''Slow Dazzle'' is the fifth solo studio album by Welsh musician John Cale, released on 25 March 1975, his second album for record label

Island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

Content

"Mr. Wilson" is about seminal American musician Brian Wilson; the

Beach Boys A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

founding member has been a strong influence on Cale's work over the years. The song reflects the strong, divisive personal struggles in Wilson's life. The music's tone fluctuates from paranoid and unhappy to warm and pleasant moment by moment. "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being ...

" is a cover of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

song (written by Mae Boren Axton and

Tommy Durden Thomas Russell Durden (December 15, 1919 – October 17, 1999) was an American steel guitarist and songwriter, who is most notable for co-writing Elvis Presley's breakthrough hit, "Heartbreak Hotel". Biography He was born in Morgan County, G ...

) with fundamental elements of the track changed such the singing taking in "chilling" screams and dark synthesizer elements added to the background. The track "Guts" opens with the line "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife". This refers to rock musician

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

sleeping with Cale's wife before the concert that's captured on the ''

June 1, 1974 ''June 1, 1974'' is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike ...

'' album; John Cale related the details in his autobiography, with

Victor Bockris Victor Bockris (born 1949) is an English-born, U.S.-based author, primarily biographies of artists, writers, and musicians. He has written about Lou Reed (and The Velvet Underground), Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, William S. Burroughs, Terry Sou ...

, ''What's Welsh for Zen'', that was published in 1998. "The Jeweler" is a spoken word piece under an instrumental backdrop that recalls, at least in its poetic and freeform structure, the track " The Gift" from

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...

's second album ''

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...

''. While Cale speaks in a calm,

monotone Monotone refers to a sound, for example music or speech, that has a single unvaried tone. See: monophony. Monotone or monotonicity may also refer to: In economics *Monotone preferences, a property of a consumer's preference ordering. *Monotonic ...

voice, "The Jeweller" features a drone-like set of unsettling sounds that appear to build and build without reaching a conclusion. Track 2, "Taking It All Away", was misprinted on all Island Record CD releases of the album as "Talking It All Away". The cover photography was by

Keith Morris Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at the ...

. It is also the second consecutive album to feature both Brian Eno and

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801, and Quiet Su ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

Release

''Slow Dazzle'' was released on 25 March 1975. No singles were released off the album, although there was a promotional-only single of "Dirty-Ass Rock 'n' Roll" b/w "Heartbreak Hotel". The album was remastered in 1996 as part of the 2CD release '' The Island Years'', containing also both ''

Fear Fear is an intensely unpleasant emotion in response to perceiving or recognizing a danger or threat. Fear causes physiological changes that may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the threat. Fear ...

'' (1974) and '' Helen of Troy'' (1975). It contained two bonus tracks; also, the last track "The Jeweller" was shortened to 4:11. There was a month-long tour around the UK and Europe promoting the album. The musicians were Cale,

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

on guitar, Pat Donaldson on bass, Timi Donald on drums and Chris Thomas on keyboards.http://www.chrisspedding.com/bio/bio5.htm, accessdate=19 November 2022 When the tour finished, Spedding joined the Roy Harper's backing band Trigger, consisting of Dave Cochran on bass and

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English former drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording ...

on drums.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' described the album as "more restrained, but no less entrancing than ''Fear''". Cale's cover of "Heartbreak Hotel" has been cited by music critic Ned Raggett as one of the best cover songs ever recorded.

Track listing

All tracks composed by John Cale, except where indicated. Side A #"Mr. Wilson" – 3:17 #"Taking It All Away" – 2:59 #"Dirty-Ass Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:44 #"Darling I Need You" – 3:38 #"Rollaroll" – 3:59 Side B #

" ( Mae Boren Axton,

) – 3:14 #"Ski Patrol" – 2:12 #"I'm Not the Loving Kind" – 3:12 #"Guts" – 3:27 #"The Jeweller" – 5:07 Bonus tracks 1996 remaster #

"All I Want Is You" – 2:55 # "Bamboo Floor" – 3:24

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Slow Dazzle'' liner notes. Musicians * John Cale –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

;

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

; organ; clavinet *

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" ("Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, screenwriter, t ...

– drums * Pat Donaldson – bass * Timi Donald – drums * Brian Eno – synthesizer *

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American active singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kwe ...

–

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical c ...

on "Guts" and "Darling I Need You" *

– guitar * Chris Thomas –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

; electric piano *

Tony Burrows Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in the production of numerous transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of wh ...

, Russell Stone, Neil Lancaster – harmony vocals on "Mr. Wilson" * Steve Gregory – saxophone on "Darling I Need You" Production and artwork * John Cale – producer; cover * John Wood – executive producer * A. Secunda – executive producer on "Heartbreak Hotel" * Vic Gamm –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

* John Wood – engineer * Michael Wade –

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design' ...

–

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employe ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1975 albums John Cale albums Albums produced by John Cale Island Records albums