John Cale announces rework of Music for a New Society, titled M:FANS
John Cale has announced that he’s reworking his 1982 album Music For A New Society. The album, which was originally released in 1982, was a dark and experimental release in Cale’s catalog, and on January 22, he’s releasing a newly recorded update of the album titled M:FANS, as well as a reissue of the original album via Double Six/Domino. The reissue will feature three previously unreleased bonus tracks. Cale also released a new video for “Close Watch,” featuring Amber Coffman of Dirty Projectors. Watch that below, and read a statement about the album, and how Lou Reed’s death informed its creation:
Making any form of art is always personal to my mind. During the making ofM:FANS, I found myself loathing each and every character written about in those original recording sessions of Music For… Unearthing those tapes reopened those wounds. It was time to decimate the despair from 1981 and breathe new energy, re-write the story. Then, the unthinkable happened. What had informed so much over lost and twisted relationships in 1981 had now come full circle. Losing Lou [too painful to understand] forced me to upend the entire recording process and begin again…a different perspective – a new sense of urgency to tell a story from a completely opposite point of view – what was once sorrow, was now a form of rage. A fertile ground for exorcism of things gone wrong and the realization they are unchangeable. From sadness came the strength of fire!!!”
John Cale M:FANS tracklist:
1 Prelude
2 If You Were Still Around
3 Taking Your Life In Your Hands
4 Thoughtless Kind
5 Sanctus (Sanities Mix)
6 Broken Bird
7 Chinese Envoy
8 Changes Made
9 Library Of Force [ft. Man In The Book excerpt]
10 Close Watch
11 If You Were Still Around (Choir Reprise)
12 Back To The End
Music For a New Society:
1 Taking Your Life In Your Hands
2 Thoughtless Kind
3 Sanctus (Sanities)
4 If You Were Still Around
5 Close Watch
6 Broken Bird
07 Chinese Envoy
08 Changes Made
09 Damn Life
10 Risé, Sam And Rimsky Korsakov
11 Library Of Force (Unreleased)
12 Chinese Envoy (Outtakes)
13 Thoughtless kind (Outtakes)
Jeff Terich is the founder and editor of Treble. He's been writing about music for 20 years and has been published at American Songwriter, Bandcamp Daily, Reverb, Spin, Stereogum, uDiscoverMusic, VinylMePlease and some others that he's forgetting right now. He's still not tired of it.