Sedition and Alchemy: A Biography of John Cale Book

Written with the full cooperation of John Cale and incorporating exclusive interviews with important figures from all phases of this pioneer musician's 35-year career, this new biography explores the man who has successfully transcended the boundaries between classical and popular music. The book includes the first full discography of Cale's work to date and many never before seen photographs.

Library Journal

Best known as one-fourth of the Velvet Underground, John Cale has influenced rock music for more than 30 years as a musician and a producer of seminal protopunk and new wave albums. British writer Mitchell (There's Something About Jonathan Richman) won his subject's full cooperation for this biography. After a brief look at Cale's childhood in the south of Wales, Mitchell follows the musical prodigy to the United States, where he worked with avant-garde composer La Monte Young. Then came the Velvet Underground and his partnerships with Lou Reed and the band's patron, Andy Warhol. Next, the author traces Cale's eclectic solo career and his emergence, in recent years, as a modern-day Renaissance man, juggling multiple projects in various disciplines. Cale even contributes photographs that he took on 9/11 from his apartment near Ground Zero. Yet Mitchell's style is so dry and mechanical-with later chapters reading like a mere checklist of events-that only ardent fans will be drawn into the narrative. Mitchell succeeds in providing facts, but Cale's own autobiography, What's Welsh for Zen, is far more satisfying in its depth and insight. Still, given Cale's importance and the relative dearth of information available about him, Mitchell's work is recommended for larger pop and experimental music collections.-Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty. P.L., CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.