My favorite John Cale album from the Island Records era. What I find appealing about his work, is more of his arrangement skills than his compositions. For instance, I think Lou Reed is a better songwriter than Cale, but it's the talent of Cale to bring out the best in Lou Reed's songs. That's the beauty of the early Velvet Underground recordings. The same goes for his work with Tony Conrad as well. This is not saying that Cale does not come up with wonderful songs, but for me, it's the way he puts the music together that I find his greatness.
"Helen of Troy" is the third of the three Cale solo albums that were released on Island records, and it's the one where I feel he's working on a huge canvas for the first time on that label. "Helen of Troy" is very a Cale sampler, and I mean that in a very good way. You have the orchestrational Cale ("I Keep A Close Watch") and the gritty/electro "Engine" and the title song, but again, it is how the layers all the textures together that only a superb arranger can accomplish. His version of The Modern Lovers (he produced their first and only album) of "Pablo Picasso" is pretty great. That, and Jimmy Reed's "Baby What You Want Me To Do" are the perfect bar band sound that only can be placed in a saloon run by David Lynch.
Cale is an artist of great taste and skill. The fact that he produced The Stooges, Nico, Squeeze, Patti Smith and The Modern Lovers shows that he was either in the right place at the right time, but more likely he had the brilliant touch to know what's important. A very sophisticated taste, and "Helen of Troy" is nothing but, an album of great style, grace, anger, and brilliant arrangements. "My Maria" is a perfect example of all of his skills placed in one song. Here on this album, you have the grit to latter-day Beach Boys harmonies. This is the best!
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