Cale, John: Paris 1919 (Vinyl 2xLP)

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. “I was masked on Vintage Violence,” he wrote much later. “You’re not really seeing the personality.”

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 affirms the artistic fearlessness Cale then fostered at the edge of 30, when all of music seemed like one inviting playpen.

Paris 1919 includes previously unreleased outtakes and liner notes by Grayson Haver Currin, and features a brand new recording, “Fever Dream 2024: You’re a Ghost”.

1. Child’s Christmas in Wales 
2. Hanky Panky Nohow 
3. The Endless Plain of Fortune 
4. Andalucia
5. Macbeth
6. Paris 1919 
7. Graham Greene 
8. Half Past France 
9. Antarctica Starts Here
10. I Must Not Sniff Cocaine 
11. Hanky Panky Nohow (Drone Mix) 
12. Child’s Christmas in Wales (Rehearsal 1) 
13. Half Past France (Intro Chat) 
14. Macbeth (Take 11)
15. Hanky Panky Nohow (Guitar Mix)
16. Fever Dream 2024: You’re A Ghost