40 years since "June 1, 1974"

Time flies! Today it is 40 years since the concert at The Rainbow Theatre headlined by Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, and also with artists like Robert Wyatt and Mike Oldfield.

The live album "June 1, 1974" was released by Island 28 June the same year. I can´t remember when I bought it, but my guess is a couple of years later, and it became one of my favorites, since I had been listening a lot to the involved artists from the early seventies. And it still sounds great!

I have been celebrating by playing the album this weekend of course, and i also read Dave Thompson´s self published book "June 1st 1974: Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt: The Greatest Supergroup of the Seventies" (2013).

The book is more than 300 pages long, and I was hoping for a detailed story about the event, but only 12 of the pages cover the concert and the album! The rest of the book is filled with discographies and description of concerts concerning the main people involved.

According to the book, these are the songs that was played at the concert but didn´t make it to the record: "Buffalo ballet" (Cale), "Gun" (Cale), "Das Lied Der Deutschen" (Nico), "Baby´s on fire #2" (Eno) and the Kevin Ayers songs "Didn´t feel lonely..", "Whatevershebringswesing", "Interview", "See You later", "It begins with a blessing...", "Confession of Dr. Dream..." and "I´ve got a hard-on for you baby" (G. Dobb).

At Last I Am Free

You all know Robert Wyatt´s beautiful version of the Chic song "At last I am free" (orig. Rough Trade 7" 1980) of course, and now it´s here again.

Since this is a 100% decent and family friendly blog, I first thought I would keep this a secret, but here we go:
"At last I am free" was released on an album called "LateNightTales" 31 December 2013, and the band behind this collection (Robert Wyatt, Carla Bley & Paul Haines, John Cale, Sonny Sharrock, Yoko Ono etc etc) call themselves *cough* My Penis Is Made Of Dogshit!

Check out the album and the cover art on BandCamp.

Marcus O´Dair: Different Every Time

And we are still waiting for the release of Marcus O´Dair´s Robert Wyatt biography "Different Every Time" (Serpent´s Tail 2014).

New publication date: 6 November 2014.

While you are waiting, listen to both Robert Wyatt and Marcus O´Dair on Grasscut´s "Richardson Road", from the album "Unearth" (2012).

Checking Amazon for the biography, I noticed a book I have missed this year, and just have to order too: Dave Thompson - "June 1st 1974: Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Nico, Eno, Mike Oldfield and Robert Wyatt: The Greatest Supergroup of the Seventies" (Create Space Independent Publishing Platform 2013).

Any views on that one out there?

I´m Not the Loving Kind

Mark Lanegan covers John Cale´s "I´m not the loving kind" on his new album "Imitations" (Heavenly Recordings 2013).

"Im not the loving kind" was first released on John Cale´s album "Slow Dazzle" (Island 1975).

Visit Mark Lanegan´s site.

The video was directed by Andrew Van Baal.

All Summer Long

Well, we are soon in the middle of August, and now John Cale´s new summer single suddenly appears.

"All summer long" was recorded during the "Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood" (2012) sessions, but Cale felt the song was not dark enough to fit in on that album.
No physical release it seems. Check it out here first, and buy on iTunes if you like it. I did.

“When writing for Shifty Adventures I noticed an apparent theme of claustrophobic darkness and so of course, I felt at home in that place. There were though a handful of songs unfinished. One in particular was me dreaming about a breeze, space and light." Read more at Double Six.

John Cale on producing

John Cale in Conversation

John Cale In Conversation At Rough Trade East, London from Red Bull Music Academy on Vimeo.

John Cale at London´s Rough Trade East, with Matthew Herbert, Richard King (author of "How Soon Is Now?") and host Emma Warren.

John Cale: Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood

John Cale just released his new album "Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood" on Double Six Records.
I have just listened a couple of times, but it contains some good, classic John Cale, with dark moods and staccato melodies.

Since you might be allergic, I have to spill it, there is autotune in there too!

Listen to the opening track "I Wanna Talk 2 U" on SoundCloud below, or live on "Later with Jools" in the video above.

Field Music Play ...

Field Music are ready (October 1st) with their cover album "Field Music Play...".
They do a version of Robert Wyatt´s "Born again cretin", from "Nothing can stop us" (Rough Trade 1982).

"Field Music Play ..." will be released on CD only, and only 1000 copies are made. You have to buy it right here!

The track list:

1. Terrapin (Syd Barrett)
2. Born Again Cretin (Robert Wyatt)
3. Heart (Pet Shop Boys)
4. If There Is Something (Roxy Music)
5. Suzanne (Leonard Cohen)
6. Don't Pass Me By (The Beatles)
7. Fear is a Man's Best Friend (John Cale)
8. Rent (Pet Shop Boys)

John Cale - "Face To The Sky" (Official Video)

John Cale´s "Face to the sky" has just been released as a single, and is a a teaser for the new album "Shifty Adventures In Nookie Wood", to be released in October.

Video: Tom Scholefeild

Kevin Ayers - Musical Express

I have probably posted some clips from this concert earlier too, and even in better quality, but here is the full portrait of Kevin Ayers, from the Spanish series "Musical Express" (1981).

With Kevin Ayers, Andy Summers, John Cale and Ollie Halsall.

Extra Playful Transitions

I promise! This is the last post on Record Store Day 2012.
But let´s have this one too. "Extra Playful Transitions" (Double Six 2012) is a remix of the John Cale EP "Transitions" (2011), by Actress, Maria Minerva, Tim Hecker, Leyland Kirby & Alva Noto.
Design: Satomi.

The tracks:
A1. ‘Whaddya Mean By That’ – Maria Minvera's Freaky Cafe Del Mar Mix
A2. ‘Perfection’ – Actress Reflection Mix
A3. ‘Catastrofuk’ – Alva Noto Remodel
B1. ‘Watching & Waiting For You To Begin’ – Leyland Kirby
B2. ‘Suffocation Raga For John Cale’ – Tim Hecker

John Cale - Extra Playful: Transitions (Preview) by Double Six

John Cale 70!

Congrats to John Cale, celebrating his 70th birthday today! Let me just remind you about his previous EP "Extra Playful" (2011)! I have already posted the videos for two of the best songs on the EP, but feel free to watch "Catastrofuk" and "Whaddyamean by that" once more, right now!

I did not realize it was Cale´s birthday until I read a feature in Norwegian vinduet.no (told you it was Norwegian!), where they recommend a brand new sampler of artists produced by John Cale: "Conflict & Catalysis: productions & arrangements 1966 - 2006" (Big Beat 2012). Seems interesting!

And, yes, I think I will play "Paris 1919" (1973) once more before midnight! Good music guaranteed!

Ah Pook Is Here

AH POOK IS HERE from STUDIO AKA on Vimeo.

"This 1994 stop-frame interpretation of recordings by the late William S. Burroughs, was crafted around a selection of tracks from the album "Dead City Radio" produced by Hal Willner & Nelson Lyon - and featuring music by John Cale".
Read more over at Vimeo

Director Philip Hunt
Producer Eddel Beck
Music Hal Wilner & John Cale
Produced at the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg
Distributor BFI & The British Council

The video is from 1994. News on John Cale to be found on Here Comes The Flood.

Catastrofuk

John Cale recently released the EP "Extra Playful" (Domino 2011).
We already posted the video for the track "Whaddya Mean By That", and here is "Catastrofuk", directed by his daughter Eden Cale. Far out!

John Cale: "Extra Playful"

John Cale´s new 5-track EP "Extra Playful" is out on Domino!
So far on 12" vinyl and as mp3 files, but a CD version will be released October 10th.

And you may watch the video for "Whaddya Mean By That?" too, right here.

John Cale & Band Live

Now listen kids, in the old days we had almost no rock and pop on the telly! At least true for Norway. That´s why we were very happy when our NRK started broadcasting the German Rockpalast shows in the 70s and 80s (yes that is 1970s and -80s for you all). Run on over here to see who played.

The album "John Cale & Band Live" (MIG 2010) passed below my radar last year. Here we get one CD with John Cale and band from 1984 (David Lichtestein (dr), Andy Heermans (bass), David Young (g)), and one CD with John Cale solo from 1983, both recorded at Rockpalast.
This album is a real treat for Cale fans, with different versions of songs from the early solo albums , and the usual cover songs ("Streets of Laredo", "Heartbreak Hotel"). The band album is aggressive in front of a rowdy audience, and the solo album is more relaxed of course (?).

If you have not heard John Cale´s albums "Vintage Violence", "Paris 1919", "Fear", "Slow Dazzle" and "Helen of Troy", please check them out before or after you listen to the Rockpalast recordings. Also look for another live solo performance called "Fragments of a rainy season" (1992). A great album, and I´m glad I attended Cale´s concert in Oslo on that tour!

Honours

Fred Frith will receive one of "The University of Huddersfield’s 2010 Honorary Awards", and I´m glad to see that Frith will do three concerts in Norway this year. He performs with Art Directors (6 August) and Hild-Sofie Tafjord and Paal Nilssen-Love (7 August) in Oslo, and with Evelyn Glennie in Bodø (9 August).

John Cale has been awarded with an Order of the British Empire!

Life along the borderline

John Cale has been around with "Life Along the Borderline: a Tribute to Nico" lately. "Here Comes The Flood" did post some set lists and videos, but I just am not able to link to the posts today
We let Nico sing "Das Lied vom einsamen Mädchen" live in Tokyo i 1986, to start the Easter.

All my friends

John Cale is in London to perform "Paris 1919" with The Heritage Orchestra (Southbank Centre 4 March). "Paris 1919" is of course the album everybody should own, but reading a piece on John Cale in The Independent, I realized Cale had made a cover of LCD Soundsystem´s "All my friends".
His version is on an EP (2007) where we also get LCD Soundsystem themselves and a version by Franz Ferdinand.
I think Franz Ferdinand find the pop potential of the song and John Cale is a bit more intense than LCD Soundsystem.
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