When I think of John Cale, I think of his work with controversial band the Velvet Underground, from which he departed in 1968 after releasing roughly three full albums and recording various tracks. I’ll never forget his tracks on White Light/White Heat (1968); “Sister Ray” was my favorite tune, but “The Gift” (a collaboration amongst all the members) is one of the most disturbing tracks I have ever heard, and I practically refuse to listen to that album for that reason. John Cale is a multi-instrumentalist, singer and songwriter who has worked with a wide range of artists during his career.
Cale was classically trained on the viola before moving onto the piano and multiple other instruments. His work with the ensemble Theater of Eternal Music heavily influenced his work with the Velvets; their music was heavily drone-laden, which influenced later musical styles, particularly noise rock. He left the Velvets over creative differences with Lou Reed, and with that the experimental tendencies of the band also went. As a producer and artist, he has not latched onto one particular style, instead putting out what interested him at the time. At times this chameleon-like approach has served him well; at others, his output has been unbearable. He has often taken inspiration from the movements of the moment. The electronic music movement of the late 1990s and early 2000s was the inspiration for his album, HoboSapiens (2003).
# 33 – John Cale, HoboSapiens (Metascore = 89)
HoboSapiens finds Cale embracing electronic music. While he still employs instruments throughout the record, there are more sound blips and samples on this record than had been on earlier records. For the most part I found the record sonically fascinating. Cale doesn’t open any new doors with this foray into electronic music; more, he pays tribute to it in his own way. His addition of instruments with the music helps broaden the sonic palette, and I found it to be tastefully done (standout tracks include “Things” and “Bicycle”). He melds his style of drone music with electronic music in an interesting way (particularly on “Caravan”). There are songs towards the end of the record that make you weary, but this ode seems decent.
The song list credits “Zen” as the opening track, though the album contains a hidden track about four and a half minutes back if you rewind the record entitled “Set Me Free”. I like “Set Me Free”, though I wonder what critics thought. Cale seems stoic in the song, and it’s really a nice ballad, though it comes off as older David Bowie than younger John Cale, which is not a good thing. The trick too often in Cale’s music is the lyrics, which are frequently strange. Some songs are bluntly about one topic (“Reading My Mind” is a car song). Some songs aren’t really about anything (“Zen”). There are no set themes here, which does this record a disservice.
For some reason, when I listen to this record, I think about Robert Wyatt’s record Comicopera or Paul Weller’s Wake Up the Nation. I found those two albums to be better than this one. Comicopera, despite its sometimes over-the-top political commentary, was a record written with three different yet united themes. Wake Up the Nation doesn’t really have a theme, but Weller seemed to embrace his age and make a catchy record. The thing with HoboSapiens is that while it’s (for the most part) musically interesting, lyrically it’s just too frequently strange to be interesting. The music isn’t able to fully fill the lack of interest from the lyrics, at least for me.
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