Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday John Cale Edition

For the second week in a row, we have a former Velvet Underground member to pay tribute to. Today is John Cale’s birthday. While Cale’s contributions to the band aren’t as lauded as Lou Reed’s, as Cale rarely was in front of the mike, he played a big part in the band’s sound. For me, however, it was after VU split up that Cale became really interesting. Although his solo career has not been as commercially successful as Lou Reed’s, I think there’s a good argument to be made that Cale’s solo work is more artistically fulfilling, and not just because he didn’t make an album with Metallica. Cale has covered a wide swath of music in the past four plus decades. He’s performed modern classical based music with Terry Riley, He put his own spin on glam pop with his marvelous albums on Island during the ’70s (on par with Brian Eno’s solo work). He became one of the earliest orch-pop practitioners with the amazing Paris 1919 album. And he continues to make fine albums today (oh, and don’t forget the great album he did with Brian Eno). Let’s celebrate this talented and diverse performer by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle and sharing the first 10 songs that come up.

1. The Boomtown Rats — Icicle In The Sun (In The Long Grass): The final Boomtown Rats album might not be their best, but they never made less than a very good album. The band’s commercial prospects had dimmed, and yet the band is sharp and defiant, playing the hell out of every song on the album. This is one of the lighter moments, which incorporates some chicken scratch funk guitars and rubbery bass lines on a tune that would have fit in well on the Mondo Bongo album.
2. Marshall Crenshaw — Whenever You’re On My Mind (demo)(Marshall Crenshaw): A bonus track on the reissue of Crenshaw’s classic debut, this is a perfect power pop song. Crenshaw may not have always had the power part of the equation, but he wrote big hooks and captured longing and hoping for love as well as anyone ever has. What makes this demo particularly interesting is that when the recorded version came out on the subsequent Field Day album, many assailed Steve Lillywhite’s loud production. Well, this sounds swell, but it misses the big drum sound and ample guitars that make this number all the more propulsive.
3. Run-D.M.C. — Dear Radio Station (Tougher Than Leather): Run-D.M.C.‘s commercial fortunes started to dip with this album, which coincided with the dreadful movie directed by Rick Rubin. But don’t blame the music. This album is as strong as Raising Hell, featuring great beats and plenty of hooks. This song is full of easy rhymes, but when Run and D.M.C. deliver them, their flow makes it sound so good.
4. The Merry Go Round — On Your Way Out (You’re A Very Lovely Woman — Live): Emmit Rhodes cut his teeth in this ’60s band. This is a gentle jangle rocker, with hints of The Byrds and The Youngbloods, but neither of those bands had an Anglophile singer like Rhodes. A subtle gem.
5. Bruce Woolley & The Camera Club — Goodbye To Yesterday — Reprise (English Garden): As the title indicates, a reprise of a slice of glammified synth pop from the ’80s. This primarily instrumental track actually has a bit of Booker T. and MGs (“Time Is Tight”) meeting Thomas Dolby’s synthesizer swirls thing going on. Yes, Dolby started in this band. Woolley was a good songwriter (he co-wrote “Video Killed The Radio Star”) so it’s a shame he only managed one album.
6. Heart — Barracuda (Little Queen): This has to be one of the top 5 ’70s rock riffs ever. I could actually hear the riff played over and over without the rest of the song and be delighted. But the rest of this classic rock staple ain’t bad at all, with Ann Wilson showing why she was the female equivalent of Robert Plant, a fantastic middle eight, and so much great guitar work. And that riff! (By the way, it was appropriate that Sarah Palin used this as a theme song in 2008, as the lyrics of this song, much like Palin, make no sense whatsoever).
7. *Rod Stewart — Lost Paraguayos (Handbags & Gladrags): Early Rod Stewart solo stuff was so good. Whether he was singing folk pop, or, as on this cut, doing a back porch blues not that far removed from his work with Faces, his voice was raspy perfection and the songs were consistently strong. This song is just a good time and a reminder of when Rod was a true force.
8. Arcwelder — Just Not Moving (Pull): This Minneapolis trio’s first album for Touch & Go (and second overall), showcased a band that mixed the songcraft of Husker Du with a love of guitar noise on par with Sonic Youth. So these well written, melodic songs often ended up with an extra dose of ampage. This tune is bit more restrained, fully capturing the sense of hopelessness conveyed by the lyrics. There is a also a great middle of nowhere middle eight. Cool track.
9. Matthew Sweet — You Don’t Love Me (Girlfriend): Girlfriend is certainly one of those albums where everything just came together right. Matthew Sweet put together a set of smart guitar pop song, some which were aggressive power pop, others which showcased a classic rock vibe, like this mid-tempo track that sounds like a midpoint between Big Star and Neil Young. Add the killer band he put together and thoughtful production and you have a classic album.
10. Smokey Robinson & The Miracles — Tears Of A Clown (Anthology): Smokey Robinson is so great that he didn’t just write one of the greatest songs ever about tears, he wrote two of them (“The Tracks of My Tears”). Beyond the great song and one of Smokey’s best vocals, there is so much to enjoy, from the amazing arrangement to the perfect playing to the always interesting backing vocals. This is a song that I’ve heard hundreds of times and I have never, ever gotten tired of it.