Vintage Violence
by John Cale
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John Cale bestography
Vintage Violence is ranked 7th best out of 42 albums by John Cale on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by John Cale is Paris 1919 which is ranked number 774 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 2,233.
(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).
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Vintage Violence track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 78 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Vintage Violence rankings
Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). Click to see how the rankings are calculated (Last updated: 2 hours ago)
| Year | Source | Chart | Rank | Rank Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 |  DriftingOrpheus | Top 36 Greatest Music Albums | 29/36 | 22 |
| 2026 |  O.T. | Top 27 Music Albums of 1970 | 15/27 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Norman Bates | Top 100 Music Albums of 1970 | 85/100 | 1 |
| 2026 |  Leonard | Top 98 Music Albums of 1970 | 82/98 | 1 |
| 2026 |  MadhattanJack | Top 54 Music Albums of 1970 | 37/54 | 2 |
| 2026 |  Repo | Top 100 Music Albums of 1970 | 53/100 | 2 |
| 2026 |  videoheadcleaner | Top 60 Music Albums of 1970 | 30/60 | 3 |
| 2026 | LittleM1971 | Top 66 Music Albums of 1970 | 37/66 | 2 |
| 2026 | cicadelic | Top 100 Music Albums of the 1970s | 86/100 | 3 |
| 2026 |  AAL2014 | 1970: Year Chart Pt. 2 (#101-200) | 23/36 | - |
| Total Charts: The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. | 64 | |||
| Total Rank Score: The total rank score. | 172 | |||
Vintage Violence collection
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Vintage Violence ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.
Showing latest 3 ratings for this album. | Show all 98 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 09/30/2026 01:50 | Repo | 2,234 | 85/100 |
| ! | 05/01/2026 17:00 | RemainInLight | 3,827 | 36/100 |
| ! | 01/06/2026 01:00 | Exist-en-ciel | 16,348 | 70/100 |
Rating metrics:
Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 75.9/100, a mean average of 75.8/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 11.8.
Vintage Violence favourites
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Vintage Violence forum mentions
Liedzeit 05/23/2025 08:19 in What album are you listening to? (cont.) Repo 01/18/2023 11:28 in What album are you listening to right now?View all forum mentions
Vintage Violence comments
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ohn Cale first solo album, originally released in 1970, came as a pleasant surprise to many fans of Velvet Underground. After his departure from V.U. in 1968 Cale had among other things produced for Nico, and some may have expected a more radical album, but here Cale reveals himself as a brilliant songwriter capable of writing and producing in a very melodic way, and several of these songs may even have had hit-potentials. Especially the catchy "Gideon's Bible" with its Beach Boys harmonies could very well had hit the charts, given the right exposure.
Among other very memorable tracks is the great opener "Hello There", featuring Cale driving piano. The majestic "Big Cloud" is another stand-out; sound almost like a Robbie Robertson song.
There's a slight country feel to another favourite,"Please", and the haunting "Ghost Story" features lyrics that make you think of Keith Reid of Procol Harum.
This could very well be John Cale's artistically most consistent album; which obviously says quite a lot, and at any rate this is without question the first time he really proves himself as a prolific songwriter.
Crumpet 03/16/2018 17:22 | #211058 | TOP COMMENT
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Cale himself says that this is a bad album, he feels there is very little originality, and while I think he’s being a bit harsh, I see where he’s coming from.
This album is very poppy and surprisingly un-experimental, most of the tracks not being very memorable. This album is very listenable though, it works well as soft background music.
The best tracks here are ”Gideon’s Bible”, “Big White Cloud” “Charlemange”, “Amsterdam” and, the best, “Ghost Story”, a hauntingly beautiful song that makes the album worthwile.
Overall, no where near Cale’s best, but a fun listening experience.
His first solo album after splitting with VU. The most surprising aspect of this album is the lack of surprises. Simple arrangements, often pastoral in tone, Cale's vocals come to the fore here which is a pity. His montone drawl is painful listening when it's left out in the open like this. VU fans looking for something exciting and bold best look elsewhere.
Dankel 11/04/2017 19:11 | #200704 | TOP COMMENT
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poppier than I expected - quite pleasent
Jboy56 03/26/2023 12:22 | #295473 | TOP COMMENT
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A very accessible for a Cale album
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