Reviews
Customer Reviews for HoboSapiens
Vintage Violence for the new millenium?
Rating:
Vintage Violence is a naive recording made by a seminal artist adjusting to a solo career. It fits with the Velvet Underground sound, but has less memorable songs and more accessible arrangements. Disregarding the experimental aspects of Vintage Violence it was a excellent stepping stone for Cale's more renowned seventies recordings.Since Cale has been out of the limelight for so long he has to go through the stepping stone stage again. The audience for avante-guard style pop has flocked to the electro-pop stylings of Björk, the Flaming Lips, and the Beta Band - all seemingly influences on Cale's HoboSapiens. Hopefully Cale's future recordings will get away from these influences slightly and develop a more unique sound within this genre that may provide for more truly classic albums to bookend Cale's erratic career. For those who are looking to sample some highlights from this album try the pop-gem "Things" which contains the best Charlie Brown reference in all of music-dom, or the loopy electro wind-up "Zen", or the post-rock tinged "Letter from Abroad" that at times sounds like it is going to turn into an Oriental instrumental or at other times morph into a Jesus and Mary Chain song.
Customer Reviews for HoboSapiens Cd
DEFECTIVE CD... NOT THE ARTIST
Rating:
Many of the European imports of this CD are defective, true, but I can't help but wonder why previous "critics" decided to give this magnificent album one star as a result. The fault lies with the record company, not the musician. Wouldn't it have been better to rate the music and point out the manufacturing defects within the review? For those who haven't purchased this album yet, or for those who have been stung by the inferior European release (like myself), may I suggest sprinting the extra $6.00 and buying the infinitely preferable Japanese version? Not only does the disc play perfectly, but Amazon incorrectly indicates that this version only has 1 bonus track. In fact, it has 3 bonus tracks, not heard anywhere else, and clocks in at over 75 minutes. Another surprise from other "critics" is the complaint that this album lacks the hard rock power of the Island years. That was nearly 30 years ago. Is there anything more pathetic than a musician that doesn't mature? It's kind of embarrassing to watch a 60-something entertainer prancing around on stage as if he were still half that age. And, it would be boring to hear the same music rehashed release after release. In recent years, Mr. Cale has been issuing quite a few soundtrack albums for European productions. These are excellent, as one has to remember that John Cale is a classically trained musician and is certainly in his element, but here we truly have a return to form... a form that is not only mature and evolving, but one that also never fails to entertain. Thoroughly modern, completely original, and always a pleasure to listen to. The distinct John Cale "sound" is here without the duplication of previous works or musical periods. Bravo Mr. Cale! Please keep it coming!
Editorial Reviews for HoboSapiens Audio Cd
Album Description
Cale at 61, galvanized by new technology & world events, makes some of his most radical music yet. Copy Controlled. 324134
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