Caribbean Sunset
Caribbean Sunset is the ninth solo studio album by Welsh musician John Cale, released in 1984 by ZE Records.
| Caribbean Sunset | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1984 | |||
| Recorded | Right Track Recording, New York City, U.S. | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 36:59 | |||
| Label | ZE | |||
| Producer | John Cale | |||
| John Cale chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Caribbean Sunset | ||||
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Release
Caribbean Sunset was released on vinyl and cassette in 1984 by ZE Records. It was reissued on vinyl by Mango in 1990.[1] Both the ZE and Mango vinyl versions are now out of print.
"Villa Albani" was released as a 12" single in Germany. "Caribbean Sunset" was issued as a promo 7" in the UK.
To date, the album remains unavailable on CD or MP3, though a remastered download with two bonus tracks was made available on the ZE Records website in 2011.[2]
The album features contributions from Brian Eno and an otherwise "young unknown" band.[1]
The cover photograph was taken by Risé Irushalmi Cale.
Critical reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    [1] |
| Trouser Press[3] | (negative) |
Upon release, Caribbean Sunset received negative reviews from music critics. In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Stewart Mason panned the album, calling it "something of a mess. The songs are among the poppiest of Cale's career, and one gets the sense that it's meant to be Cale's attempt at a straight-up pop album, especially given the Jimmy Buffett-like title and cover photo."[1] Trouser Press called it his "least interesting album to date", adding that "even if the puzzlingly muddy self-production hadn't stifled everything but his jagged-edged vocals, the songs themselves are too flimsy to support his words or passion.".[3]
Track listing
All tracks are written by John Cale and Dave Young, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hungry for Love" | 3:48 | |
| 2. | "Experiment Number 1" | John Cale | 5:45 |
| 3. | "Model Beirut Recital" | 4:15 | |
| 4. | "Caribbean Sunset" |
| 4:23 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5. | "Praetorian Underground" | 3:09 | |
| 6. | "Magazines" | 3:26 | |
| 7. | "Where There's a Will" |
| 2:44 |
| 8. | "The Hunt" | 3:56 | |
| 9. | "Villa Albani" | Cale | 5:33 |
| Total length: | 36:59 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Villa Albani" (Long Version) | Cale | 6:28 |
| 11. | "Villa Albani" (Instrumental Version) | Cale | 5:31 |
Personnel
Adapted from the Caribbean Sunset liner notes.[4]
- John Cale – vocals; keyboards; guitar
- Dave Young – guitar; backing vocals
- Andy Heermans – bass guitar; backing vocals
- David Lichtenstein – drums; boobams
- Brian Eno – A.M.S pitch changer (effects)
Production
References
- Mason, Stewart. "Caribbean Sunset – John Cale | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
- "JOHN CALE CARIBBEAN SUNSET". ZE Records. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
- Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com :: John Cale". TrouserPress.com. Retrieved July 5, 2016.
- Caribbean Sunset (CD booklet). John Cale. ZE Records. 1984.CS1 maint: others (link)
