Embracing "Violence"

Editor's Note: Ten-Year Itch is a weekly column that focuses on a film or album that is at least 10 years old and deserving of a second look.

I like to picture Lou Reed in 1970, putting on John Cale's "Vintage Violence" for the first time and just having a serious bummer moment.

Cale split with The Velvet Underground after three records because of creative differences with Reed. All he did was go out, produce some Nico records and release a supremely accessible, yet still complicated debut of pop music.

Missing from "Violence" are the more confrontational tendencies Cale would be known for later in his solo career.

While those departures are notable, the free-flowing, folk-tinged work of his debut is a staggering creation.

In addition to the classic band set-up, slide guitar and bluesy keys Cale also utilizes some gorgeous orchestration on tracks like "Big White Cloud".

The collection of tracks here could be right at home on a Jackson Browne or Warren Zevon record from the same period. This makes sense as Browne was in Greenwich Village at the time and worked with Nico in the early 70s.

Cale's later, more offbeat output is commendable for its experimentation and the growth of an artist is usually inevitable.

But for Cale, an artist who already was stretching the boundaries of popular music with The Velvet Underground, making such a smart pop record was a welcome departure to the career path he was on.

Lou Reed's solo works may be lauded more in the canon of popular music, but Cale's high points are just as lofty as Reed's.

"Vintage Violence" is just the beginning to the storied, always interesting career of John Cale.

Luke McCormick can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275