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This collection was an EP released by John Cale in 2003, an appetizer for a full-length album that was to follow a few months down the road, HoboSapiens. Driven by his robust Welsh voice and multi-instrumentalist capabilities, these show that Cale has lost none of his songwriting edge, as some thirty years plus down the road, he continues to spin songs that are fabulously weird, compelling, and often beautiful. The standout on this EP is "Waiting for Blonde," essentially a character study of one of the nameless eccentrics who populate the Big Apple and lend it vibrancy (and perhaps danger), and I would imagine a tribute to New York in general, as this came soon after 9/11. Although presumed to be fictional, the battery salesman portrayed here is so real you feel as you listen to this like you are riding on the A-train observing him directly. Cale, obviously no stranger to this city, nails the character with an effective use of repetition of certain lines ("Good morning ladies and gentlemen," "I am a very good businessman," "you are New Yorkers, you are the very best...") and droll phrases that stick with the listener like "the mighty C-battery!" The last two songs are also really strong entries musically and lyrically. "E Is Missing" (apparently the E is Ezra Pound) is notable for Cale's borrowing of the main chorus melody to "The First Noël," and his obscure but potent lyrical imagery of "fingernails [are] missing, one through ten" and "a derelict lighthouse signaling men in shipwrecks under the ocean." On "Wilderness Approaching," Cale turns in a stirring vocal performance from behind the piano. His lyrics, however, contrast against the gospel feel of the music with a wry tone that keeps a certain distance: "Wilderness approaching, coming on the left…smile for the cameras, it's what it's all about..." "You've crashed the party in a country you cannot afford," and "Take your time with a style of chew gum or die..." I could probably do without the brief screaming that takes place in "Verses" (only because I feel Cale's done that stuff enough by now). Apart from that, there's nothing bad on here at all. With less than twenty minutes' playing time and in this age of the MP3, my guess is most people will rip this CD and pawn it off. Well, as you will... but I'm keeping mine. review by Joe McGlinchey — 6-25-08 —