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May 01, 2011

Wrong Way Up - Eno / Cale [1990]


There's also something really English about this record that I like. It brought me back to what I would do if I was at home, a kid in Wales again. It's something I can't get away from and Brian brought it out of me. I had been unaware, however, of the manner in which all this pushing and pulling, in an effort to draw out the best results, had been affecting Brian personally. He has an extremely volatile temper. One afternoon in the studio I was confronted with a livid Brian, charging at me with a thin stick as if to stab me. He stopped inches away, and I quickly left the room.
What's Welsh for Zen - John Cale

Eno doesn't recall any such violent episode, but admits to a heightened level of friction during much of the recording... [Eno] "No, it was more like cabin fever - he and I stuck in a house together screaming at the walls and eventually at each other."
On Some Far Away Beach - David Sheppard

Whatever - and "creative friction" trails in the wake of both artists' collaborations with others over the years - the results are a cracking pop oriented record with painterly enigmatic depth. Taste, mystery and charm.


Oddi wrth y brawd

1 comment:

Pastaman Vibration (ye-ah!) said...

Cale remarking on other's volatile behaviour is a bit like the late Ollie Reed having a go at someone about their drinking.

'Tis said that the temperamental and quite intimidating Mr Cale could try the patience of a saint, so I wonder how much Mr Eno had to endure before his lunge? Others might not have been quite so measured.