
On "Hemingway," a track from John Cale's latest release,
Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood, he hints that the troubled author's suicide was in response to the anguish of feeling his creativity dry up. It seems surprising that Cale should concerned with this. Judging from his lengthy and —of course—eccentric career, one would think Cale an endless fountain of creativity. From his early collaborations with experiemental musicians (John Cage, anyone?), to founding The Velvet Underground—a band influential to anyone with ears, to producing albums by The Stooges and The Modern Lovers, to his orchestral renditions of Dylan Thomas's poetry, Cale has been unafraid of taking risks.
Nookie Wood is a mischievous and playful album that shows the 70-year-old Cale is not interested in playing it safe. Catch this legendary performer as he kicks off his west coast tour in Portland!