Honi Soit | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | March 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1980 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 37:45 | |||
Label | A&M | |||
Producer | Mike Thorne | |||
John Cale chronology | ||||
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John Cale studio album chronology | ||||
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Singles from Honi Soit | ||||
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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. [2]
In 1991,Universal re-released the album on CD. It only held the songs from the original LP. This same version of the album has been reissued twice:in 2004 and 2018.
All of the tracks on Honi Soit were written by John Cale,except for "Streets of Laredo",a traditional song arranged by Cale about a dying cowboy telling his story to another cowboy. The track "Need Your Loving" was left off the album in favour of "Riverbank". [3]
American artist Andy Warhol suggested that the album should be called John and Yoko, [4] and provided the cover art,in black and white,but against Warhol's wishes Cale colorized it, [4] a decision recounted by Cale on the song "A Dream" from his 1990 collaboration studio album with Lou Reed about Warhol, Songs for Drella . In a tongue-in-cheek allusion to the song "Fighter Pilot",the credits on the sleeve give each of the musicians a mock military aviation role,with Cale described as "flight surgeon". The album's title is an abbreviation of the phrase Honi soit qui mal y pense (French:"shame upon him who thinks evil of it" [5] ),the motto of the British chivalric Order of the Garter. [6]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [7] |
Trouser Press | (mixed) [8] |
Robert A. Hull of Creem wrote that "Once again on Honi Soit –from the opening trumpet blast of "Dead or Alive" to the final pounding of the drums on "Magic &Lies" –Cale evokes the epochal –this time as a series of battles,as a pure declaration of war. Like Lou Reed's Street Hassle ,it's a work on which the artist finally reveals himself,concealing his tracks yet at the same time blowing his cover." [9] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the album "excellent",and described Cale as "one of the godfathers of new-wave music,[who] has accomplished the seemingly impossible feat of reconciling the ferocity of postpunk rock with the stateliness of European classicism." [10]
In a retrospective review for AllMusic,critic Mark Deming said that "Honi Soit rivals Fear as the most lividly uncomfortable album in Cale's catalog,and that's saying something." [7] Lindsay Zoladz of The New York Times called Honi Soit a "wild post-punk album" and wrote:"Cale's approach was so consistently ahead of its time that he was easily able to slot into various emerging genres as the decades went on. Fear ,along with his production for Smith and the Stooges,heralded him as a godfather of punk,while Honi Soit proves he understood post-punk and new wave just as intuitively." [1]
All tracks are written by John Cale, except where noted
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
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1. | "Dead or Alive" | 3:51 | |
2. | "Strange Times in Casablanca" | 4:13 | |
3. | "Fighter Pilot" | 3:10 | |
4. | "Wilson Joliet" | 4:23 | |
5. | "Streets of Laredo" | Traditional; arranged by John Cale | 3:34 |
No. | Title | Length |
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6. | "Honi Soit (La Première Leçon de Français)" | 3:20 |
7. | "Riverbank" | 6:26 |
8. | "Russian Roulette" | 5:15 |
9. | "Magic & Lies" | 3:26 |
Total length: | 37:45 |
Credits are adapted from the Honi Soit liner notes. [11]
Musicians
Production and artwork
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.
The Velvet Underground is the third studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released in March 1969 by MGM Records, it was their first record with multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule, who replaced previous member John Cale. Recorded in 1968 at TTG Studios in Los Angeles, California, the album's sound—consisting largely of ballads and straightforward rock songs—marked a notable shift in style from the band's previous recordings. Lead vocalist Lou Reed intentionally did this as a result of their abrasive previous studio album White Light/White Heat (1968). Reed wanted other band members to sing on the album; Yule contributed lead vocals to the opening track and the closing track "After Hours" is sung by drummer Maureen Tucker.
White Light/White Heat is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968 by Verve Records, it was the band's last studio album with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cale. Recorded after Reed fired Andy Warhol, who had produced their debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, they hired Steve Sesnick as a manager and hired producer Tom Wilson who had worked on the band's debut. White Light/White Heat was engineered by Gary Kellgren.
Chelsea Girl is the debut solo album and second studio album by German singer Nico. It was released in October 1967 by Verve Records and was recorded following Nico's collaboration with the Velvet Underground on their 1967 debut studio album. It was produced by Tom Wilson, who added string and flute arrangements against the wishes of Nico. The title is a reference to Andy Warhol's 1966 film Chelsea Girls, in which Nico starred.
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Fear is the fourth solo studio album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released on 1 October 1974 by Island Records.
"Femme Fatale" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground from their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico, with lead vocals by Nico.
Music for a New Society is the eighth solo studio album by the Welsh musician John Cale, released in September 1982 by ZE Records and Island Records. With the suggestion from ZE Records owner Michael Zilkha, Cale performed the album mostly improvised live at Skyline Studios in New York City. The album was a creative shift after several rock-oriented albums, with sparse piano-based performances.
Songs for Drella is a 1990 studio album by Lou Reed and John Cale, both formerly of the Velvet Underground; it is a song cycle about Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died following routine surgery in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol coined by Warhol superstar Ondine, a contraction of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol's crowd but never liked by Warhol himself. The song cycle focuses on Warhol's interpersonal relations and experiences, with songs falling roughly into three categories: Warhol's first-person perspective, third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves. The songs, in general, address events in their chronological order.
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.
Victor Bockris is an English-born, U.S.-based author, primarily of biographies of artists, writers, and musicians.
"Sunday Morning" is a song by the Velvet Underground. It is the opening track on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It was first released as a single in December 1966. The song is written in the key of F major.
"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico, written by Lou Reed and released on the group's 1967 debut studio album, The Velvet Underground & Nico.
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.
"I'll Be Your Mirror" is a song by the Velvet Underground and Nico. It appeared on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico. It also surfaced as a single a year earlier with "All Tomorrow's Parties" in 1966.
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.
Mo-dettes were an English all-female post-punk band, formed in 1979 by guitarist Kate Korris, an original member of the Slits and brief member of the Raincoats, and bassist Jane Crockford, former member of Bank of Dresden. Ramona Carlier (vocals) and June Miles-Kingston (drums) completed the line-up.
John Cale is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band the Velvet Underground in the 1960s. In the subsequent four decades, Cale has released varied solo albums, film soundtracks, and collaborations with Lou Reed, Brian Eno, Bob Neuwirth and others.
Paris s'eveille - suivi d'autres compositions is a compilation album by Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer John Cale, centered around the score to Olivier Assayas' film Paris s'eveille, featuring the Soldier String Quartet. It was released in 1991 on Belgian independent label Les Disques du Crépuscule. Cale wrote "Sanctus" for the Randy Warshaw Dance Company in 1987, "Animals at Night" for the Ralph Lemon Dance Company in the same year, and "Primary Motive" for Daniel Adams' film Primary Motive. "Booker T." was recorded live by The Velvet Underground at the Gymnasium club in New York in April 1967. The final song is a newly recorded version of "Antarctica Starts Here" from Cale's 1973 album Paris 1919.
Animal Justice is the debut extended play (EP) by the Welsh rock musician John Cale. It was released in September 1977 by Illegal Records. "Chickenshit" was Cale's response to his decapitation of a chicken during a gig in Croydon, South London on 24 April 1977. This prompted the vegetarian rhythm section of Mike Visceglia and Joe Stefko to walk off and leave Cale's band.