Short Cuts

In the aftermath of leaving The Velvet Underground in 1968, the Welsh-born composer, musician, producer, and all-around avant-garde icon John Cale set sail on a new journey that took him from New York to Los Angeles. There, he established himself as an A&R man, produced highly influential albums by Nico and The Stooges, and by 1973, after a few experimental LP releases, became more serious about his own commercial pop instincts, honing and fine-tuning his songcraft along the way.

For additional perspective on that journey, I can say that Cale’s first LP for Columbia, March 1970’s Vintage Violence, was quite enjoyable, but not fully realized in some regards. His second Columbia effort, April 1971’s Church of Anthrax, was an experimental collaboration with minimalist icon Terry Reilly, and the ensuing third LP was an at times beautiful nod toward his classical music roots — July 1972’s The Academy in Peril, his first release on Reprise.

In 20/20 hindsight, these three albums were essential transitional. The Academy in Peril has its own special charms, despite Cale himself dismissing it in period interviews as “wishy-washy Vaughan Williams stuff.” Personally, I think it is fair to say that, without those earlier efforts, Cale might not have made his Reprise-released masterpiece, February 1973’s Paris 1919.

The good news is, the latter two albums — The Academy in Peril and Paris 1919 — are both the focus of a new reissue series from England’s Domino Recording Company. (Brief sidenote: Connecting some dots, I just learned Domino’s first release was Sebadoh’s “Soul & Fire” single in the 1990s — my own personal entry point to that band. It immediately grabbed my attention, because it felt like how I imagined a Velvet Underground reunion track might have sounded — but I digress.)

Exploring the DNA beneath these two fine John Cale reissues that came out concurrently on November 15, 2024, we learn from the Domino site that both albums were “remastered from the original tapes by Heba Kadry” (Mars Volta, Bjork, Beach House). Both sets include a printed replica of the promotional insert sheet that came in the original 1970s Reprise LP editions. Paris 1919: Deluxe Edition features a complete second LP of outtakes and alternate takes, while Academy in Peril includes a downloadable bonus track, “Temper,” via the included download-code card.

Also on the Domino site, Cale himself offered some perspective on the importance of these new reissues, and his apparent satisfaction with them, as follows: “Revisiting work from the past is a double-edged sword for me. Of course, it’s bound to happen when you’ve been making music for 60 years or so. . . What’s unique about this process with Domino, is their desire to get it right. Not merely re-issue something for the sake of an anniversary or racking up a catalogue favorite — but finding new treasures and highlighting what made it special in the first place. After hearing the test pressings, it occurred to me that the new mastering was a major part of how these works will be presented, rather than simply being preserved. There are moments of clarity and even a laugh or two had by revisiting not only the music, but recalling the sessions (and antics) that made up what became these two recordings. It is my pleasure to share these with you. . . again.”

From other online sources, we have determined these two reissues were pressed at Optimal in Germany. The SRP for the 2LP Paris 1919 set is $33.99, while The Academy in Peril single LP is $28.99. Both can be ordered via Music Direct here, as well as from the respective MD link graphics following each LP review’s tracklisting section. If MD happens to be sold out of either LP when you click on their MD links, you can also order either/both of them here, direct from Domino. And now, to the reviews!

JOHN CALE
THE ACADEMY IN PERIL
1LP (Domino)
MUSIC: 7
SOUND: 7

Never a great seller upon its release, The Academy in Peril has always been an iconic release — at least visually speaking, that is, perhaps being known more for its cover art than the music within. Created by Andy Warhol, the cover (as seen above) features a grid of photographic “slides” of Cale in a then-unique die-cut design. Back in the mid-’70s when I was just starting to get into record collecting, this album was often seen on the walls of record shops and commanding significant prices, even then. As of this posting, there are just 17 originals on Discogs, with only three of them in NM condition, going for between $40 and $150. There have been various reissues of The Academy in Peril over the years, but this Domino edition is the first — as far as I know — that has been authorized by the artist himself.

In general, the standard-weight 140g black vinyl pressing of The Academy in Peril is very good — dark, well-centered, and quiet. The cover art elements are excellent, and I give kudos to the label for trying to recreate the look and feel of an old Reprise label design — though I’m sure they couldn’t exactly use the original “riverboat” logo, due to copyright issues. (You can see the label comparisons below on the similar, comparable Paris 1919 LP editions.)

As far as the music goes, I find The Academy in Peril a compelling if unstructured release that creates its own universe, from skronky open-tuned blues slide guitar with strange jazz horns and haunting strings (“The Philosopher,” Side One, Track 1) to the dramatic solo piano title track (Side 1, Track 4). “Days of Steam” (Side Two, Track 2) feels like the backing track for a song that could have ended up on the next album, Paris 1919 — but instead of a lead vocal, the melody is presented by Cale’s viola, sounding to my ear at times like the treated violin sounds Jean-Luc Ponty would explore in short order.

Also, I do wonder if Tom Waits studied “King Harry” (Side Two, Track 4), which sounds like a template for the demonic circus-cum-pirates-on-parade vibe of Waits albums on Island like 1983’s Swordfishtrombones and 1985’s Rain Dogs (both of which I reviewed via their recent Island/UMe reissues here, back on November 10, 2023). As to the ratings, I give the Music a 7, and the Sound a 7 as well. (AP editor Mike Mettler is slightly more generous than I am, as he gives both the Music and the Sound a pair of 8s.) While I enjoy this reissue for what it is, there are many ideas explored on The Academy in Peril that come into much greater focus on the next release, Paris 1919.

Side One
1. The Philosopher
2. Brahms
3. Legs Larry At Television Centre
4. The Academy In Peril

Side Two
1. Intro
2. Days Of Steam
3. Orchestral Pieces: a) Faust b) The Balance c) Capt. Morgans Lament
4. King Harry
5. John Milton

JOHN CALE
PARIS 1919: DELUXE EDITION
2LP (Domino)
MUSIC: 10
SOUND: 8.5

February 1973’s aforementioned masterwork Paris 1919 is hands-down my favorite John Cale record — and I know I’m not alone in that sentiment. It was the point where he really established himself as a powerful songwriter on par with his former Velvet Underground partner, Lou Reed, yet delivered a distinct voice in his own right.

Paris 1919 is one of those albums you need to listen to start to finish, a gorgeous song cycle replete with orchestral strings, choirs, and the rock-solid support from a nimble young band that was emerging at that time called Little Feat. Frankly, if Cale had only written the title track, he would have gone down in pop music history — but the reality is there are so many great songs here that it is hard to narrow down a clear favorite. Paris 1919 is the kind of record that continually nurtures. Each time I play it, storylines and new textures emerge out of the mix.

And this is one of the benefits of the new remastered LP, which sounds clearer than any vinyl version I’ve owned previously. Don’t get me wrong — I’ve always enjoyed both my first UK pressing as well as the one I eventually replaced it with, a very nice condition original U.S. edition. But the vinyl always had a sort of midrange-heavy sonic texture to it. I won’t go so far as to call it “murky” because it’s not, but the album always had a sort of round flavor to it that sounded best when you turned it up loudly.

The new Domino Paris 1919: Deluxe Edition 2LP reissue offers a more open and brighter perspective to this music. That’s not to say it was harsh, but the recording does shimmer a lot more now. I suspect there was probably less compression applied to this edition. We don’t know if it was digitally processed — again, official materials only indicate it was “remastered from the original tapes by Heba Kadry” — so we can’t entirely be sure if it was a pure analog path or if there was a digital stage involved. Whatever was done here, the album sounds very good indeed.

A perhaps bigger revelation for me, however, is the second LP of bonus tracks, which offer many new insights into the music. Some of these tracks appeared on an expanded Paris 1919 Reprise/Rhino UK CD in 2006. While I haven’t compared and contrasted everything between the two editions closely just yet, there does seem to be tracks unique to each edition, which makes this new release extra compelling and worthy of ownership.

For example, I especially love the acoustic demo version of “Half Past France” (LP2, Side Three, Track 4), which brought me far deeper into the underlying haunting storyline than the more dense but no less beautiful final version on the core album. The second LP also includes a haunting new, 9-minute-long 2024 remix by Cale called “Fever Dream 2024: You’re a Ghost” (LP2, Side Four, Track 2).

Still, you may be wondering if the Domino Paris 1919 reissue is good enough for me to want to fully replace my original U.S. pressing. Well, yes and no. If this was a more common record to find in the wilds on 1973-era vinyl, I might have been inclined to purge my original by now. However, the reality is that original pressings of this LP are not super-easy to find — and it took me a long time until I found a nice condition copy at a price I could afford, so I will hold on to it. I do think it is important for me to keep it for easy access to Cale’s original mix that resides in those grooves. (In comparison, my copy of The Academy in Peril is a white label promo edition, so that one will always hold a special place in my collection.)

Hence, the new Paris 1919 2LP set will live happily side-by-side with my OG LP. If you don’t have this album on vinyl, the new Domino edition is a good place to start. It sounds pretty great, as I give the overall Sound a solid 8.5 and the Music ranks an easy 10 (both ratings of which AP editor Mettler concurs). Plus, the artist Cale himself was involved in and approved the creation of the Paris 1919 reissue/remaster. What more can you ask for?

LP1, Side One
1. Child’s Christmas In Wales
2. Hanky Panky Nohow
3. The Endless Plain Of Fortune
4. Andalucia
5. Macbeth

LP1, Side Two
1. Paris 1919
2. Graham Greene
3. Half Past France
4. Antarctica Starts Here

LP2, Side Three
1. I Must Not Sniff Cocaine
2. Hanky Panky Nohow (Drone Mix)
3. Child’s Christmas In Wales (Rehearsal 1)
4. Half Past France (Intro Chat)
5. Macbeth (Take 11)

LP2, Side Four
1. Hanky Panky Nohow (Guitar Mix)
2.Fever Dream 2024: You’re A Ghost

Author bio: Mark Smotroff is an avid vinyl collector who has also worked in marketing communications for decades. He has reviewed music for AudiophileReview.com, among others, and you can see more of his impressive C.V. at LinkedIn.