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I just got tickets to see John Cale on October 3rd.

For anyone interested he is performing a few dates in Europe in September, only 3 in the UK (London, Liverpool, and Cardiff) before touring the US. Go to http://www.john-cale.com

Hi Margaret,

I have heard so much about John Cale re: Hallelujah, but I can't relate him to anything else. His name draws a blank - usually I'm pretty good at knowing who's who, as it were, I've been listening to music for quite some time...I know J.J.Cale - not the same, though, eh?

Linda.

MARGARET! so glad to see another cale fan here!! i'm seeing him on october 27th. SO HAPPY!! this'll be my second time.

LINDA! i'm ashamed. john cale, former member of the velvet underground, also featuring LOU REED, maureen tucker, and sterling morrison, among a few others. had 4 official albums, "The Velvet Underground and Nico," "White Light/White Heat," "The Velvet Underground," and "Loaded" in the late 60s. however, cale was only around for the first two albums. he's got some great solo stuff. check out his masterpiece, "Paris 1919," and then his trio of albums he did with island records, "Fear," "Helen of Troy," and "Slow Dazzle." his last album came out in 2001, i believe, called "HoboSapiens," and he used pro-tools with it. GREAT album. all worth checking out.

I am so ashamed...

Linda,

I am not very familiar with his work myself, but know of his reputation, so when I saw he was due to play nearby I felt I had to make the effort. He is British, from South Wales and went to the US very early in his career.

Tchoco, have to say: I'm a Big Undergrounds fan... not to mention the solo stuff. I was told John Cale was dead, honestly. Does anyone know of Irish tour dates?? It's something I'd like to see. T, you probably know more about this than me but didn't one of Cale's solo songs move several people to suicide upon hearing it?

Uh, Ghoti, ... Tchoco??? Did I miss a post in this thread by Tchoco? Or...?

As for Cale, I noticed that a lot of people had Cale as their favourite for the Hallelujah cover. As I obviously got my Cale's mixed up, I suppose, the first thing for me would be to find a Hallelujah cover by Cale. Or, dig out some VU records. The vinyl ones. I even have a turntable. Funny, I just can't hear him, and I feel that I should. I hope I don't have to visit a grave site or something. I guess the 'net's the only way.

Cale fans committing suicide?? Like the Curt Kobain thing? Ghoti, are you serious? I'm getting this funny feeling...

Linda.

y'know, i haven't heard that one about the suicides. i've heard most of his music, like a good 80% of it, but i dunno about that one. hahaha.

linda, i think ghoti saw my name started with a "t" and that i was tchocolatl or something. but if you want to find cale's cover of "hallelujah" my best suggestion would be his live album, "fragments of a rainy season." it's only him on piano singing his songs, and for a few songs he uses an acoustic guitar. there's also a dvd of the performance, too, which, i believe, has all the songs in order that he performed them, but the cd has them all mixed up. most of my favorite songs of his he does on that live cd, which was done in 1990 i think. he also did an album before that called "words for the dying" which he took a few poems of dylan thomas and put them to song, most notably "do not go gentle into that good night," which is incredible and one of my favorites. though on the original recording (which is all strings on that album) it sounds funny. the version he does solo on the piano is impeccable and so beautiful. but yeah, anyway.... that's what i reccommend if you want to hear his cover as well as stripped-down versions of most of his best songs. then i'd reccommend getting the other albums i mentioned so you can hear the original versions of them. for instance, on "fragments" he does this song called "dying on the vine," which is lyrically one of my favorite songs of his, but the original version (from the album "artificial intelligence," which he did in the 80s and wasn't given much critical acclaim) is powerful and heartbreaking. so yeah. definitely check him out.

T.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that J J Cale and John Cale are one and the same person.

Ghoti,
not sure if there's a performance in Ireland but you could check his website.

As I obviously got my Cale's mixed up

I know, Linda, you were seeing in your head the "k" sound and thinking of the lettuce . [I bet he's never heard that one before .]

Margaret wrote:Correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding is that J J Cale and John Cale are one and the same person.

Well, it would certainly make my life easier if it were so! But, it doesn't sound like it. Also, JJ Cale doesn't strike me as a Velvet Underground kind of guy.

Linda.

Lizzy wrote: Quote:
As I obviously got my Cale's mixed up

I know, Linda, you were seeing in your head the "k" sound and thinking of the lettuce

Oh, right!! John Cale, the lettuce, spinach guy!! That's right! Thanks for putting everything back into perspective!

Linda.

I knew you'd understand.

T-

From the way you're describing Cale's work, it sure sounds like JJ Cale. He had spare arrangements, usually an acoustic guitar as the most prominent. I can also imagine him with just a piano (almost sounds like a Tom Waits). The Dylan Thomas interpretations sound interesting. But you're sure he's not the "Crazy Mama", "After Midnight" Cale?

Now, that I've said all this, asked questions of everyone, remembered that I was really thinking of lettuce and not musicians, I can look into Margaret's link! Oh, yes, I irritate myself as well. I really, really do.

Linda.

My deepest apologies Teratogen, the name thing was a bit of a slip. The suicide thing was told to me by a friend but I don't know which song it is - It's true for all I know... but that doesn't say much . Thanks Margaret, I'll have a look at the site.