John Cale – Slow Dazzle – Vinyl LP

Following on quickly from Fear, and capitalising on that album’s energy Slow Dazzle is another fiery release by Velvet Underground founder John Cale – This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1975 Island Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl. Released in March 1975, initially, the album offers a false sense of mellow security: “Mr Wilson”, a tribute to Brian, the leader of Cale’s beloved Beach Boys starts the on a much sweeter note than “Fear Is A Man’s Best Friend”, as does “Taking It All Away”; by “Dirty Ass Rock’n’Roll” Slow Dazzle is off to darker terrain, business as usual. Cale, however, cannot resist a pop song and a ballad “Ski Patrol” is a great two-minute vignette, and “I’m Not The Loving Kind” is soul-baring. The album’s reputation, however, rests on two tracks “Guts”, a bald telling of Cale’s wife’s infidelity and his pitch-black cover of Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel”. 50 years later, these songs still pack a tremendous punch.

Side A
1 Mr. Wilson
2 Taking It All Away
3 Dirty-Ass Rock ‘N’ Roll
4 Darling I Need You
5 Rollaroll

Side B
1 Heartbreak Hotel
2 Ski Patrol
3 I’m Not The Loving Kind
4 Guts
5 The Jeweller