John Cale's enigmatic masterpiece Paris 1919 appeared at a time when the artist and his
world were changing forever. It was 1973 the year of the Watergate hearings and the oil crisis
and Cale was at a crossroads. The white-hot rage of his Velvet Underground days was nearly
spent now he was living in Los Angeles working for a record company and making music when
time allowed. He needed to lay to rest some ghosts but he couldn't do that without scaring up
others. Paris 1919 was the result. In this vivid wide-ranging book Mark Doyle hunts down
the ghosts haunting Cale's most enduring solo album. There are the ghosts of New York - of the
Velvets Nico and Warhol - that he smuggled into Los Angeles in his luggage. There is the
ghost of Dylan Thomas a fellow Welshman who haunts not just Paris 1919 but much of Cale's life
and art. There are the ghosts of history of a failed peace and the artists who sought the
truth in dreams. And there are the ghosts of Christmas surprising visitors who bring a
nostalgic warmth and a touch of wintry dread. With erudition and wit Doyle offers new ways to
listen to an old album whose mysteries will never fully be resolved.
