Timeline: 1993
Playing at The Tonight Show with Sterling Morrison
Performs Paris 1919 with The Soldier String Quartet and Sterling Morrison on guitar, followed by a brief chat with host Jay Leno on January 19. According Cale this happened on November, 1992:
"In November 1992 I appeared on The Tonight Show and said the VU were going to get back together, for the money. I was joking. Money has always been a consequence of what we’ve done, not a goal. And it remains that way. What was ultimately gratifying was that people would get to see what contributions people other than Lou and I made to the sound we had. That was very important. They saw what role Sterling had, and reinforced everything they understood about Maureen."
Leno: I hear rumors you guys may play together again, yes?
Cale: Yeah, we've had a lot of good meetings about it. And, uh I guess if we can keep all the spontaneity and enthusiasm of those first days together, it'll be great.
Leno: So how long has it been?
Cale: About twenty-five years.
Leno: Wow. So why, all of a sudden now, you decide...
Cale: Money?
Leno: Money! Yes. Money would be a good motivating factor.
Cale: A motivating factor, absolutely.
Tales of Rock 'n' Roll - Heartbreak Hotel
His cover of Heartbreak Hotel is used in the BBC documentary in the Arena series Tales of Rock 'n' Roll. It is aired on April 19. The series is directed by James Marsh, who made a documentary about him in 1998.
The Velvet Underground reunion tour
The reformed Velvet Underground tour Europe in June and July. They support U2 on a couple of dates and play short sets at the Glastonbury and Roskilde festivals.
It doesn't last. Lou Reed wants to be the boss (again). US dates, recording a new album, and a planned MTV Unplugged special never happen. Cale and Reed exchange unfriendly faxes, and once again the Velvets are history. For good this time.
Cale looking back:
"There was a sudden feeling that whatever was happening for the three others was certainly different from what was happening for Lou. This was not a band. Moe, God bless her, looks at all this and laughs and says, "This is all boy stuff." Which in a way it is, she's absolutely right. But I had certain principles which I wasn't prepared to turn my back on. It was the end of a very fruitful relationship. A poisoned one - but it had been fruitful."
Maureen Tucker loved the headlining shows, but hated opening for U2:
"It was great that we went to Europe, because we had never played there, and they're the ones who make our royalty checks. It was really nice to play for them. And it was great to get together with the guys, which I hadn't done in twenty-five years. But we played some shows with U2 in stadiums, and it didn't take me long to realize that I would never want to reach that level of popularity. Because once you're that big, you can't go back. And stadiums suck to play in. Really, it wasn't fun at all. No connection with the audience, and you know everybody is looking at the TV screens. And the incredible amounts of money involved; it's so business-y."
- Ticket to one of the concerts (Paradiso, Amsterdam, June 8, 1993)
- Live dates of the reformed Velvets
Maria McKee covers "Amsterdam"
American singer Maria McKee covers Amsterdam during her show at Jazzhus Montmartre in Copenhagen, Denmark on June 25.
You Know More Than I Know on Medium Rare
The live version of You Know More Than I Know from the More Fragments and Heartbreak Hotel CDEPs is included on Medium Rare, the 10th Anniversary sampler of the Rykodisc label with a collection of alternate mixes and live versions.
Caged/Uncaged (A Rock / Experimental Homage To John Cage)
Produces the Caged/Uncaged (A Rock / Experimental Homage To John Cage) album, which features readings by John Cage and music by David Byrne, Debbie Harry, Arto Lindsay, Ars Hell and Mutt, Naked City, Chris Stein, Amy Denio, David Weinstein and Shelly Hirsch, Ann Magnuson and John Cale, Jello Biafra and Eugene Chadbourne, Lou Reed, Elliott Sharp, Joey Ramone. All John Cage excerpts are from John Cage's Silence and One Year from Monday, recorded at 222 Bowery in New York City, December 1968 and March 1969, courtesy of Giorno Poetry Systems
The album was commissioned by the Institute for Contemporary Art in New York, in conjunction with 'Il Suono rapido delle cose' an exhibition of, and tribute to, the work of John Cage, as part of the XLV Venice Biennale from June 9 - October 10, 1993.
Live MCMXCIII
The album Live MCMXCIII, recorded live at the Olympia in Paris, France (June 15, 16 & 17), captures the reformed Velvet Underground in concert. Also exists as a one CD edition, which is pretty superfluous.
"What that live album represents to me is the bare minimum of respect for the capabilities of the four of us. The bare minimum is shown in that. Anybody can play a song the way they did years ago, but to come up with something new? That's another kettle of fish altogether - and I was only interested in that."
Includes one new song, Coyote, written by Cale and Reed, and the cringe-worthy Velvet Nursery Rhyme that is the undisputed low-point in their career.
Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII
Filmed at l'Olympia, Paris, France (June 15, 16 & 17), the official live video Velvet Redux Live MCMXCII is a straight forward reproduction of the Velvets during the 1993 reunion tour. Sylvia Reed was the Executive Producer and she made sure that her husband was shown a lot in this one. Cale sings Femme Fatale and I'm Waiting For The Man. Maureen Tucker and Sterling Morrison get very few close-ups.
Re-released on DVD in 2006.
Music For A New Society reissue with "In The Library of Force"
The CD re-issue of Music For A New Society contains one extra track: the outtake In The Library of Force.
The Walkabouts cover "Buffalo Ballet"
American folkrock group The Walkabouts cover Buffalo Ballet on their Satisfied Mind album.
October 1993 - Mal Pope Show, Wales
Is a guest on the show by Welsh musician and composer Mal Pope, who flew out to New York to interview him at The Rockerfeller Centre. Contains live footage from Leaving It Up to You Fear from the Fragments of a Rainy Season video (shown in B&:W for some reason), and Autobiography and Heartbreak Hotel from the 1984 Rockpalast show at the Grugahalle in Essen, Germany on October 14, 1984 .
23 Solo Pieces For La Naissance De L'Amour
Soundtrack for 23 Solo Pieces For La Naissance De L'Amour, a movie by Philippe Garrel.
Cale wrote a short text for the album: Letting the piano breathe ....
From "Marble Index"... to "Desert Shore"... to "Cicatrix Interieure"... to Japan-Australia... 1993... Halt in Cannes... R&R... Food poisoned... Let the eyes breathe Matisse's Mediterranean Light... Paris during the Elections... Drama of well-disguised motives... (Is this the beginning of war?)... Police identity checks... Straight to Mag... letting the piano breathe... "Do you know Philippe?", "Oh yes. Nico introduced us in New York '68, but I don't know him. It's just that I have seem to have "not-known-him" for a very long time!"
They would team up for Le Vent de la Nuit (1999) and Un été brûlant (2011).
Chance Operation
Release of the 2CD Chance Operation, a tribute to avant-garde composer John Cage. Cale contributed In Memoriam John Cage - Call Waiting, seven short pieces with the sound of a telephone trying to establish a connection.