpen.This artist-sanctioned Deluxe Edition of Paris 1919 is remastered from the original tapes and includes previously unreleased outtakes. Liner notes written by Grayson Haver Currin.

Even today, JOHN CALE is renowned for having been a member of The Velvet Underground alongside Lou Reed, Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison. Though less known to many fans are his early collaborations with avant-garde musicians like John Cage or La Monte Young. His solo works have always been a mixture of classical influenced avant-garde, orchestral works and dynamic, experimental Rock. He has worked as a musician, producer (Nico, Patti Smith, Happy Mondays, to name a few) and arranger. His collaborations with artists such as Brian Eno, Kevin Ayers or Little Feat are legendary. When he was invited for the Rockpalast-Festival on October, 14th 1984, he had just released the desolate masterpiece Music For A New Society (1982), Caribbean Sunset (1983) and John Cale Comes Alive (1984). Compared to the official live album, JOHN CALE's performance at the Rockpalast was far more intense, desperate and wild. He performed the songs with a very hard edge, sometimes even deconstructed them (Heartbreak Hotel), receiving a mixed reaction from the audience, that just has survived performances of Level 24, Huey Lewis & The News and Chalice. When JOHN CALE appeared onstage it nearly was 3 o'clock in the morning, the atmosphere in the hall was as tense and menacing as the concert that followed. Up to this day, this performance remains one of the most spectacular concerts in the history of the Rockpalast-Series. In sharp contrast to this performance you will find a second concert at Zeche Bochum from 1983. Here you will find the more introverted JOHN CALE a man and his piano performing his all-time-classics, including an extremely expressive version of Fear Is A Man's Best Friend. Altogether, this set perfectly represents the many facettes of the JOHN CALE in the early 80s - it is a historic document which stands the test of time. Boxset with 2 DVDs and 2 CDs, booklet with fotos and