John Cale found his most accomplished and accessible artistic achievement with the polished pastoral poetry of this dark, delicate, dreamy orchestral concept album inspired by the Treaty of Versailles. After a series of collaborations with Garland Jeffreys (Vintage Violence), Terry Riley (Church of Anthrax); and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (Academy in Peril); Cale went into Sunwest Studios in Los Angeles with producer Chris Thomas and members of Little Feat: "I didn't know how it was going to work. I didn't know how flexible they were musically, but they let it rip."
The sessions took place over three weeks and featured John Cale on vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, and viola; Lowell George on guitar; Wilton Felder on bass; Richie Hayward on drums; Bill Payne on keyboards; and Chris Thomas on tambourine. The UCLA Symphony Orchestra provided strings with orchestra manager Joel Druckman, Esq.
'Paris 1919' never charted; but it has become his most appreciated album by fans and critics. Cale considers: "Irony doesn't really sell records. All the songs are about this Welsh guy lost in the desert of L.A., feeling nostalgic about all the things he loved about Europe. It was during the height of the Cold War, and I started thinking, 'How did we end up here?' In the '70s, everywhere felt like a target -- everyone was running to Argentina, because that was a nuclear-free zone. And that was all because of the Treaty of Versailles ... Maybe because it was genteel and kind of poised. It has mythical qualities. At the time I was at Warner Bros in 1972 in the middle of the Cold War, and I thought 'Where did all this begin?' Paris, 1919 ... This record is an example of the nicest ways of saying something ugly."
1. "Child's Christmas in Wales" 3:21
2. "Hanky Panky Nohow" 2:46
3. "The Endless Plain of Fortune" 4:13
4. "Andalucia" 3:54
5. "Macbeth" 3:08
6. "Paris 1919" 4:07
7. "Graham Greene" 3:00
8. "Half Past France" 4:20
9. "Antarctica Starts Here" 2:47
'Paris 1919'
full album:
All songs written and composed by John Cale.
Side A
1. "Child's Christmas in Wales" 3:21
2. "Hanky Panky Nohow" 2:46
3. "The Endless Plain of Fortune" 4:13
4. "Andalucia" 3:54
5. "Macbeth" 3:08
Side B
6. "Paris 1919" 4:07
7. "Graham Greene" 3:00
8. "Half Past France" 4:20
9. "Antarctica Starts Here" 2:47
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