Cale / Hynde / Cave

Does anyone remember a BBC2 late night series called Songwriters Circle ?

“Singer-songwriters get together to perform their own classics, chat and collaborate”

It used to be recorded at Subterania in my old stomping ground of Ladbroke Grove and the episode I saw filmed featured John Cale, Chrissie Hynde and Nick Cave (in the words of Meatloaf, two out of three ain’t bad…). All three were in fine voice and happy to explain how the muse had struck.

Last week I saw that Organ Grinder Records Inc of Spain (yeah, right) had put the show out on CD. My copy arrived yesterday and it turns out my memories are not rose-tinted – it was a great afternoon. Cale comes out ahead thanks to Dying On The Vine, Fear and Thoughtless Kind but Chrissie is not far behind with Talk Of The Town, Kid the best version of Back In The Chain Gang I have heard. To be fair to Cave his Into My Arms is performed decently. As the session progresses solo performances become duets culminating in a three-way I’m Waiting For The Man which is absent from the CD but you can find it here

I was shocked when I checked the recording date July 9^th 1999 – just the 22 years ago then.

Back in the days when spending a few hours drinking in a packed nightclub and listening to live music seemed a completely ordinary thing to do…

Tracklisting

1. Ship Of Fools (Soundcheck) – Chrissie, John, Nick
2. Dying on The Vine (Cale)
3. Talk Of The Town (Hynde)
4. West Country Girl (Cave)
5. Thoughtless Kind (Cale)
6. Kid (Hynde)
7. Henry Lee (Cave)
8. Fear (Cale)
9. I’ll Stand By You (Hynde)
10. Into My Arms (Cave)
11. Ship Of Fools (Cale)
12. Back On The Chain Gang (Hynde)
13. The Ship Song (Cave)