Paris 1919
John Cale has one of the richest resumes in pop, with experience in  avant-garde music even before he met Lou Reed and they formed the Velvet  Underground.  His record productions include such landmarks as the debut by the  Stooges and Patti Smith'sHorses.  But as a solo artist, Cale has often  seemed caught between his sophisticated leanings and his fondness for punky  attitudes.  Two early albums,Vintage ViolenceandParis 1919,  were the work of a highly-developed pop musician; later albums found Cale the  pop provocateur dominating the show.  Cale's a fairly deadpan singer, but the  sweet mix of rock band instrumentation and fuller orchestration make--Paris  1919one of his strongest efforts, and the lovely "Andalucia" one  of his very best songs.  If the righteous boogie of "Macbeth" sounds  familiar, that's because Lowell George and Richie Hayward, guitarist and drummer  of Little Feat, formed the core of Cale's studio band.--John Milward