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| John Cale - Circus Live |
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| (EMI - 2007) |
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| I have had a casual interest in John Cales work over the years and bought the odd album and was particularly impressed with 2003’s HoboSapiens. This album is his live set recorded from concerts in 2004 and 2006. I had considered seeing him live during this period so I was keen to discover if I had missed anything.
The album open’s with the classic Velvet Underground track ‘Venus In furs’ which set a high standard for the album. With his legacy out of the way he concentrates on his solo career which at times has been as good if not better. Unfortunately here many of the songs a over simplified or ramble on far too long. Apparently the reason for the album is that Cale had found a band that could interpret his songs in a new and interesting way. This may have been the case but I don’t find them that way just I am afraid to say boring. Judging by the sedate reactions of the crowd I am not alone in thinking this.
I have tried many times to like this album, I have listened to it when I have been in various moods, hoping I will find the correct mind set for it, but I just find myself skipping from one track to the next. On many of the tracks he sounds like a pub singer performing in front of a disinterested backing band. You are just waiting and praying for the landlord to pull the plug on them but unfortunately the drone goes on and on. On others he sounds like Chris Rea or some other middle of the road veteran.
Live albums are a strange product, are they for fans who missed the shows?, are they for fans to re-live great shows, are they to introduce the casual listener to another part of the artists ability? or just a contractual obligation? In my experience they are for the die hard fan only and this album is no exception. I would recommend avoiding this and buying one of his real albums from the past instead. Even if you are a big fan I would take caution and listen to sampler track from iTunes or napster first.
I only had the download version so can not comment on the DVD which was also include with the album.
Venus In Furs, Femme Fatale/Rosegarden Funeral Of Sores, Zen
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Related Artists : Velvet Underground, Chris Rea |
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