John Cale is reissuing his famous 1992 unplugged live album Fragments of a Rainy Season. The album, recorded at various locations over the course of his 1992 tour, was a departure from Cale’s past albums. Here, he was lone, sweet, melodic, and acoustic.
The star of the record is Cale’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (RIP). An ex-member of The Velvet Underground, Cale heard Cohen perform the song at the Beacon Theater in 1991 and asked him to send along the lyrics. Cale’s cover changes around words, incorporates live verses, and brings back the biblical references of the studio version. The cover, which was featured on a tribute album to Cohen, ended up in the hands of a young Jeff Buckley, whose legendary cover is probably the most popular interpretation of the song. But yes, Buckley was covering Cale covering Cohen.
Fragments Of A Rainy Season will be available December 9, 2016 via Double Six/ Domino Records. The album will be released on limited-edition triple gatefold 12-inch vinyl, standard double 12-inch vinyl, double CD, and digital download. You can pre-order it here.
In related news, Cale recently announced more shows celebrating the 50th anniversary of The Velvet Underground & Nico, the first of which will happen May 26, 2017 at Liverpool’s docklands.
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