tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post5507200355513392892..comments2007-09-03T23:18:02.766-04:00Inverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-80531318006981084922007-09-03T23:18:00.000-04:002007-09-03T23:18:00.000-04:00Then again, this could also be an obfuscated Velvet Underground reminiscence. Not many Cale songs offer that possibility.Inverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2367859846495854541.post-70842747677158879482007-09-03T22:35:00.000-04:002007-09-03T22:35:00.000-04:00It was exciting to hear an unreleased track from these sessions, though I hadn't expected much. Despite the very loose playing and a practice-quality vocal, it's worth hearing. I agree that it feels like an authentic "missing link" between <I>Vintage Violence</I> and <I>Paris 1919</I> - I don't think that this came up in our conversations, and it's a keen insight.<BR/><BR/>I disagree, though, that it feels complete. The lyrics are very rickety - they bulge here and there, and the unconfident vocal testifies that Cale wasn't really sure about them either. The arrangement shows little of the care that the rest of the songs received - it feels as ramshackle as everything else. I think this was only run through a few times at most before they decided not to record it properly.<BR/><BR/>I don't think I'd care much for the song without the truly excellent chorus. The lyric may not look too promising - "I can't bring back / I can't think back / It's fading again / The tin boys and young girls / All fading away" - but the fine melody shines through Cale's tonally-challenged vocal.<BR/><BR/>The Hans Christian Andersen connection is undeniable, but I think it's only meaningful in its reference to childhood. Like "A Child's Christmas in Wales," the song seems to be a very oblique personal reminiscence of growing up in Wales. I like the idea of childhood acquaintances melting away like toys. I'm not sure what's up with the gender switchery, though.<BR/><BR/>I think this song pairs well with "Empty Bottles", the very early Cale solo song he did with Lou Reed and Nico in 1972 and then gave to Jennifer Warnes. It's got the same feeling of disgusted nostalgia and helplessness.<BR/><BR/>Re Graham Greene: "Burned Out Affair" seems to be a portmanteau combining the GG novels "A Burnt-Out Case" and "The End of the Affair".Inverarityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09838650110847975337noreply@blogger.com