| Guts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | February 1977 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | John Cale | |||
| John Cale chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A[2] |
| Trouser Press | favourable[3] |
Guts is a retrospective compilation album by the Welsh rock musician John Cale, released in February 1977 by Island Records. It includes the songs "Leaving It Up to You", which was deleted from Helen of Troy (1975), and the previously unreleased "Mary Lou". It was compiled by Howard Thompson.[4]
On the evolution of his cover art from the "extremely soft focus" of 1973's Paris 1919 to the brasher look of Helen of Troy and Guts, Cale told Slash in 1979 that "it was important at one point to always do something different in every album."[5]
Reception
AllMusic favorably described Guts as "a solid reminder of the three albums he cut for Island earlier in the decade—and which predicted the power and promise of punk with a passion that not one of the movement's other putative godfathers had ever truly communicated."[6]
Writing in Creem, Robert Christgau gave the album an "A," remarking that Guts "is how Island makes up for withholding [a] U.S. release of Helen of Troy, and I think we're better off." He noted that "Pablo Picasso" and "Leaving It All Up to You" are "Cale at his mad best" and that "Cale's Island music epitomizes the cold, committed dementia of the best English rock."[7]
The Los Angeles Times wrote that Guts was "a fine opportunity to experience Cale's violent, intense, and engrossing music." The critic added that the "tracks chosen cover too narrow a stylistic range, but songs like 'Guts,' 'Fear is a Man's Best Friend,' and a frightening version of 'Heartbreak Hotel' are riveting examples of how Cale makes darkly memorable music from the verge of emotional frenzy."[8]
John Rockwell of The New York Times also authored a positive review, noting that Guts "contains some superb music, well worth the attention of anyone who liked Roxy Music in its glory years—not to speak of those who saw Mr. Cale's New York club dates and concerts this year."[9]
Track listing
Side A
- "Guts"
- "Mary Lou"
- "Helen of Troy"
- "Pablo Picasso"
- "Leaving It Up to You"
Side B
- "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend"
- "Gun"
- "Dirty Ass Rock 'n' Roll"
- "Heartbreak Hotel"
Personnel
- John Cale − vocals, keyboards, guitar, bass, percussion
- Chris Spedding − guitar
- Phil Manzanera − guitar
- Archie Leggatt − bass
- Pat Donaldson − bass
- Trevor Burton − bass
- Timi Donald − drums
- Fred Smith − drums
- Keith Smart − drums
- Phil Collins − drums
- Raymond Duffy − drums
- Tony Carr − percussion
- Andy Mackay − saxophone
- Brian Eno − synthesizer
- John Wood − synthesizer
- Geoff Muldaur − backing vocals
- Barry St. John − backing vocals
- Liza Strike − backing vocals
References
- Thompson, Dave. "Guts - John Cale | AllMusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
- Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: C". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved 23 February 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- Grant, Steven; Sheridan, David; Robbins, Ira. "TrouserPress.com: John Cale". TrouserPress.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2025. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - "John Cale – Guts (1977, Vinyl)". Discogs.
- "John Cale". Slash (fanzine). June 1979. p. 22.
- Guts - John Cale | Album | AllMusic, retrieved 18 May 2026
- Christgau, Robert (November 1980). "Christgau Consumer Guide". Creem. p. 11.
- Pond, Steve (5 June 1977). "Pop Album Briefs". The Los Angeles Times. pp. R88.
- Rockwell, John (6 May 1977). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. p. 59.