HoboSapiens

HoboSapiens Artist: John Cale
Label: Toshiba EMI Japan
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1
EAN: 4988006814172
ASIN: B0000B09UN


Release Date: 2003-09-18

HoboSapiens


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Tracks:

  1. Zen
  2. Reading My Mind
  3. Things
  4. Look Horizon
  5. Magritte
  6. Archimedes
  7. Caravan
  8. Bicycle
  9. Twilight Zone
  10. Letter from Abroad
  11. Things X
  12. Over Her Head
  13. Where the Creepyboyz Sing
  14. Reading My Mind [Parsley Sound Remix]

Album Description

Japanese edition of 2003 album from the former Velvet subterranean, features 14 tracks including 2 bonus tracks, 'Where the Creepy Boyz Sing' & 'Reading My Mind' (Parsley Sound Remix). EMI.

Album Details

Japanese Version featuring a Bonus Track

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars like a well crafted novel.......2004-02-20

this recording is stunning and leaves the listener room to imagine a story line much like reading a well crafted novel, superb work.

4 out of 5 stars Return to Form.......2004-02-07

John Cale is back in geopolitical mode on his return to form HoboSapiens. This being the later Cale, much of the lyrical content is obscure, not to mention unintelligible. But the freaky strains of his world encompassing musical palette gets us over the tough spots with its compelling forward motion. These are snapshots of a world in crisis, and Cale has always been more convincing when he's hotstepping with anger than playing the classically trained card. HoboSapiens doesn't equal his brilliant Island trilogy of the 70's, but it comes close enough to touch them.

4 out of 5 stars Pleasant surprise.......2004-01-30

This newest of John Cale solo outings is surprising for its inherent tunefulness. Yes, after decades of avant-garde experimentation, the man has buckled down and recorded a pop album, if a very intelligent one. His voice retains its fragile Welsh warmth and the entire album drips with soul. A very pleasant surprise.

5 out of 5 stars Best Album of 2003.......2003-12-31

I have been a John Cale fan for 20 years now, merely a neophyte considering his 40 year career in music. It is amazing that as Cale hits 61 years old, he releases the finest album of his long career (and that includes his numerous collaborations [Velvet Underground, Brian Eno, Lou Reed, Nico, et al.]). Whereas earlier albums thematically tilted one way or the other-- Paris 1919 = polished pop; Honi Soit = art rock; Words for the Dying = classicism; Walking on Locusts = adult contemporary (this is not an insult); Fear/Slow Dazzle/Helen of Troy = Avant-Pop; Music for a New Society = minimalist rock, etc-- Hobosapiens is a seamless synthesis of Cale's sometimes competing sensibilities. What comes of this is a work of "art" (yeah, I know, it is a music CD, but...) that transcends trends/styles/labels. Repeated listening enriches the experience and reveals the depth, musically and lyrically, of the material. I hope that Cale's current productivity with EMI (5 Tracks, Hobosapiens) mirrors his prolific work during the Island years. I can't wait to hear what's next! Stand-out tracks include: Things, Magritte, Archimedes, Over Her Head, and the incredible Letter From Abroad (as defamiliarizing as Gun was in the 1970's). EMI--> give this thing a formal release in the USA!

5 out of 5 stars A return to form, and then some..........2003-12-22

My sister's boyfriend says this album's a career's worth of ideas crammed into 60 minutes, and I'm inclined to agree. John Cale hasn't done anything this incendiary since 1982's Music for A New Society - it's criminal that that album's out of print, and even more so that this one hasn't had a US release. As a Brit and a proud owner of a copy, I can assure you that this is well worth importing. As nobody else has reviewed this on Amazon.com, I'll give it the full track by track treatment.

Zen - Opening with a chilly unresolved synth chord and gradually building into a spookily arranged masterpiece, this is the perfect album opener, with a nice hint of ambiguity - as with Everything in its Right Place on Radiohead's Kid A, it could go anywhere from here.
Reading My Mind - The direction the music does take, however, is something of a surprise. This is Cale in 'pop' mode, with an apparently lighthearted driving song with a desperate undertow, the lyrics implying man's loss of control over technology.
Things - A tribute to the late Warren Zevon and the catchiest song on the album. Soon, you too will be singing 'the thing you do in Denver when you're dead' repeatedly, to the annoyance of friends and family.
Look Horizon - Suddenly, as if the last two tracks were just a diversion, Cale switches seamlessly back into a more experimental style. Over fascinating loops and bewitching strings, he berates the stupidity of the world's leaders with refreshing subtlety and intelligence.
Magritte - As this song gradually fades in, you are uncertain what to expect, then are left breathless when what you get is possibly the best use of a cello in contemporary music since late Nirvana. And a really great falsetto moment two minutes in.
Archimedes - A melancholic opening suddenly explodes into a lurchingly wierd pop song, one of the many stunning stylistic turns on the album that leave you guessing right up to the last track. Particularly great are the oooh-ooh-ooh-ooh backing vocals that shouldn't belong but somehow sound like they were born to be put in this setting.
Caravan - The intro to this song sounds exactly like Heroin by Velvet Underground, before gradually building into the most epic song on the album, resplendent with demented Beach Boys backing vocals and achingly tired-sounding vocals. Possibly the best song on here, but I'm not committing to anything.
Bike - A simple groove, a catchy vocal hook and Brian Eno's daughters giggling. Once again, Cale has effortlessy switched styles without sounding the least bit uncomfortable and fragmented...
Twilight Zone - ...and again. From catchy danceability to pure discordant rage. Over the next few tracks the music sounds like it's falling apart. One of Cale's best lyrics of the album here, alternately ranting and sneering, and still backed up by those inspired backing vocals.
Letter From Abroad - Even angrier than Twilight Zone, this song starts with the sound of someone mutilating an acoustic guitar and builds from there to an enraged, completely unmelodic chorus featuring Cale, horribly distorted, yelling 'Afghanistan Afghanistan, whatever happened to you?' The song then collapses back to the original guitar riff while Cale snarls repeatedly 'I understand, no problem'.
Things X - A desconstructed, demonic version of Things. The ghost of the song floats above a nasty, clicky drum loop as Cale slurs his way through the lyrics sounding like a terminal alcoholic. The song ends with the sound of a brass band playing Land of Hope and Glory, slowly fading into the distance.
Over Her Head - In which everything is brought back together for the grand finale. A ghostly love song, both melancholic and menacing, with a beautiful piano hook. And - but of course! - it explodes one last time at the end into a squall of feedback. The perfect end to a damn near perfect album.

Music Album:

  1. Lights Back on ~ Rab Noakes , and Frazer Speirs
  2. Black Tie White Noise ~ David Bowie
  3. Live ~ Soft Cell
  4. 5/Lenny ~ Lenny Kravitz
  5. Retrovisor ~ Cooper
  6. A Perfect Pain ~ Merzbow & Genesis P-Orridge
  7. Best of Frank Zappa
  8. A Mark, A Mission, A Brand, A Scar ~ Dashboard Confessional
  9. Dissolution Age ~ Malombra
  10. Pierrot Lunaire ~ Pierrot Lunaire

Music Album

Music Album

Music

Memento ~ Soel

You Remind Me of Someone ~ Pete McCann

Volume 8: The Threat Is Real ~ Anthrax

Time ~ Mercyful Fate

Saints & Sinners ~ Saints And Sinners

La China en la Rumba ~ Trio Matamoros

World of Advents und Weihnachtsli ~ Various Artists

Fuse Akira Best Collection ~ Akira Fuse

Seishun No Melody ~ Takako Okamura

Desormais//Heart & Crime ~ Julie Doiron