Release date: 10-03-2008 (originally released in 1975)

2008 Russian limited edition 13-track LP pressed on 180gram VIRGIN VINYL, the 6th solo album from the former Velvet Underground member, originally released in 1975, includes 2 bonus recordings, presented in sealed & stickered picture sleeve.

Tracks:
01. My Maria
02. Helen Of Troy
03. China Sea
04. Engine
05. Save Us
06. Cable Hogue
07. Mary Lou - bonus track
08. I Keep A Close Watch
09. Pablo Picasso
10. Leaving It Up To You
11. Baby What You Want Me To Do
12. Sudden Death
13. Coral Moon - bonus track

John Cale is a genius. Period. And on no albums was his genius-ness more prominent and seminal than on "Paris 1919" and the Island trilogy - "Fear", "Slow Dazzle", and "Helen of Troy", released in the early to mid 70s. Most people have a tendency to site "Fear" as their favorite of the Island trilogy, but "Helen of Troy" has always been mine.

In times when bands seem content to paint themselves into the limiting, factionalized corners of specific genres and sub-genres, it's refreshing to hear Cale deftly meld so many styles into ONE unique, poetic vision. What's upsetting is that so few people have chosen to follow his lead, and that I can't really think of ANY records where the artist maintains this much control over a multitude of styles, while maintaining such a high level of gut-wrenchingly intense, heartfelt honesty. -by Lupo suck

------

Helen of Troy is an album by John Cale, the last of three albums for Island Records.

This album came out without the consent of Cale, who considered that the tapes were not finished. After shipping the first pressings Island Records replaced the track "Leaving It Up to You" with "Coral Moon", because the former song mentioned Sharon Tate, wife of film director Roman Polanski, who was murdered in 1969 by the Charles Manson gang. Things turned sour, and Cale and Island went their separate ways. 

John Cale explained: "It could have been a great album. I came back from finishing Patti Smith and had three days to finish Helen of Troy before I went on Italian tour. I was spending eighteen hours a day in the studio. When I got back, I found the record company had gone ahead and released what amounted to demo tapes. The trouble was that Island had their own ideas of what that album should sound like. They wanted to include songs I don't particularly like, but it was also an impertinent assumption on my part that I was capable managing myself. My determination to have Helen of Troy the way I did was not really fair to Island or my management, especially at a time when Island was losing its percentage of the market, which was making everybody very paranoid."

During the sessions Cale cut three other songs: the unreleased covers "Willow Weep For Me" and "God Only Knows", and "Mary Lou" which was released on the compilation album Guts.

The album features a cover of "Pablo Picasso" by The Modern Lovers, a song which Cale had produced for the band's debut.