''Words for the Dying'' is the twelfth solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by Welsh musician

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

, released in 1989 by record labels Opal and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

Content

The album consists mainly of oral work, read or sung by Cale. It was written in 1982 as a response to the Anglo-Argentinian

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

, using poems written by fellow Welshman

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer whose works include the poems "Do not go gentle into that good night" and "And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Under ...

. There are also two orchestral interludes, two other solo piano pieces "Songs Without Words", and finally a song by Cale, "The Soul of

Carmen Miranda Carmen Miranda, (; born Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha, 9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955) was a Portuguese-born Brazilian samba singer, dancer, Broadway actress and film star who was active from the late 1920s onwards. Nicknamed "The B ...

Recording and production

The album was recorded in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England and was produced by

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

. "The Falklands Suite" was recorded at Gostelradio Studios, Moscow, engineered by Sasha Karasiov. "The Falklands Suite" was first performed live on 14 November 1987 at the Paradiso in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, The Netherlands. John Cale was recorded at The Strongroom, London, and Wilderness Studios,

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

, Suffolk, England, engineered by Stephen Taylor and Brian Eno. "Songs Without Words I & II" were recorded at the Living Room, New York City, USA, engineered by Paul Rice and Blaise Dupuy. "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" was recorded at Wilderness Studios, Woodbridge, UK.

Release

''Words for the Dying'' was released in 1989 by record labels Opal and

in the US and Europe and Land in the UK. It was reissued in 1992, and in 2005 with a different cover.

Critical reception

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

selected the album as one of his 'picks of 1989'. In its retrospective review, ''

Fact A fact is a datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance, which, if accepted as true and proven true, allows a logical conclusion to be reached on a true–false evaluation. Standard reference works are often used to check facts. Scient ...

'' described it as "arguably the last great album John Cale recorded".

Documentary

In 1993 an 80-minute documentary film ''Words for the Dying'', directed by

Rob Nilsson Rob Nilsson is a filmmaker, poet, and painter, best known for his feature film '' Northern Lights'', co-directed with John Hanson and winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1979). He also is known for directing and playing the l ...

, was released on DVD. It follows Cale and Eno to Moscow, London, and Wales during the creation of the album.

Track listing

All tracks composed by

, except as indicated. Side A :: The Falklands Suite # "Introduction" # "There Was a Saviour" (words:

) # "Interlude I" # "On a Wedding Anniversary" (words: Dylan Thomas) Side B #

"Interlude II" # "Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed" (words: Dylan Thomas) # "

Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night "Do not go gentle into that good night" is a poem in the form of a villanelle by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas (1914–1953), and is one of his best-known works. Though first published in the journal ''Botteghe Oscure'' in 1951, the poem was written in ...

" (words: Dylan Thomas) ::Songs Without Words #

"Songs Without Words I" # "Songs Without Words II" # The Soul of Carmen Miranda Note: Some CD pressings combine tracks "There Was a Saviour" and "Interlude I" as one track (9:36).

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Words for the Dying'' liner notes. * John Cale – vocals, piano, guitar, bass, organ, viola * The Orchestra of Symphonic and Popular Music of Gostelradio, Russia ** Conductor – Alexander G. Mikhailov * The Choristers of

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral ( cy, Eglwys Gadeiriol Llandaf) is an Anglican cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter ...

Choir,

Llandaff Llandaff (; cy, Llandaf ; from 'church' and '' Taf'') is a district, community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, whose ...

, Cardiff, South Wales *James Elias (Dean's Scholar – Head Chorister), David Butler (Dean's Scholar – Head Chorister), Christopher Parsons, Andrew Richley, Darren Roberts, Richard Jeremy, Edward Jones, Edward Adams, Stephen Moss, Gareth Campbell, Benjamin Halsey, Benedict Davies-Jenkins, Charles Jeremy, Jonathan Robson. ** Choirmaster – Dr. Michael John Smith *

– keyboards on "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" * Nell Catchpole – violin, viola on "The Soul of Carmen Miranda"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Words for the Dying Albums produced by Brian Eno John Cale albums 1989 albums Cultural depictions of Dylan Thomas