Search - John Cale :: Inside the Dream Syndicate 2: Dream Interpretation

Let Cale show you the way

The Headhunter | Lebanon, NJ United States | 04/20/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you know something about John Cale's transition from classical to avant garde minimalist music prior to his hooking up with Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground, you will enjoy this trip. Over the years, I have learned a lot about areas of music I would never have explored were it not for my interest in Cale's work. This is easily the most unusual work I've listened to. One of the most powerful aspects of much of Cale's music stems from his fascination with "the drone". It's evident in the repetitive but very lyrical beauty of songs like Buffalo Ballet and You Know More Than I Know; in his serious classical work, including The Falklands Suite cycle; and also in rockers like Fear Is A Man's Best Friend. On the early Dream Syndicate works, compiled in four CD's including this one, "the drone" is laid bare, and Cale indulges/explores it without apology. These CD's include material he recorded with his minimalist buddies, after he was fired from the Velvets (though it's not clear just how old some of it really is). This is Cale ignoring making records; he's making music that's important to him. If you're looking for tunes and melodies, you won't find them here. Upon first listen, it's difficult to get this stuff. After a few times, you start to hear the John Cale you know in "the drone". Using viola, violin, piano (if that's what you want to call this type of "piano playing"), organ, guitar and "electronic sounds", Cale starts programming your brain to experience something beyond what you know as music. This can be painful stuff if you don't open up to it. I was surprised at how quickly I got to the point where I could put it on as background, though my wife thinks I've gone over the edge. I'm looking forward to getting the other CD's from the Dream Syndicate collection. If you like Cale a lot - if you like the breadth of his work - try one of these 4 CD's. You'll learn something new and find a thread in his work that is more powerful than you might have thought."