Recorded quickly between John Cale producing Patti Smith's Horses and his going out on an Italian tour, Helen of Troy became Cale's third and final studio album for Island Records - This re-issue faithfully replicates the original 1975 Island Records UK release and is pressed onto high quality 180g vinyl.

Helen Of Troy is a raw, fascinating listen. The title track with its horns and spoken word is one of Cale's best: after the sweet bubblegum of "China Sea", the album gets increasingly stripped down – the acoustic guitar and piano of "Cable Hogue" and the punkish cover of The Modern Lovers' "Pablo Picasso" have long been favourites on the album. "Leaving It All Up To You" – in which Cale becomes increasingly disturbed – garnered controversy at the time and was actually removed from later pressings of the album because of its references to the Manson murders. Cale never lost his ability to shock. Taking its title from the opening line of Johnny Cash's "I Walk The Line", "I Keep A Close Watch", a track Cale would record again several years later, with its Robert Kirby-arranged strings and horns, is the closest Cale has veered toward a power ballad.

It is a work of great beauty among all the jagged edges of Helen Of Troy.

Disc 1

Track name

Artist

1.My Maria

John Cale

2.Helen of Troy

John Cale

3.China Sea

John Cale

4.Engine

John Cale

5.Save Us

John Cale

6.Cable Hogue

John Cale

7.I Keep a Close Watch

John Cale

8.Pablo Picasso

John Cale

9.Leaving It Up to You

John Cale

10.Baby, What You Want Me to Do

John Cale

11.Sudden Death

John Cale

Delivery charges

• Orders under £20 - £2.99 postage fee
• Orders £20 and over - FREE*
• Click & Collect - FREE**
• Express Delivery - £5.99

*Selected items are only available for shipping via a dedicated delivery service for a charge.
**Selected items are only available for delivery using Click & Collect to an hmv or FOPP store of your choice.

For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.

When will my order arrive?

• We aim to dispatch orders within 24 hours* 
• Standard delivery is a Royal Mail Tracked 48® service and usually arrives within 2-5 working days, including Saturdays. 
• Express delivery is either a Royal Mail Tracked 24® or DPD service, for delivery within two working days (if ordered by 2pm, Monday to Friday - excluding public holidays).
• We’ll aim to dispatch pre-orders so that you receive them on the release date.

*Items must be in stock to be dispatched within these timeframes. Where an item is 'Back in stock soon', we'll aim to receive more stock within a week and will dispatch orders once the stock has arrived.

For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.

Will you tell me when my order is on its way?

• We’ll send you a dispatch email when your items are on their way, but you can also check the status of your order in your account.
• We don’t always ship everything together so check your dispatch email for more details - we’ll send you a dispatch email per parcel.
• If your order contains items that are out of stock, we’ll ship the in-stock items as soon as we can and will dispatch the out-of-stock items as soon as we’ve received more stock.

For more information, please visit the Delivery section of our Help Centre.

Trusted Suppliers

Products labelled '*item fulfilled by Exertis on behalf of hmv' will be supplied to you directly by Exertis via their approved couriers. When you place an order for an item that is fulfilled by Exertis, your details shall be forwarded to them so that they can fulfil the order, and to their courier so that they can deliver the item.

Returns

• We're happy to accept returns for unwanted items provided that they're returned within 14 days of receipt; unopened, unused and in perfect condition.
• Some exclusions apply, please visit the Returns section of our Help Centre for more details.