John Cale Expands His Fragments

John Cale’s 1992 live album Fragments of a Rainy Season will be reissued on December 9th, its original 20-song tracklisting expanded by an additional eight outtakes and alternate versions.

Recorded during various tour dates that year, the album showcases Cale solo on acoustic guitar and piano, rendering stark, intimate versions of songs spanning his entire solo career along with covers of Leonard Cohen (“Hallelujah”), Elvis Presley (“Heartbreak Hotel”) and a trio of songs put to Dylan Thomas poems. The extra tracks include several versions with added strings, and a solo stab at the Velvet Underground’s “I’m Waiting for the Man.” Fragments of a Rainy Season will be released on limited edition triple-gatefold vinyl, standard double-LP version (minus the outtakes, we assume), double-CD and digital download.

In further news, Cale, along with his band and assorted guests, will perform the Velvet Underground’s entire debut album, The Velvet Underground and Nico, live in Liverpool next May in recognition of the 50th anniversary of its release. He undertook a similar show in Paris last April, and has indicated that a New York show will also take place next year.