Quote:
They were all very talented people who each brought interesting colors to the band. Cale, however, was the only reason these colors were able to come out. Without Cale, their musical aspirations shrunk. Anybody can be talented, but Cale was a) talented, and b) was able to draw the talent out of others to the surface.
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Interesting point with B. I've never really thought of John Cale that way but the more I think about it the more it makes a lot of sense. Looking at the albums he produced after The Velvet Underground (not including his own of course), it really seems like he was able to bring out the best in other musicians. A case in point was Patti Smith and
Horses. In my opinion, and I think I share this opinion with a lot of people,
Horses was by far her best album. I also don't think it was a coincidence that Cale produced it. Another album that comes to mind is The Stooges' self-titled, which was also an amazing work. Both
Horses and
The Stooges are not only great albums, but carry on Cale's influence of producing music way of ahead of its time. This can be seen in his influence on the protopunk scene in general. Cale is really an undiscovered gem in my opinion; a man that always seemed to be working behind the scenes, but man was he working.
I guess that's what separates a great musician from a great producer.
Another great musician/producer that got swallowed up (at least to a certain extent) by the popularity of another bandmate is Johnny Marr. Generally I find his work with The Smiths to be a lot better than Morrissey's, I also think his solo stuff shows a versatility that Morrissey definitely lacks.
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