Post by u2wright on Feb 9, 2024 18:39:34 GMT
John Davies Cale (March 9, 1942)
Member of: The Velvet Underground (1965-1968)
Vocal Range: D2 - C♯6
Vocal Type: The Gift(ed Baritone)
Significant High Notes:
C♯6 ("Mary Lou")
C6 ("Heartbreak Hotel" live Musical Express 1981, "You & Me")
B5 ("Guts" live Ocean Club, NYC 21/07/1976, "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" live Rockpalast 1984, "Rollaroll")
B♭5 ("Nasty Gasses" live Max's Kansas City, NYC 1978, "Heartbreak Hotel", "Waiting for the Man" Comes Alive + live Rockpalast 1983)
A5 ("Chicken Shit")
G♯5 ("Fear is a Man's Best Friend" live Max's Kansas City, NYC 1978)
G5 ("Guts" Honi Soit tour, 1981, "Momamma Scuba")
F♯5 ("Mercenaries (Ready for War)" single version, "Verses")
F5 ("Waiting for the Man" live Rockpalast 1983)
E5 ("Mothra", "Outta the Bag" live Circus Live)
D5 ("Archimedes", "The Ballad of Cable Hogue" live Circus Live, "Dirty Ass Rock 'n' Roll" live Circus Live, "Hemingway", "Look Horizon" live Circus Live, "Outta the Bag", "Walking the Dog" live Circus Live)
C♯5 ("Magazines")
C5 ("I Wanna Talk 2 U", "OUT THE WINDOW", "Twilight Zone")
B4 ("Catastrofuk", "December Rains", "Magritte", "Mailman", "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" live Circus Live, "Sandman (Flying Dutchman)", "Turn the Lights On")
B♭4 ("Nookie Wood")
A4 ("Andalucia", "Hemingway", "MARILYN MONROE'S LEGS (Beauty Elsewhere)", "Mr. Wilson", "Outta the Bag", "Pile a L'heure", "Praetorian Underground", "Set Me Free" live Circus Live, "Sold Motel", "Verses")
G♯4 ("Charlemagne", "Chinese Takeaway (Hong Kong 1997)", "Damn Life", "Dr. Mudd", "Everytime the Dog Barks", "Heartbreak Hotel", "The Hunt")
G4 ("Andalucia", "Archimedes", "Baby, What You Want Me to Do?" live Ocean Club, NYC 21/07/1976, "Been There Done That", "Bicycle", "Captain Hook", "Chicken Shit", "Dead or Alive", "Dirty Ass Rock 'n' Roll", "Experiment Number 1", "For a Ride", "Footsteps", "I Heard Her Call My Name" live L'Olympia, Paris June 1993, "I Wanna Talk 2 U", "Guts", "THE LEGAL STATUS OF ICE", "Letter from Abroad", "Hungry for Love", "Macbeth", "Maps of the World", "Magazines", "Momamma Scuba", "My Maria", "Nasty Gasses" live Max's Kansas City, NYC 1978, "NIGHT CRAWLING", "Rollaroll", "Satisfied", "Ski Patrol", "Turn the Lights On", "Twilight Zone", "Who's in Charge?", "Wilderness Approaching")
F♯4 ("All My Friends", "Barracuda", "Chums of Dumpty (We All Are)", "Crazy Egypt", "Evidence", "Fear is a Man's Best Friend", "Ghost Story", "Helen of Troy", "Leaving It Up to You", "Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed" live Fragments of a Rainy Season, "Mary Lou" live Max's Kansas City, NYC 1978, "Mercenaries (Ready for War)", "Perfect", "Perfection", "Russian Roulette", "Sandman (Flying Dutchman)", "Things X", "Turn the Lights On", "Verses")
F4 ("All I Want Is You", "Antarctica Starts Here", "Archimedes", "Baby You Know", "Cable Hogue", "Captain Hook", "Coral Moon", "Damn Life", "Dixieland and Dixie", "Experiment Number 1", "Femme Fatale" live Circus Live, "Gideon's Bible", "Hanky Panky Nohow", "I Heard Her Call My Name", "Honi Soit (La Premiere Lecon De Francais)", "Hush", "Indistinct Notion", "Look Horizon", "MERCY", "NOISE OF YOU", "On a Wedding Anniversary", "Paris 1919", "Riverbank", "Some Friends", "Taking It All Away", "Tell Me Why", "There Was A Saviour Interlude I", "Waiting for the Man" Comes Alive, "Wasteland")
E4 ("Adelaide", "Been There Done That", "Buffalo Ballet" several live performances, "Caribbean Sunset", "Catastrofuk", "Chicken Shit", "Chumps of Dumpty (We All Are)", "Darling I Need You", "Dixieland and Dixie", "Dr. Mudd", "The Endless Plain of Fortune", "Everytime the Dogs Bark", "For a Ride", "Footsteps", "Graham Greene", "Gun", "Hallelujah", "Jack the Ripper", "Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed", "Living With You", "Look Horizon", "Magritte", "Mary", "Midnight Feast", "Mothra", "My Maria", "Nasty Gasses" live Max's Kansas City, NYC 1978, "OUT THE WINDOW", "Rollaroll", "Sabotage", "Save Us", "Ship of Fools", "Ski Patrol", "So What", "Strange Times in Casablanca", "There She Goes Again", "Where There's A Will", "Wilderness Approaching", "Woman", "You Know More Than I Know")
Significant Low Notes:
D3 ("Baby You Know", "Black Rose", "Captain Hook", "Catastrofuk", "Crime in the Desert", "Dancing Undercover", "Dixieland and Dixie", "The Endless Plain of Fortune", "Face to the Sky", "Footsteps", "Graham Greene", "Guts", "Half Past France", "Helen of Troy", "Hemingway", "Hello, There", "I Keep A Close Watch", "Lady Godiva's Operation", "Lie Still, Sleep Becalmed", "Living With You", "Mary", "Midnight Feast", "On a Wedding Anniversary", "One Word", "Sandman (Flying Dutchman)", "Satisfied", "So Much for Love", "Song of the Valley", "Sylvia Said", "Taking It All Away", "Things X", "Where There's A Will", "Zen")
C♯3 ("All My Friends", "MOONSTRUCK (Nico's Song)", "Mothra", "Praetorian Underground")
C3 ("Andalucia", "Antarctica Starts Here", "Bamboo Floor", "Bring It On Up", "Burnt Out Affair", "Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night", "Dying on the Vine", "Entre Nous", "Hallelujah", "Hanky Panky Nohow", "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hemingway", "Nookie Wood", "Old China", "Over Her Head", "Perfection", "The Soul of Carmen Miranda", "Style It Takes", "Sylvia Said", "Thoughtless Kind", "Twilight Zone", "Whaddya Mean By That")
B2 ("Adelaide", "December Rain", "Emily", "In the Backroom", "Gun", "MARILYN MONROE'S LEGS (Beauty Elsewhere)", "Mary", "Satellite Walk", "The Sleeper", "Strange Times in Casablanca")
B♭2 ("Broken Hearts", "I KNOW YOU'RE HAPPY", "Gatorville & Points East", "Gideon's Bible", "One Word", "STORY OF BLOOD")
A2 ("Buffalo Ballet", "Cable Hogue", "Caravan", "Chinese Envoy", "Faces and Names", "In The Backroom", "Letter from Abroad", "Look Horizon", "Momamma Scuba", "NOT THE END OF THE WORLD", "Paradise Nevada", "So What", "Style It Takes", "TIME STANDS STILL", "Waiting for Blonde", "Whaddya Mean By That")
G2 ("Archimedes", "I KNOW YOU'RE HAPPY", "Indistinct Notion of Cool", "Lazy Day", "MERCY", "Pile a L'heure", "Rosegarden Funeral of Sores", "Secret Corrida", "The Soul of Carmen Miranda", "Taking Your Life in Your Hands", "Trouble with Classicists", "Waiting for Blonde", "Woman")
F♯2 ("Amsterdam")
F2 ("Faces and Names")
D2 ("In a Flood")
{Summary}John Cale is among one of the most respected names in the experimental rock scene, having been one of the founding members of The Velvet Underground and producing for some seminal 70s proto-punk artists (The Stooges, Patti Smith, The Modern Lovers). He's also contributed a good amount to the plethora of remarkable 70s music himself in his solo career, being able to go from quirky baroque rock (Paris 1919) to outright demented, screaming punk (Sabotage/Live).
Possessing an unmistakably Welsh baritone, John Cale's singing has been wholly consistent throughout his entire career. During the late 70s through the early 80s, he often and relentlessly sang with a heavy grit in his upper register, while also letting out some really demented high screams (Heartbreak Hotel). Though the screaming has been toned down (by a lot) in recent years, he still appears to have the power in his voice to belt up to the mid 4th octave. His falsetto has also been extensively used in recent albums for harmonies & in live performances (Circus Live). Interestingly, while having a noticeably low-placed singing and speaking voice Cale tends to avoid using the extremities of his lower register for the most part, being most comfortable in his mid-range. All in all, a very talented songwriter with an awesome voice.
Possessing an unmistakably Welsh baritone, John Cale's singing has been wholly consistent throughout his entire career. During the late 70s through the early 80s, he often and relentlessly sang with a heavy grit in his upper register, while also letting out some really demented high screams (Heartbreak Hotel). Though the screaming has been toned down (by a lot) in recent years, he still appears to have the power in his voice to belt up to the mid 4th octave. His falsetto has also been extensively used in recent albums for harmonies & in live performances (Circus Live). Interestingly, while having a noticeably low-placed singing and speaking voice Cale tends to avoid using the extremities of his lower register for the most part, being most comfortable in his mid-range. All in all, a very talented songwriter with an awesome voice.
{Questionable Notes}
E♭6 ("Baby What You Want Me To Do" live Ocean Club, NYC 21/07/1976[2 Patti?])
B♭5 ("Fear is a Man's Best Friend" [1])
A5 ("The Hunt"[erratic scream])
E5 ("Hey Ray" [Goofy as hell])
D2 ("Nookie Wood"[1])
..................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
E♭6 ("Baby What You Want Me To Do" live Ocean Club, NYC 21/07/1976[2 Patti?])
B♭5 ("Fear is a Man's Best Friend" [1])
A5 ("The Hunt"[erratic scream])
E5 ("Hey Ray" [Goofy as hell])
D2 ("Nookie Wood"[1])
..................................................
[1] marks yelps and short trills in high range or anacrusis and short dips in low range.
[2] marks notes of questionable identity that cannot be confirmed to be the singer in question.
[3] marks non-melodic notes that don't have a significant enough pitch to warrant inclusion.
[4] marks notes that possess uncertain pitch or have been pitch-shifted.
[5] marks notes that do not fit the previous criteria but are not of a substantial enough quality to warrant counting towards the singer's range.
{Discography}
with the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) B3 - E4
White Light / White Heat (1968) D3 - F4
Solo
Studio Albums
Vintage Violence (1970): F♯2 - G♯4
The Academy in Peril (1972): (N/A)
Paris 1919 (1973) C3 - G4 - A4
Fear (1974) A2 - G4 - G5
Slow Dazzle (1975) A2 - B♭5
Helen Of Troy (1975) A2 - F♯4
Honi Soit (1981)
Music for a New Society (1982): G3 - G♯4
Caribbean Sunset (1984): C♯3 - A4
Artificial Intelligence (1986): B2 - G♯4
Words for the Dying (1989): C3 - F4
Walking on Locusts (1996): G2 - F♯4
HoboSapiens (2003)
blackAcetate (2005)
Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood (2012): B2 - D5 - E5
Mercy (2023) G2 - G4 - C5
EPs
Animal Justice (1977) - G♯5
5 Tracks (2003) G2 - F♯5
Extra Playful (2011): G2 - F♯4 - B4
Live Albums
Sabotage/Live (1979)
Fragments of a Rainy Season (1992)
Collaborations
Church of Anthrax (1971) (with Terry Riley) (N/A)
Songs for Drella (1990) (with Lou Reed) F2 -
Wrong Way Up (1990) (with Brian Eno) B2 - G4
Last Day on Earth (1994) (with Bob Neuwirth) A2 - G4
with the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) B3 - E4
White Light / White Heat (1968) D3 - F4
Solo
Studio Albums
Vintage Violence (1970): F♯2 - G♯4
The Academy in Peril (1972): (N/A)
Paris 1919 (1973) C3 - G4 - A4
Fear (1974) A2 - G4 - G5
Slow Dazzle (1975) A2 - B♭5
Helen Of Troy (1975) A2 - F♯4
Honi Soit (1981)
Music for a New Society (1982): G3 - G♯4
Caribbean Sunset (1984): C♯3 - A4
Artificial Intelligence (1986): B2 - G♯4
Words for the Dying (1989): C3 - F4
Walking on Locusts (1996): G2 - F♯4
HoboSapiens (2003)
blackAcetate (2005)
Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood (2012): B2 - D5 - E5
Mercy (2023) G2 - G4 - C5
EPs
Animal Justice (1977) - G♯5
5 Tracks (2003) G2 - F♯5
Extra Playful (2011): G2 - F♯4 - B4
Live Albums
Sabotage/Live (1979)
Fragments of a Rainy Season (1992)
Collaborations
Church of Anthrax (1971) (with Terry Riley) (N/A)
Songs for Drella (1990) (with Lou Reed) F2 -
Wrong Way Up (1990) (with Brian Eno) B2 - G4
Last Day on Earth (1994) (with Bob Neuwirth) A2 - G4
..................................................
• Blue marks clear falsetto notes.
• Green marks harsh distorted notes.
• Italics mark non-melodic screams/shouts, or spoken passages.
• Underlines mark backing vocals or notes obscured in the song's mix.
• Boldface marks performances that are considered to be particularly notable examples of this person's vocal capabilities.
