Sabotage/Live

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Sabotage/Live
JohnCaleSabotageCover.jpg
Live album by
John Cale
ReleasedDecember 20, 1979
RecordedJune 13–16, 1979
VenueCBGB, New York City
GenreRock
Length45 minutes
LabelSPY/I.R.S. (original release), A&M Canada (reissue), Diesel Motor Records (reissue)
ProducerJohn Cale
John Cale chronology
Guts
(1977) 		Sabotage/Live
(1979) 		Honi Soit
(1981)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 1999 deluxe re-issue.
Cover of the 1999 deluxe re-issue.
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4/5 stars[1]
Christgau's Record GuideB[2]
Rolling Stonefavourable[3]
Trouser Pressunfavourable[4]

Sabotage/Live is a live album by John Cale. It was recorded at CBGB, New York on 13–16 June 1979, and released by SPY Records in December 1979.

Release[]

A studio version of "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" was released as a single in the US on 14 March 1980.[5] The sleeve notes that on the B-Side the “vocal distortion (is) intended.”

It was later reissued on CD by A&M Records Canada, and reissued again in the UK by Diesel Motor Records. The Diesel Motor CD reissue contains four extra tracks. The first three are originally from the Animal Justice EP, while the fourth was the B-side of the "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" single (the A-side, which was an entirely different recording than the live album version, was not included as the master tape is lost).[citation needed] However, this was included on the download available on the ZE Records website from 2011.[6]

Critical reception[]

NME said of the band, "What they lack in finesse they make up for with a remorseless drive that equally befits Cale's cold-blooded, gut-churning music of fear – but puts the weight on the gut-churning. In fact it's surprising that there isn't a song about a mass-murderer amongst them; instead, for the first side at least, Cale is in the grip of post-nuclear mental tremors, raving obsessively about espionage, atom bombs and the dogs of war."[7]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by John Cale, except where noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Mercenaries (Ready for War)" 7:33
2."Baby You Know" 3:52
3."Evidence" 3:28
4."Dr. Mudd" 3:42
5."Walkin' the Dog"Rufus Thomas Jr.4:06
Side B
No.TitleLength
6."Captain Hook"11:26
7."Only Time Will Tell"2:37
8."Sabotage"4:59
9."Chorale"3:42
Total length:45:30
Bonus tracks on 1999 reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Chicken Shit" 03:57
11."Memphis"Chuck Berry4:00
12."Hedda Gabler" 5:23
13."Rosegarden Funeral of Sores" 5:50
Bonus track on 2011 remastered download[6]
No.TitleLength
14."Mercenaries" (Studio Version)4:21

Personnel[]

Technical
  • Jane Friedman - executive producer
  • Charlie Martin - recording
  • Warren Frank, John Cale - mixing
  • John Vogel - art direction
  • Hugh Brown - photography

Animal Justice EP

  • John Cale - vocals
  • Ritchie Flieger - guitar
  • Jimmy Bain - bass
  • Bruce Brody - Moog synthesizer
  • Kevin Currie - drums
  • Jane Friedman - backing vocals on "Chicken Shit"

"Rosegarden Funeral of Sores"

  • John Cale - vocals, bass, Wurlitzer piano
  • Michael Mason - rhythm/drum machine

"Mercenaries (Ready for War)" single version recorded at Plaza Sound, New York City

  • John Cale - vocals, organ, guitar
  • Joe Bidewell - Hammond organ, vocals
  • Peter Muny - bass guitar, vocals
  • Deerfrance - vocals
  • Robert Medici - drums, vocals
  • Sturgis Nikides - lead guitar Gibson Firebird

References[]

  1. ^ Sabotage/Live at AllMusic
  2. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 23 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  3. ^ link
  4. ^ Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: John Cale". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  5. ^ "John Cale – Mercenaries". Discogs. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "JOHN CALE SABOTAGE LIVE". ZE Records. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  7. ^ Paul Rambali. "John Cale: Sabotage/Live (Spy Import)". Rock's Backpages.
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