''Words for the Dying'' is the twelfth 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 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 in 1989 by record labels Opal and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

Content

The album consists mainly of oral work, read or sung by Cale. It was written in 1982 as a response to the Anglo-Argentinian

Falklands War The Falklands War () was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British Overseas Territories, British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and Falkland Islands Dependenci ...

, using poems written by fellow Welshman

Dylan Thomas Dylan Marlais Thomas (27 October 1914 – 9 November 1953) was a Welsh poet and writer, whose works include the poems " Do not go gentle into that good night" and " And death shall have no dominion", as well as the "play for voices" ''Un ...

. There are also two orchestral interludes, two other solo piano pieces "Songs Without Words 1 and 2", and finally a song by Cale, "The Soul of

Carmen Miranda Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha (9 February 1909 – 5 August 1955), known professionally as Carmen Miranda (), was a Portuguese-born Brazilian singer, dancer, and actress. Nicknamed "The Brazilian Bombshell", she was known for her signature ...

Recording and production

The album was recorded in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England and was produced by

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 ...

. "The Falklands Suite" was recorded at Gostelradio Studios, Moscow, engineered by Sasha Karasiov. "The Falklands Suite" was first performed live on 14 November 1987 at the Paradiso in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, The Netherlands. John Cale was recorded at The Strongroom, London, and Wilderness Studios,

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of **Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

, Suffolk, England, engineered by Stephen Taylor and Brian Eno. "Songs Without Words I & II" were recorded at the Living Room, New York City, US, engineered by Paul Rice and Blaise Dupuy. "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" was recorded at Wilderness Studios, Woodbridge, England.

Release

''Words for the Dying'' was released in 1989 by record labels Opal and

in the US and Europe and Land in the UK. It was reissued in 1992, and in 2005 with a different cover.

Critical reception

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

selected the album as one of his 'picks of 1989'. In its retrospective review, ''

Fact A fact is a truth, true data, datum about one or more aspects of a circumstance. Standard reference works are often used to Fact-checking, check facts. Science, Scientific facts are verified by repeatable careful observation or measurement by ...

'' described it as "arguably the last great album John Cale recorded".

Documentary

In 1993 an 80-minute documentary film ''Words for the Dying'', directed by

Rob Nilsson Rob Nilsson (born October 29, 1939) is a filmmaker, poet and painter, best known for his feature film '' Northern Lights'', co-directed with John Hanson and winner of the Camera d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1979). He also is known for dire ...

, was released on DVD. It follows Cale and Eno to Moscow, London, and Wales during the creation of the album.

Track listing

All tracks composed by

, except as indicated. Side A :: The Falklands Suite # "Introduction" # "There Was a Saviour" (words:

) # "Interlude I" # "On a Wedding Anniversary" (words: Dylan Thomas) Side B #

"Interlude II" # "Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed" (words: Dylan Thomas) # " Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night" (words: Dylan Thomas) ::Songs Without Words #

"Songs Without Words I" # "Songs Without Words II" # The Soul of Carmen Miranda Note: Some CD pressings combine tracks "There Was a Saviour" and "Interlude I" as one track (9:36).

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the ''Words for the Dying'' liner notes. * John Cale – vocals, piano, guitar, bass, organ, viola * The Orchestra of Symphonic and Popular Music of Gostelradio, Russia ** Conductor – Alexander G. Mikhailov * The Choristers of

Llandaff Cathedral Llandaff Cathedral () is a Church in Wales cathedral and parish church in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales. It is the seat of the Bishop of Llandaff, head of the Church in Wales Diocese of Llandaff. It is dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Paul, and ...

Choir,

Llandaff Llandaff (; ; from 'church' and ''River Taff, Taf'') is a district, Community (Wales), community and coterminous electoral ward in the north of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It was incorporated into the city in 1922. It is the seat of the Bisho ...

, Cardiff, South Wales *James Elias (Dean's Scholar – Head Chorister), David Butler (Dean's Scholar – Head Chorister), Christopher Parsons, Andrew Richley, Darren Roberts, Richard Jeremy, Edward Jones, Edward Adams, Stephen Moss, Gareth Campbell, Benjamin Halsey, Benedict Davies-Jenkins, Charles Jeremy, Jonathan Robson. ** Choirmaster – Dr. Michael John Smith *

– keyboards on "The Soul of Carmen Miranda" * Nell Catchpole – violin, viola on "The Soul of Carmen Miranda"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Words For The Dying Albums produced by Brian Eno John Cale albums 1989 albums Cultural depictions of Dylan Thomas