Circus Live

by

John Cale

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What a great live album. Not the usual run-through of your old favorites, which is mainly the case with these affairs, but rather, complete reinvention. At first I was a little disappointed reading the titles as there was little in the way of John Cale's recent (and in my opinion, best) works, but listening dispelled that. All of these mostly older tunes have been rewritten with, in some cases, radically different arrangements. Actually to the point where they are different... almost like an album of new material. Imagine a slow, almost gentle, albeit sinister Mercenaries!

There are also extensive droning effects throughout (the beginning, between the "end" of the concert and the encore, and the actual coda), harkening back to John Cale's early experimental roots.

All of this is supported by the technically perfect musicianship of players. Take away the applause between many of the tracks and it sounds like a studio album, only better because of the high-energy that comes with live music territory.

The presentation is excellent as well. Nice "slippery" slip-case with excellent and clever art, graphics and documentation throughout.

To my ears a very dissappointing set. The musicianship and production values are excellent. That is the problem for me. The spark and energy and life I have come to enjoy from John Cale live are missing. Hidden behind technically profficent sound. Then again I am someone who enjoys John Constable's oil sketches far more than his finished paintings. The bonus DVD is mis-represented, "exclusive live footage," well this is actually 45 minutes of disjointed rehearsal footage. And I did not find it particularly engaging, other record companies have served their artists much better with 'in the rehearsal rooms' videos. I still very much enjoy John Cale, but not how he is presented here.