With a plethora of producers over the years -- including
Martin Cooper,
Al Capps,
Stewart Levine,
Rob Fraboni,
Jim Ed Norman,
Val Garay, and
Jim Price -- it is this obscure album produced by
the Velvet Underground's
John Cale that captures a very special moment for
Jennifer Warnes. A beautiful faded cover photo with the word "Jennifer" floating across the top, this album stands as landmark interpretation by the artist, and a production for Cale as important as his first album for
the Modern Lovers. Don't expect the sound to be anything like the quagmire of Velvetsonics that Cale allowed the legendary members of
Jonathan Richman's band to create. This is a pure pop album. "Needle and Thread" is a replica of what Motown producer Frank Wilson was doing exactly at this moment in time with the new Supremes, and "Be My Friend" is
Diana Ross from this same period, by way of songwriter
Paul Rodgers from Free. As A&R for Warner Bros., Cale explores avenues here unavailable to him when putting together A&M's
David Kubinec album in 1979. Cale doing Motown is quite a revelation, and is equally impressive. Of the many recorded covers of Jimmy Webb's underground classic "P.F. Sloan," the one on
Jennifer is arguably the best, but she goes a step further on the second "Webb" title included here -- "All My Love's Laughter" is outstanding.
Jackson Browne's "These Days" has instrumentation that could have been culled off an early
Marianne Faithfull album -- remember Browne contributed material to Nico's first solo outing, with heavy contributions from Cale as well. With only one original composition by Cale, a song titled "Empty Bottles," this recording is as much his showcase as it is
Warnes', rich in both sincerity and performance, and not as avant garde as his later Nico recordings. As with her first album on Parrot where she covered
the Bee Gees,
Jennifer opens with
Barry Gibb's "In the Morning," then closes by taking the grand sounds of
Procol Harum and subduing them, giving the world a different "Magdalene (My Regal Zonophone." This would have to rate with
Famous Blue Raincoat as
Warnes' most substantial album -- but having had less attention, it is one of the hidden treasures of rock and should be sought out by fans of Cale as well as those of this enigmatic artist. These recordings of songs by
Donovan Leitch, Webb, Free,
Procol Harum, Cale, Gibb,
Jackson Browne, and
Warnes' own title, "Last Song," provide an insight -- not only to the talent of this gifted artist, but in flavoring those melodies in a way you have not heard them before. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide