Maybe I'd have developed a stronger relationship with this if it had been one of the first Cale albums I heard; but it was one of the last. Listened a handful of times, couldn't hear anything remarkable, and put it to one side, and forgot about it until now (it was one of nine CDs I got the day the shops reopened in January 2003, so only the strong would survive). On the back of the CD it says, "The album would be heralded by critics and become a monumental influence itself on future musicians and artists alike" — on the basis of which I was expecting something a little less average. My favourite is actually one of the bonus tracks on this re-issue, the instrumental Wall — it's not often I can say that.
As always I defer to Fragments of a Cale Season, not least because I usually find better-articulated opinions that back up my own instincts. On the money as ever:
To my ear, there isn't much personality on display on Vintage Violence. Wonderful lyrical phrases, invitingly ambiguous music, wide-ranging topics… but no motivating theme or set of feelings. It also sounds more homogenous than nearly any of Cale's other albums. And then there are the problems of Cleo and Adelaide. It's a good album, don't get me wrong, but it's a calculated attempt at a "pop album." His heart wasn't really in it. It might be that the three-day writing and recording time hurt it a bit, the magic of improvisation be damned.
According to Wikipedia Cale himself agreed that the album has little personality. (Wikipedia's source is Cale's What's Welsh for Zen
, which I read when it came out ten years ago — why is it that the only thing I remember about it is the bit where he admitted to choking a cat as a teenager in Garnant?) The individual song portraits from Fragments are the most likely to tempt me back. But nevertheless I wouldn't be surprised if I never got around to listening to this again.
MusicBrainz entry for this album
Our record collections are eerily similar.
Mostly agreed on your review, though VV does have a naive charm at times which draws me back. The same cannot be said for 1971's "Church of Anthrax."
"Ghost Story" gets a more sympathetic reading during Cale's "reunion" set with Reed/Nico at the Bataclan -- it's a haunting and spare performance.
Of Cale's pop releases I'm more partial to "Helen of Troy" -- it's his "masterpiece" in my opinion.
Posted by: M.J. Nicholls | 17 November 2009 at 09:25 PM
Ah, well now... Church of Anthrax: watch this space. Can't say I agree about Helen of Troy, as I prefer the live versions of the best songs. But each to their own.
Posted by: David | 17 November 2009 at 10:07 PM