John Cale, Lou Reed and Patti Smith

[John Etherington]

There's no doubt about it, as far as I'm concerned...Cale was the main main in the Velvet clan. It was his extraordinary electric-violin playing that transformed a Dylanesque punk band into something totally revolutionary. His contribution to music since is outstanding...most notably on the beautiful Paris 1919, and stunning Fear & Slow Dazzle.
There's classic after classic here - Child's Christmas in Wales, Andalucia,
Ship of Fools, Buffalo Ballet, Mr Wilson, I'm not the Loving Kind plus some gut-wrenching rockers. Cale's viola playing on Nick Drake's Bryter Layter is awesome; he produced albums such as Patti Smith's Horses amd Lust for Life; does remarkable interpretations of Dylan Thomas material and Leonard songs (Hallelujah and Queen Victoria) & Warren Zevon's Things You Do In Denver. Also his live performances in recent years have been his best ever, and he's still breaking completely new ground. Now as for Lou Reed...I liked his first album which sounded fresh at the time, and even the dumb lyrics were okay. The limp-wristed Transformer was enjoyable at the time, and I liked Berlin (even though it sounded as if he'd be listening to Leonard). After that Coney Island was okay, and New York, as I recall, was a better one, but I need to be persuaded that his solo work has the same enduring quality as Cale's. Finally, Patti Smith is one of the most dynamic rock performers of all time. Her heart's definitely in the right place, and she has notable cultural taste (Hesse, Blake etc.) as well as taking a strong anti-Bush stance. I don't listen to Patti so much on disc, but I particularly like her Wave and Dream of Life albums, and recently bought the Land compilation. John E