John Cale – Slow Dazzle (1975)

Penultimate selection from the Newquay charity shop raid is this 1975 release by Welsh maestro and 'fifty years later still a living legend', John Cale.

Opening with Mr Wilson, a gentle and lovely tribute to Brian Wilson, followed by Talking It All Away, a listenable, but nondescript song. Dirty-Ass Rock'n'Roll is exactly what it says, and Darling I Need You is a pleasant easy to listen to song.

Rollaroll flies by without exciting this listener, before Cale's bizarre and chilling cover of Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel.

Ski Patrol is a forgettable song about...er..skiing, and it's followed by. probably my favourite song on the album, the balladic I'm Not The Loving Kind.

Guts begins with the classic line "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife, did it quick then split", the bugger in question being Kevin Ayers, the evening before the Ayers/Cale/Nico/Eno concert released as June 1 1974, and is understandably angry, while the album ends with the atmospheric spoken word The Jeweller, Cale storytelling over a low looming accompaniment.

This album's no classic from arguably modern music's most influential Welshman, but there's enough variety and experimentation to keep it interesting.

Link to full album

3* - enjoyable without overstretching the listener