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Unsettle down
Left to his own devices, John Cale took a while to figure out where he lived.
By Jim Irvin.
Getting the Fear: ’70s-vintage John Cale, an unreliable narrator but prolific creator of greatness, notably (inset, right) 1973’s Paris 1919.
SPOOKED AS a child by The Gift, John Cale’s claustrophobic tale of a guy posting himself to a lover, with (spoiler!) fatal results, on White Light/White Heat, your correspondent developed an early wariness towards The Velvet Underground and Cale’s voice. Now I enjoy its chewy languor, rolling like Welsh hills, but for a surprisingly long time I found it unsettling, and gave his 1970s records the swerve while being aware that, stylistically, it was a restless decade for him. Now, a chance to fix the gap in my knowledge.