What's Welsh for happy birthday? Belated Bacardi Show Birthday greetings go out, one day late, to Mr. John Cale, formerly of the Velvet Underground and prolific solo artist, author and great session musician as well...his aching viola has added new dimensions to songs by artists as diverse as Nick Drake and Paul Westerberg. I'm especially fond of the run of albums he did in the early-to-mid 70's with Eno and Phil Manzanera such as Paris 1919, Fear, and Slow Dazzle. I've not been so crazy about his recent output– the Lou Reed collaboration Songs For Drella had some good stuff, and his album with Eno, Wrong Way Up, remains a favorite, but that's about all that I've heard that I've liked–but I'm glad he's still hanging around, doing what he does.
