John Cale - Paris 1919 Poll

had no idea that lowell george and richie hayward played on this album

I like the slow songs on here the best

One vote for "Antarctica Starts Here"? That is insane.

The expanded, remastered CD sounds great (although some listeners prefer at least some of the original; it's good to have both). And I love hearing the demos, rehearsals, alt. takes, outtakes----nothing against the orchestration, but so good to be there with the basic group---Wilton Felder of the (then or recently Jazz) Crusaders on bass with George and Hayward of Little Feat, Cale playing the hell out of his keyboards and some other instruments.
10. Burned Out Affair (outtake)
11. Child's Christmas In Wales (alternate version)
12. Hanky Panky Nowhow (drone mix)
13. The Endless Plain Of Fortune (alternate version)
14. Andalucia (alternate version)
15. Macbeth (rehearsal)
16. Paris 1919 (string mix)
17. Graham Greene (rehearsal)
18. Half Past France (alternate version)
19. Antarctica Starts Here (rehearsal)
20. Paris 1919 (piano mix)
21. Macbeth (different instrumental backing track) - HIDDEN TRACK

Knew about the Little Feat fellows but had forgotten about Felder, if I ever knew he was on this.

This is one of the few perfect albums

The new expanded reissue of this features a (badly needed) remaster so revelatory that it's like having a whole new relationship to one of my favorite records... stunning!

Interesting! Will have to check it out. I think I used to listen to this album on a home-made cassette tape version and was fine with that.

What’s the big difference? More clarity?

What Davey D says about sound quality makes it worth my checking out, but xpost prev reissue shouldn't be skipped re bonus tracks.
from Domino's page on this 2024 re-reissue (also mentions 2024 The Academy In Peril)

1Child's Christmas in Wales (Remastered)
2Hanky Panky Nohow (Remastered)
3The Endless Plain of Fortune (Remastered)
4Andalucia (Remastered)
5Macbeth (Remastered)
6Paris 1919 (Remastered)
7Graham Greene (Remastered)
8Half Past France (Remastered)
9Antarctica Starts Here (Remastered)
10I Must Not Sniff Cocaine (Remastered)
11Hanky Panky Nohow (Drone Mix) (Remastered)
12Child's Christmas in Wales (Rehearsal 1) (Remastered)
13Half Past France (Intro Chat) (Remastered)
14Macbeth (Take 11) (Remastered)
15Hanky Panky Nohow (Guitar Mix) (Remastered)
16Fever Dream 2024: You're a Ghost

Thank you for bumping this thread and reminding me about this album. It was exactly what I wanted to listen to while quilting today.

I also listened to this just yesterday! It felt like a snuggly blanket.

the previous remaster of this was pretty brickwalled iirc. very excited to listen

Had a Spotify listen, and yes, wow, lots of detail that made it feel fresh to me. I hear Little Feat more in the sparkle and slide of the guitars, and the Americana feel becomes a more vivid a contrast to Cale's Europondering. Also, had it been recorded in 1919, this remaster would have hit in 1970.

xp I had no prob w audio of *expanded* prev reissue---will rip its exclusive bonus tracks in with this whole latest thing.

my vinyl copy of this is fucking trashed, will have to pick up a new one

it is very very funny to hear multiple instances of Johnny Boy blowing rails on the extras on this deluxe reissue

lol yeah incredible that they left that stuff in. its hilarious that this is such a cozy comfort album when in the studio he was apparently grinding his teeth down to nubs

so revelatory that it's like having a whole new relationship to one of my favorite records

Just gave it a listen and ... yeah. Wow. Who cleaned this up? Is it going to be revealed that some AI did it?

I believe all credit is due to the mastering job by Heba Kadry. It’s rare that a remaster can be this revelatory. Almost sound like a remix… but it isn’t!

I just picked up a promo copy of this at a record store this morning

https://www.discogs.com/release/1487184-John-Cale-Paris-1919

it is very very funny to hear multiple instances of Johnny Boy blowing rails on the extras on this deluxe reissue

wait can you elaborate on this

10 I Must Not Sniff Cocaine (Remastered)

wow.

the warm blanket that was over this album is now gone - the only other album I can think of that had something this drastic is Skepticism's Stormcrowfleet.

I would agree that the warm blanket is gone, maybe I miss that blanket? It's very clear, for sure.

yeah, that's indeed the thing: do I want this clarity? I,m keeping my old CD for now, I'll see if I ever choose

Kinda like the Replacements "Tim" remaster: once you're used to the murk/muddy, is better really better? In this case, the songs are so lovely that I think the warm blanket vibe is still there for me.

Holy shit this remaster is amazing— does incredible favours for the placement of “Macbeth”, which I’m used to skipping. This is the best album

I've only known this on LP, and listening to samples of the remaster online, I don't hear a huge change except maybe on the up-tempo tracks, where the percussion seems crisper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9IKnVVRsmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDkTSPzciko

it's like he's now facing in our direction when he's singing

XXXpost

OTM re: MacBeth… just sounded like a compressed dark mess before and now it breathes and rocks so much harder!

Re: Replacements “Tim”… that was a remix, and a fairly drastic one. This is just a remaster, so the mixes remain the same.

Re: Replacements “Tim”… that was a remix, and a fairly drastic one. This is just a remaster, so the mixes remain the same.

The LP mastering is somewhere in the middle of those two examples, in terms of clarity and range.

yeah doesn't strike me as radical on first listen. but it sounds good! what a great album.

Same. Hearing some Wilton Felder bass runs I never noticed before, for example.

The remastering is indeed a revelation.

Hanky Panky Nohow has always been my favorite on this. And the Drone Mix of that is incredible.

Also really enjoyed the last track, Fever Dream. I get why some people may not care for his 21st century pomo MPC reinterpretations of his earlier work. But they feel entirely in keeping with Cale’s career arc.

One other thing that occurred to me is that the strings on the Hanky Panky Nohow Drone Mix feel very influential on Nell Catchpole’s string arrangements for Eno’s 90s-00s work. Likely more something that comes from Wrong Way Up where I believe the three of them worked together. But the similarities with the stacked violas here—both the Tony Conrad-y textures but also the harmonic movement and swelling—are clear.

Was that Drone Mix released at the time?

No, the first we heard about it was on the 2006 2CD version where it was one of the "previously unissued rehearsals, alternates and outtakes from the "Paris 1919" sessions." on the 2nd CD.

Weird how the two reissues differ so much on the outtakes disc.

Was that Drone Mix released at the time?

What a remarkable remaster. "The Endless Plane Of Fortune" sounds even more glorious, bombastic and melancholy.

*Plain (dammit)

There's a law for everything
And for elephants that sing to keep
The cows that agriculture won't allow