29. John Cale- BlackAcetate


This one snuck up on me. Having not really had too much affinity with Cale's solo-material post-Velvets I was enamoured by Hobo Sapiens. Not an easy album but rewarding to see Cale mixing up electronics and chamber pop to an eclectic weird listen. This one doesn't veer too much from that path- Cale sounds unfashionably noisy on it and, at first listen, BlackAcetate sounds less impressive than Hobo, but I can't stop playing songs like Gravel Drive, In A Flood, Wasteland and Turn The Lights On, which, regardless who performs it, are good tracks. Off-kilter tunes, anywhere inbetween straight rock or melancholic pop but without any easy way out. Only opener Outta The Bag sounds like Cale had the funk hit him like a low blow. The album got panned by quite a few people but what do hacks know anyway?