John Cale Comes Alive

John Cale Comes Alive is a fascinating, jagged artifact from one of the most volatile periods in the artist's career. Despite the title's nod to the arena-rock optimism of the late 1970s, the music here is anything but celebratory. It is a document of tension, recorded during the tour for Caribbean Sunset, capturing a band that sounds like it is constantly on the verge of either a breakthrough or a breakdown. The live tracks are characterized by a brittle, aggressive energy, where Cale's baritone often gives way to a desperate, raspy bark. It is the sound of 1984 London: cold, neon-lit, and deeply uneasy.

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