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By
Published: Mar 5, 2009
Category: Country [4]
Until the 20th Century, no one asked artists to “grow” or “change”. A painter, musician or writer emerged with a style, and if it was deemed commercially acceptable, that style persisted. Dickens, for example, might write a great book or, on occasion, a lesser one, but at no time did critics or his public ask why he didn't try telling a story another way.
Roll On [5] is J.J. Cale's 16th collection of songs. If you were to play it before or after his first release --- Naturally [6], recorded in 1972 --- you would not be able to tell which came first, or if, perhaps, this was a two-CD set. That's because Cale has had no career development, no growth, no revelation-on-the-road-to-Damascus. He was great at the start, he's great now, and if you want to split the hair, you could say he's a little greater now, because on “Roll On” he plays most of the instruments and is, in fact, 70 years old.
And you could go on to say that some of the songs are about age and loss, but you'd have to be a music critic holding a lyric sheet to say that --- Cale goes to great trouble to mix the vocals down. You can grab a line here or there, but all you'll get for your troubles is a cliché. That's also deliberate.
J.J. Cale, you soon grasp, is all about sound and mood. And there it gets personal, because what you get out of this music has a lot to do with what you put in. On the most basic level, it's easy listening --- pleasant melodies, a nice steady beat, a singer with an inoffensive voice. You hear a new song, it sounds old. That's why you can't remember the first time you heard “After Midnight” or “Cocaine” --- those songs were just always around.
Classic Cale Videos
Call Me the Breeze (with Eric Clapton) [7]
After Midnight [8]
Cocaine [9]
Cajun Moon [10]
Goin' Down (with Leon Russell) [11]
If you pay a little more attention, you start appreciating the subtleties of Cale's music. Calling it “Okie funk” or “country blues” doesn't quite nail it. That little stutter-shuffle in the drumming --- it's almost familiar, but in the way of a dream that runs away when you reach out to grab it. The way the bass guitar is pushed forward, so you really hear it. And how little Cale likes to solo on lead guitar --- it's like a Zen game, the way he doesn't play a single extra note. It sounds casual. It's completely pre-meditated.
Like Chopin, Cale plays so softly you have to lean in. But to listen at comfortable volume is to miss a lot of his greatness. Crank the volume higher, then higher again --- wait a minute, that's rock 'n roll. And there you see why Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler went to school on this guy; he's simply one of the American masters. He may look like George Bush's third cousin, but he's in the pantheon of Guitar Gods.
“Roll On” is a dozen songs, one of them left over from his underwhelming collaborative CD with Clapton. It's fun in the car, bouncy on the iPod, useful at the gym. It's also a secret that J.J. Cale wishes could remain secret --- if you crank the volume, it will wrench you out of your chair.
To buy “Roll On” from Amazon.com, click here. [5]
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