1975 studio album by John Cale
Helen of Troy
is the sixth solo
studio album
by the Welsh rock musician
John Cale
, released in November 1975. It was the last of his three studio albums for
Island Records
.
Content
[
edit
]
During the sessions for
Helen of Troy
, Cale recorded two
cover versions
, the
Ann Ronell
standard "
Willow Weep for Me
" and
the Beach Boys
' "
God Only Knows
", both of which went unreleased. Another unused track, "Mary Lou", was released in 1977 on the compilation album
Guts
.
[1]
The album includes a cover of "
Pablo Picasso
" originally by
the Modern Lovers
, a song which Cale had produced for
the band's eponymous debut studio album
. At that time the Modern Lovers' version was still unreleased. Cale re-recorded "I Keep a Close Watch" in 1982 for his eighth solo studio album
Music for a New Society
.
[2]
The cover has a photograph of Cale by
Keith Morris
. Cale's trousers were given to him by
Judy Nylon
who had acquired them from fashion designer
Vivienne Westwood
.
[3]
Release
[
edit
]
Helen of Troy
was released in November 1975.
[1]
Although his other Island albums were issued in the US (
Fear
,
Slow Dazzle
, the collaborative live album
June 1, 1974
and the later
Guts
),
Helen of Troy
was not. It was only available in America as a UK import. No singles were released from the album.
The album's first pressing contained "Leaving It Up to You" as the ninth track. However, due to its reference to the 1969
murder
of
Sharon Tate
by members of the
Manson Family
, Island replaced it on subsequent pressings with the song "Coral Moon". "Leaving it Up to You" was later included on
Guts
, and it was reinstated in its original place on
Helen of Troy
when the album was repressed in 1978. "Coral Moon" has appeared as a bonus track on CD releases.
[4]
The album was remastered in 1996 as part of the two-disc release
The Island Years
, which includes also
Fear
(1974) and
Slow Dazzle
(1975).
Release controversy
[
edit
]
Helen of Troy
was recorded in a very short time in between Cale's production work and touring to promote his previous album
Slow Dazzle
, and was released by Island without his approval, in what he considered to be an unfinished state. With the controversy over "Leaving It Up to You" relations between Cale and Island turned sour, and the two parties went their separate ways.
John Cale explained:
It could have been a great album. I came back from finishing
Patti Smith
's
Horses
and had three days to finish
Helen of Troy
before I went on [an] Italian tour. I was spending eighteen hours a day in the studio. When I got back, I found the record company had gone ahead and released what amounted to
demo
tapes. The trouble was that Island had their own ideas of what that album should sound like. They wanted to include songs I don't particularly like, but it was also an impertinent assumption on my part that I was capable of managing myself. My determination to have
Helen of Troy
the way I did was not really fair to Island or my management, especially at a time when Island was losing its percentage of the market, which was making everybody very paranoid.
[4]
Critical reception
[
edit
]
In a retrospective review for
AllMusic
, critic Ned Raggett wrote "
Helen of Troy
finds Cale at his edgiest, with fascinating results."
[5]
Writing in
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
(1981),
Robert Christgau
was more critical of the record. He believed that, while "Pablo Picasso" and "Leaving It All Up to You" are "Cale at his mad best", "Mary Lou" and the title track are indicative of how the album is "sodden and stylized" as a whole.
[7]
Track listing
[
edit
]
All songs written by
John Cale
, except where indicated.
Side A
- "My Maria" – 3:48
- "Helen of Troy" – 4:18
- "China Sea" – 2:30
- "Engine" – 2:45
- "Save Us" – 2:20
- "Cable Hogue" – 3:30
Side B
- "I Keep a Close Watch" – 3:27
- "
Pablo Picasso
" (
Jonathan Richman
) – 3:21
- "Leaving It Up to You" – 4:34
- "
Baby What You Want Me to Do
" (
Jimmy Reed
) – 4:48
- "Sudden Death" – 4:37
Personnel
[
edit
]
Adapted from the
Helen of Troy
liner notes.
[8]
Musicians
Production and artwork
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
Cale, John
;
Bockris, Victor
(1999).
What's Welsh for Zen
. London: Bloomsbury. p. 164.
ISBN
0-7475-3668-6
.
- ^
Mitchell, Tim (2003).
Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography of John Cale
. London: Peter Owen. p. 152.
ISBN
0-7206-1132-6
.
- ^
Cabut, Richard; Gallix, Andrew (27 October 2017).
Punk is Dead: Modernity Killed Every Night
. John Hunt.
ISBN
9781785353475
.
- ^
a
b
"Discography John Cale: Helen of Troy"
.
- ^
a
b
Raggett, Ned.
"
Helen of Troy
? John Cale | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic"
.
AllMusic
. Retrieved
28 March
2015
.
- ^
Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira.
"TrouserPress.com: John Cale"
.
TrouserPress.com
. Retrieved
5 July
2016
.
- ^
Christgau, Robert
(1981).
"Consumer Guide '70s: C"
.
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies
.
Ticknor & Fields
.
ISBN
089919026X
. Retrieved
23 February
2019
– via robertchristgau.com.
- ^
Helen of Troy
(CD booklet).
John Cale
.
Island Records
. 1975.
{{
cite AV media notes
}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (
link
)
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Studio albums
| |
---|
Extended plays
| |
---|
Live albums
| |
---|
Soundtrack albums
| |
---|
Compilation albums
| |
---|
Related articles
| |
---|