Cale's first record as a solo artist, released in 1970, Vintage Violence opens with one of his best sideways rockers, "Hello There," whose stilted, piano-driven rhythm would later become a characteristic of his work -- specifically "Fear Is a Man's Best Friend," "Graham Greene," etc. Other times he subverts country ("Charlemagne"), delivers near-perfect pop ("Adelaide") and even gets psychedelic ("Big White Cloud"). Clearly messing around with a variety of styles here, Vintage Violence points to the superb things to come (namely, Fear in 1974).