John Cale - '5 Tracks' (EMI)
3/5
By: Toby L
'Staggering' hardly does his career justice, yet even still, John Cale perseveres to this day with new solo material - the current five-track EP a prelude to a new album to follow in the autumn.
And as if being a part of the seminal Velvet Underground ain't enough already, let alone bearing production-credits on the likes of timeless releases from the equally noteworthy Stooges, Happy Mondays and Patti Smith (among others, of course), Cale continues to rock the foundations of those that think they've already heard it all.
'5 Tracks' is a whimsical, entirely well-calculated return, eerie samples colliding with bold, arch guitars and boffin-assigned programming, masterfully topped off via John's own instantly warming, if battered along the way, drone. It's Bowie left alone with a box of tricks. And, via the likes of an epic 'Verses', dreamy mooch-a-long pace of 'Chums of Dumpty' and twangy 80s, stripped-back resonance of 'E Is Missing', it makes for a worthy listen, even after all this time... Shame others that have been at it for just as long can't lay claim to the same thing.
Artists in this article: John Cale
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