Domino to Reissue on Vinyl John Cale's "The Academy In Peril" and "Paris 1919"

digitally remastered

The Domino website characterizes these two albums as "beloved", but when they were first released no one paid them much attention. They are costly on Discogs mostly because so few copies were manufactured. Most copies you'll find either have "cut out" cut corners or are promo copies discarded by foolish people.

At the time John Cale was a Warner Brothers employee, as I recall, an "A&R Man", tasked with finding and signing new talent. Here's the promo insert blurb:

While the blurb suggests Paris 1919 is rock, because Little Feat's Lowell George and Richie Hayward drive the wailing slide and rhythm tracks, UCLA's symphony orchestra provide the lush settings Cale orchestrated on an album that is as charming and disarming as his work with Lou Reed in the V.U. was discordant and dark. The cover art and photo showing Cale dressed in white bathed in sunlight lets long time fans know they are not getting Velvet Underground here! "Child's Christmas in Wales" inspired by fellow Welshman Dylan Thomas's poem makes the feel good clear .

I was thinking of producing a list of 100 of my most valued records—not the most valuable—and this would be one of them, though after playing it last night using the Audio Technica AT-ART1000x (review coming) after at least a decade long lapse, I realized I really didn't at all know the songs' inner workings. Now, finally, I hear all the intricacies of the arrangements revealed in three dimension space. Last evening was a child's Christmas in Wyckoff!

This will be the album's first "artist sanctioned" reissue. The comments on Discogs about the previous ones indicate they were bad. On the Domino website Cale said earlier this month (September, 2024):

“Revisiting work from the past is a double-edged sword for me. Of course, it’s bound to happen when you've been making music for 60 years or so. . . What's unique about this process with Domino, is their desire to get it right. Not merely re-issue something for the sake of an anniversary or racking up a catalogue favorite - but finding new treasures and highlighting what made it special in the first place. After hearing the test pressings, it occurred to me that the new mastering was a major part of how these works will be presented, rather than simply being preserved. There are moments of clarity and even a laugh or two had by revisiting not only the music, but recalling the sessions (and antics) that made up what became these two recordings. It is my pleasure to share these with you . . . again.”

The Deluxe two LP Edition available November 15th will feature 'previously unreleased outtakes and liner notes by Grayson Haver Currin, and features a brand new recording, “Fever Dream 2024: You’re a Ghost"."

The reissue was digitally remastered "from the original tapes" by Heba Kadry (glad I double checked the spelling because fu*king A.I. changed it to "Kelsy"), who I've never heard of, which means nothing. Checking her credits I was impressed by the clients, many of whom, like Sufjan Stevens, Björk and The Mars Volta are known sound connoisseurs, and especially by her resume, which is beyond impressive, but the cherry on top is that she has a dog named Eno. I had a dog named Eno, (who definitely was not down with the BDS movement).

However, from my listening chair perspective, if there's a good tape, I want it cut from that tape not from a digital transfer. If the best that can be had is a tape copy, the shootout can go towards the file if it's done correctly. Digital has finally gotten really good (as the record I released demonstrated).

The original pressing sounds remarkably three-dimensional, presents the strings, brass and other instruments with uncanny verisimilitude and has transient delicacy and overall transparency that I don't ever expect to get from a digital transfer. Was an original pressing referenced on a serious turntable? I do not know.

Cale seems happy: "After hearing the test pressings (cut by Chris Bellman), it occurred to me that the new mastering was a major part of how these works will be presented, rather than simply being preserved." But then Jimmy Page was happy with his latest digitally remastered Led Zeppelin albums so who knows? There's only one way to find out so I've ordered a copy.

I once had a back stage run in with John Cale in the late '70s at The Whiskey A-Go-Go. He had just released Honi Soit on A&M and my then girlfriend worked for A&M. Following the show there was a little party. I reached for a cold beer sitting in an ice bucket. Cale charged over and tried to stop me. He said something like "I don't know who you are or why you think you are entitled to take my beer?" It was kind of amusing actually. That was a new backstage first but I think maybe he was playing with me and did it just to get my reaction. He reminded me of the talking trees in "The Wizard of Oz" when Dorothy grabbed for an apple. I had a quick rejoinder.

"Hey! Let me tell you something John, I was on the radio in Boston on WBCN and when Paris 1919 was released I played the shit out of it when no one else would. I was your chief advocate at the station, and I played Vintage Violence too. I think I'm entitled to an effing beer!"

His scowl evaporated and he said "Then have one". And I did. I'll review this one as soon as it arrives.