John Cale
Circus

When someone is talented, I mean, they are talented. Whether you like them or not, whether they're loved, hated, snubbed, or simply ignored, that's another matter. And I would say that's what has always happened to John Cale, who has always gifted us with great music, sometimes acoustically with his piano, sometimes with a rock tempo, and sometimes with the aggressive and fierce harmonies of his viola. His music is timeless. Cale is one of the few artists who ride his personal wave without selling out, without pandering, and without — even more importantly — ever showing a lack of inspiration that, in many cases of his colleagues, results in at least embarrassing artistic productions. Then, unfortunately, no one notices him.

At the concert I managed to see in Turin in 2003, less than 200 people witnessed his fantastic performance. I don't know how many will be at the dates he'll soon have in Italy, but I'm sure that whoever will be there will hear great rock and see a great musician in action. In the meantime, we can listen to his new album, "Circus," which captures precious moments from the 2004 and 2006 tour concerts.
The music heard here echoes the fullest sense of achieved maturity, the atmospheres are unique, the touch is inimitable. The sound is the quintessence of Rock: full yet clean, rich, perfect; Cale performs with that detached vigor that is his true trademark, he takes the songs we all know and creates something new each time. To me, a genius. You can listen to "Venus in Furs" and "Femme Fatale" for the obligatory homage to the Velvet classics, "Helen of Troy," "Cable Hogue," "Hanky Panky Nohow," "Heartbreak Hotel," "Mercenaries," and "Pablo Picasso" for a backbone of his personal milestones, along with gems like "Style It Takes" from "Song for Drella" and the splendid "Outta the Bag" and "Look Horizon" to best document his more recent production. It's just a pity he had to leave out of such a setlist "Fear," "Hallelujah," "I keep a close watch" and... well, the list would be long, and a CD can only hold so much!

After gifting us with one great album after another, here John Cale leaves us with an exceptional document, a straightforward but absolutely valuable performance, inimitable, alive and vibrant, a continuous emotion that is tasted with the ears without for a moment surfacing a hint — sorry, I have to say it — of the boredom that occasionally emerges when listening to similar performances by his old partner, Lou Reed. I've never had doubts about who made the Velvet Underground and who made the money. A must-have album. Oh, and then there's also a DVD in the package with recordings of rehearsals, electric and acoustic, but against this music, the rest takes a back seat...