I have much respect for Cale and his eccentricities. I think he made a perfect foil (or compliment depending on how you look at it) to Reed’s raw/untrained genius. I think the reason I’m not as enthused at the Lang version is because I get the feeling (although not being very familiar with her work I could be totally off base here) that she could never have written a song of this caliber. And it is not very often that I am moved greatly by an artist (Lady Day being a notable exception) that subsists off the brilliance of others.
The best ditty Reed ever did IMHO was Rock And Roll
Cale added some gravitas to the VU. He was older than the others, was English and had some classical training. Did he not? Throw in Nico and what an amazing scene that was. Lots of drugs of course but they produced! Unlike what you have today. What are the 20-30 year old artists of today producing that is listenable?
I saw Lou Reed live a few months after VU split up. I can’t say it was memorable
Of course music is subjective, but I think your feeling let you down on this one. Lang is one of the best female singer/songwriters out there.
The album Ingenue is her Tour de Force, though my favourite song, "If I Were You ( stunning work on the harp)" would come from the disappointing album "All You Can Eat".
As mentioned earlier, her best duet, "Crying" can be found on the magnificently underrated posthumous album " King of Hearts" by the incredible Roy Orbison.
Keep smiling,
Philip