John Cale – Fragments Of A Rainy Season

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: D     Concert: B

 

 

One of the great underrated talents of Rock music and then some is John Cale, an original member of The Velvet Underground who never found the solo success he deserved outside of the band like Lou Reed did.  A new way to see immediately what everyone has been missing out on is to catch his 1992 concert taped for Fragments Of A Rainy Season, from his solo tour in Brussels.

 

In a concert that lasts just over an intense-but-short hour, Cale (like George Harrison) gets to unleash some incredible performances that he has been unable to do as part of a landmark band that he helped to make possible.  The singing is deep, powerful and empathetic, the musicianship, top rate.  He single-handedly commands the stage with powerful performances of the following:

 

1)     On A Wedding Anniversary

2)     Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed

3)     Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night

4)     Carmen Miranda

5)     Cordoba

6)     Ship Of Fools

7)     Leaving It Up To You

8)     The Ballad Of Cable Houge

9)     Chinese Envoy

10)  Fear (Is A Man’s Best Friend)

11)  Dying Of The Vine

12)  Heartbreak Hotel

13)  Style It Takes

14)  Paris 1919

15)  (I Keep A) Close Watch)

16)  Hallelujah

 

 

Track 12 is the Elvis Presley song in this case.  Most are Cale originals, often co-written with other top talents, but this is an artist who has become more advanced and skilled with age.  It is a marvel to see him in action, his command of vocal phrasing, the way he matches the singing with what he is playing, and the depth and vulnerability he brings to it all.  This is one of the best solo concerts we have seen on DVD to date, wishing it were only longer.  Hope we see more Cale DVDs soon.

 

The program was taped 1.33 X 1 full screen on video and being in Europe, was likely the PAL format, which would explain why this does not bleed as much as it might have.  The sound has been remixed in Dolby Digital 5.1, but the music is so good that that feels inadequate, despite still being better than the Dolby 2.0 Stereo with Pro Logic surrounds.  This deserved DTS tracks and sadly did not get it.  I wonder how this would sound as an SACD?  Either way, there are also, sadly, no extras, yet the concert itself more than justifies the release and Fragments Of A Rainy Season is truly terrific and Cale deserves a standing ovation.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo