No dia em que Cale completa 76 anos, uma pequena nota a propósito de uma das canções mais apreciadas aqui pelo Atalho: "I Keep a Close Watch". ( seja o original de "Helen of Troy" com arranjos de cordas de Robert Kirby ou na versão minimalista de "Music for a New Society" )
"John Cale's "Helen of Troy" álbum has had a chequered history, first issued by Island in 1975, apparently against Cale's wishes, and not in the States until recente years. Cale began recorded it early that year before heading to New York to produce the Patti Smith Group's "Horses", and then attempted to finish it in three manic days when he got back to Britain.
During an italian tour in November, he discovered that Island 'had gone ahead and released what amounted to demo tapes. The trouble was that Island had their own ideas of what that álbum should sound like. They wanted to include songs i don't particular like, but it was also an impertinent assumption on my part that i was capable of managing myself ... It could have been a great álbum.'
It wasn't exactly a bad one. With Sandy Denny's section of Pat Donaldson ( bass ) and Timi Donald ( drums ) and guitarrist Chris Spedding, it was generally a tough álbum: a cover of Jonathan Richman's 'Pablo Picasso' was brooding, almost thuggish; and 'Leaving it up to you' had a reference to Sharon Tate which meant it was withdrawn after the first run and replaced by the gentler 'Coral Moon'. Kirby's work on the dark 'I Keep a Close Watch' made it a highlight, although it's possibly one of the songs Cale was unhappy with - he later recorded a stripped-back version for 1982's 'Music for a New Society'"
( do booklet de "When the Day is Done, The Orchestrations of Robert Kirby" )
