Sabotage/Live

Sabotage/Live is a live album by John Cale. It was recorded at CBGB, New York on 13–16 June 1979, and released by SPY Records in December 1979.

Sabotage/Live
Live album by John Cale
Released	December 20, 1979
Recorded	June 13–16, 1979
Venue	CBGB, New York City
Genre	Rock
Length	45:30
Label	SPY/I.R.S. (original release), A&M Canada (reissue), Diesel Motor Records (reissue)
Producer	John Cale
John Cale chronology
Guts (1977) Sabotage/Live (1979) Honi Soit (1981)
Alternative cover
Cover of the 1999 deluxe re-issue.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
Christgau's Record Guide	B
Rolling Stone	favourable
Trouser Press	unfavourable

Release

A studio version of "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" was released as a single in the US on 14 March 1980. The sleeve notes that on the B-Side the “vocal distortion (is) intended.”

It was later reissued on CD by A&M Records Canada, and reissued again in the UK by Diesel Motor Records. The Diesel Motor CD reissue contains four extra tracks. The first three are originally from the Animal Justice EP, while the fourth was the B-side of the "Mercenaries (Ready for War)" single (the A-side, which was an entirely different recording than the live album version, was not included as the master tape is lost). However, this was included on the download available on the ZE Records website from 2011.

Critical reception

NME said of the band, "What they lack in finesse they make up for with a remorseless drive that equally befits Cale's cold-blooded, gut-churning music of fear – but puts the weight on the gut-churning. In fact it's surprising that there isn't a song about a mass-murderer amongst them; instead, for the first side at least, Cale is in the grip of post-nuclear mental tremors, raving obsessively about espionage, atom bombs and the dogs of war."

Track listing

All tracks are written by John Cale, except where noted

Side A

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Mercenaries (Ready for War)"		7:33
2.	"Baby You Know"		3:52
3.	"Evidence"		3:28
4.	"Dr. Mudd"		3:42
5.	"Walkin' the Dog"	Rufus Thomas Jr.	4:06

Side B

No.	Title	Length
6.	"Captain Hook"	11:26
7.	"Only Time Will Tell"	2:37
8.	"Sabotage"	4:59
9.	"Chorale"	3:42
Total length:		45:30

Bonus tracks on 1999 reissue

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
10.	"Chicken Shit"		03:57
11.	"Memphis"	Chuck Berry	4:00
12.	"Hedda Gabler"		5:23
13.	"Rosegarden Funeral of Sores"		5:50

Bonus track on 2011 remastered download

No.	Title	Length
14.	"Mercenaries" (Studio Version)	4:21

Personnel

• John Cale - vocals, piano, guitar, fretless bass, viola
• Marc Aaron - lead guitar
• Joe Bidewell - keyboards, vocals
• Doug Bowne - drums, vocals
• Deerfrance - percussion, vocals
• George Scott - bass, vocals

Technical

• Jane Friedman - executive producer
• Charlie Martin - recording
• Warren Frank, John Cale - mixing
• John Vogel - art direction
• Hugh Brown - photography

Animal Justice EP

• John Cale - vocals
• Ritchie Flieger - guitar
• Jimmy Bain - bass
• Bruce Brody - Moog synthesizer
• Kevin Currie - drums
• Jane Friedman - backing vocals on "Chicken Shit"

"Rosegarden Funeral of Sores"

• John Cale - vocals, bass, Wurlitzer piano
• Michael Mason - rhythm/drum machine

"Mercenaries (Ready for War)" single version recorded at Plaza Sound, New York City

• John Cale - vocals, organ, guitar
• Joe Bidewell - Hammond organ, vocals
• Peter Muny - bass guitar, vocals
• Deerfrance - vocals
• Robert Medici - drums, vocals
• Sturgis Nikides - lead guitar Gibson Firebird