Cale, John & Band: Live (DVD)

Two important concerts from the early '80s have now been officially released on DVD for the first time, although the Rockpalast concert has appeared on various bootlegs. John Cale's 1984 performance at the Rockpalast Festival at Grugahalle in Essen, Germany and his 1983 concert at the Zeche in Bochum, Germany. The audio CDs from these concerts has also been released; you can check out my review on this site.

The first DVD has Cale rocking out with his electric band and it is quite a good show. It is not a flashy affair, just pure rock and roll with an eclectic flair that Cale is so well known for. Cale and his band do a bang up job and Cale has plenty of energy throughout the concert. The show's 17 songs highlight Cale's career nicely and serve as a testament to just how influential Cale's music is. Also included is a short interview that took place the night before the show and is one of the strangest you will ever see.

The second DVD has Cale performing an all-acoustic concert and Cale is right at home in this format. It is a poignant and reserved performance, overall quite moving and a nice companion to the 1984 performance. For individual song highlights of both concerts please see my review of the CD release.

Video and sound quality is not perfect but I suppose that is to be expected considering the age of the shows. While I would have liked it to be a little better this is not a major complaint as we should consider ourselves fortunate we are able to view these concerts in all their raw glory.

If you are a fan of rock and roll and Cale in particular you will probably want this in your collection. If you happened to be there all those years ago it's a no brainer.

Track Listing:
DVD 1
1. Autobiography
2. Oh La La
3. Evidence
4. Magazines
5. Model Beirut Recital
6. Streets Of Laredo
7. Dr. Mudd
8. Leaving It Up To You
9. Caribbean Sunset
10. The Hunt
11. Fear Is A Man's Best Friend
12. Heartbreak Hotel
13. Paris 1919
14. Waiting For The Man
15. Mercenaries (Ready For War)
16. Pablo Picasso/Love Me Two Times
17. Close Watch

DVD 2
1. Ghost Story
2. Ship Of Fools
3. Leaving It Up To You
4. Amsterdam
5. A Child's Christmas In Wales
6. Buffalo Ballet
7. Antarctica Starts Here
8. Taking It All Away
9. Riverbank
10. Paris 1919
11. Guts
12. Chinese Envoy
13. Thoughtless Kind
14. Only Time Will Tell
15. Cable Hogue
16. Dead Or Alive
17. Waiting For The Man
18. Heartbreak Hotel
19. Chorale
20. Fear Is A Man's Best Friend
21. Close watch
22. Streets Of Laredo

Added: January 2nd 2011
Reviewer: Jon Neudorf
Score:
Related Link: Label's Official Site
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Language: english

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