Astralwerks
2005
Black Acetate
About This Album
In 2005 John Cale returned from a self-imposed, nearly ten-year exile from pop/rock with the well-received HoboSapiens. The relatively short period it took to follow that album with this one therefore heralds a full-blown revival for the ex-Velvet Underground founding member. Cale approaches this album differently though. Where the previous work found him immersed in Pro Tools, Black Acetate is a more traditional if just as insular project. Joining Cale is Herb Graham, Jr., a multi-instrumentalist and co-producer who contributes to nearly every track and seems to be as integral to the songs as Cale himself. A few guests drop by to add textures such as cello and backing vocals, but generally this is a two-person album. As such, its production is lean, mean, taut, and as straightforward as Cale has been in a decade. Thick, grungy, often sludgy guitars dominate the claustrophobic landscape, yet the approach is tempered by Cale's superb sense of dynamics. He interrupts the chords of "Woman" to add distorted vocals that alter the doomy mood without lightening it. The straight-ahead rocker "Turn the Lights On" shifts on a hard rock riff that is simplistic but not facile. At 63, Cale's dusky, distinctive vocals remain strong and clear, and he sounds thoroughly engaged by this material.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,6 and 7)

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