John Cale: Sabotage/Live (Spy Import)
Paul Rambali, NME, 12 January 1980
THE COVER of this, his first album in almost five years, shows John Cale wearing the only sensible accessories for the true cold war paranoiac: dark glasses and a hard-hat – not a bad thing, given the present delicate state of detente, especially for someone who can't exactly boast of having all his marbles together in one place.
Total word count of piece: 663
Best Databases: RBP is Runner-up in Best Niche category
Video: Johnny Marr talks about Rock's Backpages
RBP on Spotify: The genius of Judee Sill
RBP Album Club in Chicago, June 30th: Paul Yamada and Liam (Plush) Hayes celebrate a Curtis Mayfield classic
Essential Listening: Roy Trakin meets the Replacements in '87
Essential Reading: Andrew Smith's history of the first dotcom boom
RBP Album Club, July 11th: Nick Hornby and Nick Coleman celebrate Southside Johnny's debut
Join the Facebook group now