''Slow Dazzle'' is the fifth solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the Welsh

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

musician

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) 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, dr ...

, released on 25 March 1975, his second album for record label

Island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

Content

"Mr. Wilson" is about

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

; the

Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American rock band formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and their friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by thei ...

founding member has been a strong influence on Cale's work over the years. The song reflects the strong, divisive personal struggles in Wilson's life. The music's tone fluctuates from paranoid and unhappy to warm and pleasant moment by moment. "

Heartbreak Hotel "Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being g ...

" is a

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of the

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

song (written by

Mae Boren Axton Mae Boren Axton (born Mae Boren; September 14, 1914 – April 9, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter. She was known in the music industry as the "Queen Mother of Nashville". She co-wrote the Elvis Presley hit single "Heartbreak Hotel" with Tom ...

and

Tommy Durden Thomas Russell Durden (December 15, 1919 – October 17, 1999) was an American steel guitarist and songwriter, who is most notable for co-writing Elvis Presley's breakthrough hit, "Heartbreak Hotel". Biography He was born in Morgan County, G ...

) with fundamental elements of the track changed such the singing taking in "chilling" screams and dark

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

elements added to the background. The track "Guts" opens with the line "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife". This refers to rock musician

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely asso ...

sleeping with Cale's wife before the concert captured on the ''

June 1, 1974 ''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 musi ...

'' live album; Cale related the details in his autobiography, with

Victor Bockris Victor Bockris (born 1949) is an English-born, U.S.-based author, primarily of biographies of artists, writers, and musicians. He has written about Lou Reed (and The Velvet Underground), Andy Warhol, Keith Richards, William S. Burroughs, Terr ...

, ''What's Welsh for Zen'', that was published in 1998. "The Jeweler" is a spoken word piece under an instrumental backdrop that recalls, at least in its poetic and freeform structure, the track " The Gift" from

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...

's second studio album ''

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by the 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 ...

'' (1968). While Cale speaks in a calm, monotone voice, "The Jeweller" features a drone-like set of unsettling sounds that appear to build and build without reaching a conclusion. Track 2, "Taking It All Away", was misprinted on all Island Record CD releases of the album as "Talking It All Away". The cover photography was by

Keith Morris Keith Morris (born September 18, 1955) is an American singer and songwriter known for his role as frontman of the hardcore punk bands Black Flag, Circle Jerks, and Off!. Born and raised in Hermosa Beach, California, he formed Black Flag at t ...

. It is also the second consecutive album to feature both

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

and

Phil Manzanera Phillip Geoffrey Targett-Adams (born 31 January 1951), known professionally as Phil Manzanera, is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the lead guitarist with Roxy Music, and was the lead guitarist with 801 and Quiet Sun. ...

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

Release

''Slow Dazzle'' was released on 25 March 1975. No singles were released off the album, although there was a promotional-only single of "Dirty-Ass Rock 'n' Roll" b/w "Heartbreak Hotel". The album was remastered in 1996 as part of the 2CD release '' The Island Years'', containing also both ''

Fear Fear is an unpleasant emotion that arises in response to perception, perceived dangers or threats. Fear causes physiological and psychological changes. It may produce behavioral reactions such as mounting an aggressive response or fleeing the ...

'' (1974) and ''

Helen of Troy Helen (), also known as Helen of Troy, or Helen of Sparta, and in Latin as Helena, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believed to have been the daughter of Zeus and Leda (mythology), ...

'' (1975). It contained two bonus tracks; also, the last track "The Jeweller" was shortened to 4:11. There was a month-long tour around the UK and Europe promoting the album. The musicians were Cale,

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English guitarist and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his studio session work. By the early 1970s, he had become one of th ...

on guitar, Pat Donaldson on bass guitar, Timi Donald on drums and Chris Thomas on keyboards. When the tour finished, Spedding joined Roy Harper's backing band Trigger, consisting of Dave Cochran on bass and

Bill Bruford William Scott Bruford (born 17 May 1949) is an English drummer and percussionist who first gained prominence as a founding member of the progressive rock band Yes. After leaving Yes in 1972, Bruford spent the rest of the 1970s recording and tou ...

on drums.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' described the album as "more restrained, but no less entrancing than ''Fear''". Cale's cover of "Heartbreak Hotel" has been cited by music critic Ned Raggett as one of the best cover songs ever recorded.

Track listing

All tracks composed by

, except where indicated. Side A # "Mr. Wilson" – 3:17 # "Taking It All Away" – 2:59 # "Dirty-Ass Rock 'n' Roll" – 4:44 # "Darling I Need You" – 3:38 # "Rollaroll" – 3:59 Side B #

" (

) – 3:14 # "Ski Patrol" – 2:12 # "I'm Not the Loving Kind" – 3:12 # "Guts" – 3:27 # "The Jeweller" – 5:07 Bonus tracks 1996 remaster #

"All I Want Is You" – 2:55 # "Bamboo Floor" – 3:24

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Slow Dazzle'' liner notes. Musicians * John Cale –

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

;

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

;

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

;

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

Gerry Conway Gerard Francis Conway Thomas, Roy. "Roy's Rostrum" (" Bullpen Bulletins") in '' Marvel Super-Heroes'' #43 and other Marvel Comics cover-dated May 1974. (born September 10, 1952) is an American comic book writer, comic book editor, science ficti ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Pat Donaldson –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Timi Donald – drums *

–

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Geoff Muldaur Geoff Muldaur (born August 12, 1943) is an American singer, guitarist and composer, who was a founding member of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band and a member of Paul Butterfield's Better Days. Career Having established a reputation with the Kweskin J ...

–

harmony vocals Vocal harmony is a style of vocal music in which a consonant note or notes are simultaneously sung as a main melody in a predominantly homophonic texture. Vocal harmonies are used in many subgenres of European art music, including Classical ...

on "Guts" and "Darling I Need You" *

– guitar * Chris Thomas –

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

;

electric piano An electric piano is a musical instrument that has a piano-style musical keyboard, where sound is produced by means of mechanical hammers striking metal strings or reeds or wire tines, which leads to vibrations which are then converted into ele ...

Tony Burrows Anthony Burrows (born 14 April 1942) is an English pop singer and recording artist. As a prolific session musician, Burrows was involved in several transatlantic hit singles throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, most of which were one-hi ...

, Russell Stone, Neil Lancaster – harmony vocals on "Mr. Wilson" *

Steve Gregory Stephen Gregory (born 1945) is an English jazz saxophonist and composer. He plays tenor, alto, soprano and baritone saxophone as well as the flute. Biography and career Gregory was born in London. At St. Paul's School, he learned guitar and ...

– saxophone on "Darling I Need You" Production and artwork * John Cale – producer; cover * John Wood – executive producer * A. Secunda – executive producer on "Heartbreak Hotel" * Vic Gamm –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* John Wood – engineer * Michael Wade –

design A design is the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

–

photography Photography is the visual arts, art, application, and practice of creating images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is empl ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slow Dazzle (Album) 1975 albums John Cale albums Albums produced by John Cale Island Records albums