John Cale - Fragments Of A Rainy Season

2016 3 x LP, first vinyl release

Year Released: 1992 - CD and CASSETTE ONLY

Genre: Art Rock, Avant-Pop, Singer-Songwriter, Live

Description:

Fragments Of A Rainy Season is a live solo album by the Welsh musician John Cale, released on September 25, 1992. The album was recorded at various locations during his 1992 tour and is a unique and intimate document of his work. It stands as a stark contrast to his earlier live albums, which often featured a full band and a more aggressive, punk-influenced sound. On this album, Cale is presented in a stripped-down setting, performing solo on either piano or acoustic guitar.

The album serves as a retrospective of Cale's career up to that point, with the tracklist featuring a mix of his most well-known solo works, songs from his time with The Velvet Underground, and a couple of covers. The songs are reinterpreted and re-arranged to fit the minimalist format, with the focus on Cale's powerful and emotionally raw vocals and his masterful command of the piano. The album's intimacy and honesty have made it a favorite among fans, revealing a more vulnerable and melodic side of the often-enigmatic artist.

A key highlight of the album, and its most enduring legacy, is Cale's cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah." His elegant and haunting piano-and-vocal rendition of the song is widely credited with helping to bring the song to a wider audience. Cale's version famously served as the inspiration for Jeff Buckley's iconic cover, and it is Cale's arrangement and abridged lyrics that have become the basis for most subsequent covers of the song. The album also features a powerful, gothic reinterpretation of Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel." Fragments Of A Rainy Season is a moving and timeless record that showcases Cale as a true master of his craft, able to distill his complex and often experimental compositions into their beautiful, emotional core.