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It Came From the Cracks |
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John Cale |
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FEATURESIt Came from the Cracks: Forgotten Albums and Fringe Classics |
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by Andrew Helminger In the late '80s, I went to see a John Cale show at The Cave in Chapel Hill. I wasn't even 18 years old at the time, so I made sure to get to there before the doorman did. As I strolled into the dark and empty club, I nearly ran into Cale--a little man with a determined look in his eyes. He headed to the stage and crawled behind a grand piano that nearly swallowed him. There was no back-up band that night, just Cale and his piano. As Cale tore through his set, I realized this guy was no Billy Joel. Instead, he had the temperament of a disgruntled postal worker wielding a sledgehammer to the keys. Cale was sometimes softened by the love letters he delivered, but more often than not he hammered out angst-ridden hate mail. I was so mesmerized by his performance that I didn't move an inch during the entire show (except to flee The Cave during Cale's encore to make curfew--damn, those teen years sucked). Cale has had an accomplished, yet somewhat obscure, career in rock and roll. After two albums with the Velvet Underground, he left the band in 1968. Other than his work with VU, Cale is best known to the rock community for his role as studio magician. He's produced gobs of landmark records, including the debut albums by punk icons the Stooges, Modern Lovers, and Patti Smith. In addition, Cale found the time to make his own eccentric brand of rock and roll. An examination of his solo output reveals that Cale is a man of many musical colors. He's a chameleon who frames his angst among various styles of music, including avant-garde, progressive rock, punk, electronic pop, and even classical. During the mid-'70s, Cale recorded three albums on the Island label--Fear, Slow Dazzle, and Helen of Troy--that stand as some of his best work. These albums are loaded with some of progressive rock's best musicians, including Brian Eno, Phil Manzanera, Chris Spedding, and Andy Mackay. Although many critics cite Fear as the quintessential album from this period, the 1975 release Helen of Troy is the real masterpiece. Fear and Slow Dazzle have their moments, but Helen of Troy delivers the most consistent punch. Helen of Troy was recorded during a period when Cale was allegedly battling some serious personal problems. Not surprisingly, these problems fuel the album's dark and manic mood. The record is a roller coaster ride, where one moment Cale is lashing out at the world and the next he's being crushed by it. Helen of Troy paints a grim yet fascinating portrait of a man on the verge of a total breakdown.
"Engine" and "Leaving It Up To You" best capture Cale at his breaking point. "Engine" begins with Cale at his piano singing a mellow, almost pretty verse. An organ then stomps all over the chorus, as Cale's restrained vocals mutate into demented rants. The song finally deteriorates into Cale moaning and wailing over a crescendo of runaway instruments. Similarly, on "Leaving It Up To You," Cale's vocals transform from dejected dribble about a lost love to angry, even threatening, screams by the end of the tune. The song was controversial enough at the time for Island to replace it with an alternate track on later pressings of the record. On the title track, we discover that Helen of Troy is not the maiden from the pages of The Iliad but instead a cross-dressing prostitute. Throughout the song, Helen spiels out her philosophy over growling guitars and Brian Eno's synth flourishes, which are reminiscent of early Roxy Music. Eno, who has been known to don a bit of eye shadow and lipstick himself, is well suited for his role in this gender bender. Cale also pays homage to the Modern Lovers on Helen of Troy by covering their classic "Pablo Picasso." Cale produced the original version of the song and must have decided it needed a little more bite. The crunching guitars, doled out by Chris Spedding, give Cale's version a harder sound. It's a remake that rivals the original. Cale has always had a tendency of getting sidetracked by sickly sweet ballads. Unfortunately, Helen of Troy doesn't escape this indulgence. "China Sea" and "I Keep A Close Watch," garnished with a cheesy string section and horns, fall into this category. Cale was undoubtedly trying to keep his listeners from sinking to the depths of despair that he reaches on the rest of the album; however, it's like trying to cut a barrel of battery acid with a can of Pepsi--even with these sugary tracks, the album still makes your throat burn. "Cable Hogue" and the cover of Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" also show Cale slowing down the pace. No Pepsi in these tunes. The playing does sound tired, though, like the songs were recorded in a studio full of pepper jelly. No doubt, Cale was exhausted from the psychotic rampages that fill the rest of the album.
Although this set gets bogged down at times in moments of sugary pop, you get great songs like "Fear Is A Man's Best Friend," "Gun" (later covered by Siouxsie and the Banshees), and "The Man Who Couldn't Afford To Orgy" from Fear. You also get Cale's deconstruction of Elvis's "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Guts" from Slow Dazzle. And of course, Helen of Troy is included in its entirety. Island also juices things up by adding a Helen of Troy outtake entitled "You & Me," a riff-heavy gem that should have been included on the original release. Overall, The Island Years is a great set. Just make sure to take your medication before you consume. |
GOING POSTAL WITH JOHN CALE
Throughout
the album, Cale crams the experimental principles of prog rock into a three-minute
format; however, this format is far from conventional. Many of the
songs on Helen of Troy deviate from the standard verse-chorus-verse
structure. This free form songwriting approach only enhances the
disjointed atmosphere that pervades the album.
Helen
of Troy was not originally released in the United States. The
album is definitely eccentric, and at the time, Island Records didn't feel
that it would sell in the American market. (They were probably right.)
In 1996, Island finally released Helen of Troy in the U.S., along
with Fear and Slow Dazzle, on a two-disc set titled The
Island Years.
