Sedition and Alchemy is a biography of John Cale written with the cooperation of Cale himself and many of his musical associates. It describes the life and work of a man who has successfully - and arguably uniquely - crossed the borders between the worlds of classical and rock music. In a constant search for new areas of musical exploration, Cale has collaborated with a range of artistically innovative partners including La Monte Young, Brian Eno and Lou Reed (with whom he was the driving force behind the Velvet Underground). Cale's career is revealed as a series of passionate assaults on accepted musical forms and reconstructions of them in his own new shapes, a process illustrated here by detailed acounts of his recorded albums, live shows and working relationships with other musicians. Exhaustively researched and containing many exclusive interviews with important figures from all phases of his career (including interviews with Cale himself), this book also features the first ever full discography of his work. Sedition and Alchemy paints a picture of an artist who, more than any of his peers, has remade the world of rock music.
- ISBN10 0720611326
- ISBN13 9780720611328
- Publish Date 1 July 2003
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Peter Owen Publishers
- Format Paperback
- Pages 224
- Language English