caribbean sunset deserves better.

one thing that everybody needs to know about me is that i'm a massive john cale fan. he's one of my top favorite artists of all time, and there is not a single record by him that i dislike. seriously. this might be controversial since plenty of john cale fans would disagree with me on this, but i am unashamed to say that caribbean sunset is one of my favorite albums from the 80s. many cale fans consider it to be his worst, or one of his worst. you know what? i can understand that. i won't lie that 1984 was a bizarre era for john. that same year, he released "ooh la la", which is simultaneously the best and worst song i have heard in my entire 17 years of existence. it's weird as shit, but i love it. it’s so bad to the point that it’s good. so, because of the existence of “ooh la la", i have some sympathy within me for the people that despise john's caribbean sunset period.

while i can understand why numerous cale fans treat caribbean sunset like it's the worst thing john has ever made in his entire musical career, i cannot help but enjoy it, really. i definitely will not say it's the greatest thing he's ever made (because it's not, but that's a topic for another day), but i wouldn't say it's the worst thing he's ever made, either. i probably defend this album a bit too hard, but i can't help but find the guitar riff of "praetorian underground" catchy as hell. i’m particularly obsessed with "magazines", and would have to say that's my number one favorite track off of caribbean sunset. i tried to learn that song by ear on guitar and then gave up because my brain decided it did not want to cooperate with me. while i like "villa albani", the live versions i've heard are much better, specifically the live versions from john's recent performances. "model beirut recital" is interesting, too. i dig the guitar on that track. the title track is lovely, too. the rockpalast 1984 version? beautiful. that song is special to me. it makes me feel at peace with myself. "the hunt" is another fun song.

caribbean sunset is one of john's albums from his discography that sticks out to me. while i adore all of his albums, there's just something about this one that i like. maybe it's the danceability of it? i can't quite pin it down.

all i have to say is that caribbean sunset deserves better.