John Cale: Shifty Adventures in Nookie Wood – review

It's probably wishful thinking to interpret this rough gem of a record – released just before a lavish reissue of The Velvet Underground and Nico – as John Cale blowing a raspberry at the reverence his old band inspires. Even so, Nookie Wood finds him in rude creative health; a gruff, Pan-like affirmation of continuing musical restlessness. Nothing here is entirely unfamiliar: the title track creates a junkyard racket in the manner of Tom Waits, December Rains borrows its atmosphere from the noirish vocoder pop beloved of David Lynch. But Cale treats these styles with the same wit and mischief he applies to his own legacy.