Paris 1919

Paris 1919
Studio album by John Cale
Released	March 1973
Recorded	Sunwest Studios, Los Angeles, USA
Genre	Art rock, Baroque pop
Length	31:30
Label	Reprise
Producer	Chris Thomas Reissue Producer (2006): Andy Zax
John Cale chronology
The Academy in Peril (1972) Paris 1919 (1973) June 1, 1974 (live) (1974)

Paris 1919 is a 1973 album by former Velvet Underground member John Cale. It was produced by Chris Thomas and features a backing band consisting largely of members of Little Feat. It is the most accessible and traditional of Cale's albums, and the most well-known of his work as a solo artist.

A remastered and expanded edition was released in 2006. It features alternate versions of each song on the album, as well as the previously unreleased session outtake "Burned Out Affair".

Track listing

All tracks were composed and arranged by John Cale.

Original 1973 release

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)

Bonus tracks 2006 remaster

10. "Burned Out Affair" – outtake
11. "Child's Christmas in Wales" - alternate version
12. "Hanky Panky Nowhow" - drone mix
13. "The Endless Plain Of Fortune" - alternate version
14. "Andalucia" - alternate version
15. "Macbeth" - rehearsal
16. "Paris 1919" - string mix
17. "Graham Greene" - rehearsal
18. "Half Past France" - alternate version
19. "Antarctica Starts Here" - rehearsal
20. "Paris 1919" - piano mix
21. "Macbeth" - instrumental (hidden track)

No singles were released off the album.

Song information

Although John Cale has set poems of Dylan Thomas to music, the song "Child's Christmas In Wales" only shares a title with Thomas' prose poem of the same name. The song does reference Thomas' poem "The Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait" in its second verse.

"Antarctica Starts Here" is inspired by the 1950 Billy Wilder film, Sunset Boulevard starring Gloria Swanson.^[1]

Reviews

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
Pitchfork Media	(9.5/10)[3]
Robert Christgau	B+[4]
Rolling Stone	(favorable)[5]
Tiny Mix Tapes	[6]

The Los Angeles Times has called Paris 1919 "the idiosyncratic pinnacle to Cale's thrilling yet perverse career, despite the fact it never topped the charts."^[7] Pitchfork Media gave the album's 2006 rerelease a 9.5/10 rating, and AllMusic gave it 4.5/5 stars.^[8]

Legacy

In 2009 and 2010, Cale performed the album in full at a handful of concerts.

Cover versions

Songs from Paris 1919 have been covered by such notable musicians as Yo La Tengo, Manic Street Preachers frontman James Dean Bradfield, Final Fantasy's Owen Pallett, The Dave Soldier String Quartet, Love and Rockets' David J, Okkervil River, Niteflights, Jay Bennett and Edward Burch, and Sally Timms.

Personnel

• John Cale: vocals, bass, guitar, keyboards, viola
• Wilton Felder: bass
• Lowell George: guitar
• Richard Hayward: drums
• Bill Payne: keyboards
• Chris Thomas: tambourine
• The U.C.L.A. Orchestra
• Orchestral manager: J. Druckman
• Mike Salisbury: sleeve design and photography

References