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| Helen of Troy | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | November 1975 | |||
| Studio | Sound Techniques (Chelsea, London) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:21 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | John Cale | |||
| John Cale chronology | ||||
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| John Cale studio album chronology | ||||
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Helen of Troy is the sixth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released in November 1975. It was the last of his three studio albums for Island Records.
During the sessions for Helen of Troy, Cale recorded two cover versions, the Ann Ronell standard "Willow Weep for Me" and the Beach Boys' "God Only Knows", both of which went unreleased. Another unused track, "Mary Lou", was released in 1977 on the compilation album Guts . [1]
The album includes a cover of "Pablo Picasso" originally by the Modern Lovers, a song which Cale had produced for the band's eponymous debut studio album. At that time the Modern Lovers' version was still unreleased. Cale re-recorded "I Keep a Close Watch" in 1982 for his eighth solo studio album Music for a New Society . [2]
The cover has a photograph of Cale by Keith Morris. Cale's trousers were given to him by Judy Nylon who had acquired them from fashion designer Vivienne Westwood. [3]
Helen of Troy was released in November 1975. [1] Although his other Island albums were issued in the US ( Fear , Slow Dazzle , the collaborative live album June 1, 1974 and the later Guts), Helen of Troy was not. It was only available in America as a UK import. No singles were released from the album.
The album's first pressing contained "Leaving It Up to You" as the ninth track. However, due to its reference to the 1969 murder of Sharon Tate by members of the Manson Family, Island replaced it on subsequent pressings with the song "Coral Moon". "Leaving it Up to You" was later included on Guts, and it was reinstated in its original place on Helen of Troy when the album was repressed in 1978. "Coral Moon" has appeared as a bonus track on CD releases. [4]
The album was remastered in 1996 as part of the two-disc release The Island Years , which includes also Fear (1974) and Slow Dazzle (1975).
Helen of Troy was recorded in a very short time in between Cale's production work and touring to promote his previous album Slow Dazzle , and was released by Island without his approval, in what he considered to be an unfinished state. With the controversy over "Leaving It Up to You" relations between Cale and Island turned sour, and the two parties went their separate ways.
John Cale explained:
It could have been a great album. I came back from finishing Patti Smith's Horses and had three days to finish Helen of Troy before I went on [an] Italian tour. I was spending eighteen hours a day in the studio. When I got back, I found the record company had gone ahead and released what amounted to demo tapes. The trouble was that Island had their own ideas of what that album should sound like. They wanted to include songs I don't particularly like, but it was also an impertinent assumption on my part that I was capable of managing myself. My determination to have Helen of Troy the way I did was not really fair to Island or my management, especially at a time when Island was losing its percentage of the market, which was making everybody very paranoid. [4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [5] |
| Trouser Press | generally favourable [6] |
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Ned Raggett wrote "Helen of Troy finds Cale at his edgiest, with fascinating results." [5] Writing in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Robert Christgau was more critical of the record. He believed that, while "Pablo Picasso" and "Leaving It All Up to You" are "Cale at his mad best", "Mary Lou" and the title track are indicative of how the album is "sodden and stylized" as a whole. [7]
All songs written by John Cale, except where indicated.
Side A
Side B
Adapted from the Helen of Troy liner notes. [8]
Musicians
Production and artwork
Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970, he founded the Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key acoustic and electric backing. He is known for his wide-eyed, unaffected, and childlike outlook, and music that, while rooted in rock and roll, is influenced by music from around the world.
John Davies Cale is a Welsh musician, composer, and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styles across rock, drone, classical, avant-garde and electronic music.
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June 1, 1974 is a live album of songs performed at the Rainbow Theatre in London on the titular date. The album is officially attributed to all principal performers Kevin Ayers, John Cale, Brian Eno and Nico, although other well-known musicians, including Mike Oldfield, Robert Wyatt, and Ollie Halsall, also contributed to the concert. The record has often been referred to as the "A.C.N.E." album, for the initials of Ayers, Cale, Nico, and Eno.
The End... is the fourth studio album by German musician Nico, released in November 1974 through the label Island. It was recorded in summer 1974 at Sound Techniques studio in London and produced by John Cale.
Fear is the fourth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released on 1 October 1974 by Island Records.
Let's Stick Together is a 1976 album by Bryan Ferry. His third solo release, it was his first following the disbanding of Roxy Music earlier in the year. Unlike Ferry's two previous solo releases, Let’s Stick Together was not a dedicated album project, instead predominately made up of singles, B-sides, and an EP. Three tracks were exclusive to the LP, all remakes of Roxy Music tracks: "Casanova", "2HB", and "Chance Meeting". It had a generally favourable critical reception, but only just made the UK Top 20.
The Modern Lovers is the debut studio album by American rock band the Modern Lovers. It was released on Beserkley Records in 1976, though the original tracks had been recorded in 1971 and 1972. Six of the original tracks were produced by John Cale.
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Naturally is the debut studio album by J. J. Cale, released on October 25, 1971.
"Pablo Picasso" is a song written by Jonathan Richman for the proto punk group the Modern Lovers. The song was recorded in 1972 at Whitney Studios in Los Angeles, and produced by John Cale, but was not released until 1976, on the Modern Lovers' self-titled debut album. The recording featured Richman, Ernie Brooks, Jerry Harrison (bass) and David Robinson (drums), with Cale playing the repetitive hammered piano part.
Slow Dazzle is the fifth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released on 25 March 1975, his second album for record label Island.
Troubadour is the fourth studio album by J. J. Cale, released in September 1976.
The Island Years is a double CD compilation of John Cale's work during 1974 and 1975. The collection, released in 1996, is composed of the three previously released Cale albums issued by Island Records: Fear, Slow Dazzle and Helen of Troy. The album also includes some extra tracks, b-sides, and individual tracks from other albums but the Slow Dazzle's last and experimental track "The Jeweller" was shortened to 4:11. In 2007 The Island Years was reissued as a budget release, Gold, with the same track listing but reduced packaging.
Vintage Violence is the debut solo studio album by Welsh musician John Cale, released on 25 March 1970 by Columbia Records. Cale and Lewis Merenstein produced the album.
Guts is a retrospective compilation album by John Cale, released by Island Records in February 1977. It includes the songs "Leaving It Up to You", which was deleted from Helen of Troy (1975), and the previously unreleased "Mary Lou". It was compiled by Howard Thompson.
Honi Soit is the seventh solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released in March 1981 by A&M Records, and was his first studio album in six years following 1975's Helen of Troy. It was recorded and mixed by Harvey Goldberg at CBS Studios, East 30th Street and Mediasound in New York City with the intention of making a more commercial album with record producer Mike Thorne at the helm, Thorne would soon be known for his work with Soft Cell. "Dead or Alive" was the only single released from the album but it did not chart. However, Honi Soit is Cale's only studio album to date to chart on the US Billboard 200, peaking at No. 154.
Okie is the third studio album by J. J. Cale, released on April 30, 1974.
Tell Us the Truth is the debut album by English punk rock band Sham 69, released in 1978. The first side of the album was recorded live in concert, while the other was recorded in the studio. Tell Us the Truth includes one of Sham 69's biggest hits, "Borstal Breakout", on the live side of the album. The album peaked at number 25 on the UK Albums Chart.
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