Seventy years old and still more musically adventurous than his peers, John Cale teams up with Danger Mouse for the relentlessly catchy collaboration "I Wanna Talk 2 U." "Scotland Yard" turns up the paranoia with keyboards that evoke a world spiraling out of control. Cale's never been one to play it safe; even his most commercial moments are littered with experimental quirks that underscore his avant-garde classical origins. He messes with Auto-Tune for the club-ready "December Rains," in which he sounds like a sedate composer surrounded by technological wizardry. "Nookie Wood" throws synthetic freakouts into Cale's spy-novel attack. Emerging from the craziness is a sweet love song, "Living with You," which beats with the feeling of a human heart after all the glitz and glamour subsides. Cale is far too talented a musician to make music the easiest or most accessible way. He sometimes overthinks a situation, but he always finds something unexpected on his trip to the other end of the recording studio.
- Lou Reed
- Kevin Ayers
- Robert Wyatt