frank a
Tele-Meister
Huge JJ Cale fan. I his songs are sub 3 minutes and when they end you were wishing they were longer! RIP
Any fans of JJ Cale? I certainly am!
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421JAM
Tele-Afflicted
So glad I got to see him in concert. Wish I'd seen him more than once. I remember he came out and started the show real mellow by himself, and brought out one additional band member for each song until the full band of seven or eight people were onstage. I thought that was a really effective way to ramp up the cooking-ness of the performance.
rand z
Friend of Leo's
I saw Cale twice.
Both times in MNLPS, MN.
The first time was at the Guthrie Theater circa 89/90.
It was my birthday and my wife bought me a ticket (she didnt want to go?!).
There were a few single seats in the 1st row right in front of the band, and I got one!
I saw the entire show only 15-20 ft from Cale.
He had Steve Douglas on sax, Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Christine Lakeland (his wife) on guitar, Bill Raffensberger on bass and Jimmy Karstein on drums.
I later found a recording of that specific show, and have it in cd collection of live Cale boots I found on line years ago.
2nd time was at an outdoor show by one of the lakes in downtown MNLPS, circa 97/98
Arlo Guthrie was there along with a few other acts.
I took along a buddy and my 9 year old daughter.
He wasnt quite as good as the night at the Guthrie; but it was still wonderful!!
JJ Cale truly was a unique talent and almost ground zero for what we now call "Americana."
imo.
Both times in MNLPS, MN.
The first time was at the Guthrie Theater circa 89/90.
It was my birthday and my wife bought me a ticket (she didnt want to go?!).
There were a few single seats in the 1st row right in front of the band, and I got one!
I saw the entire show only 15-20 ft from Cale.
He had Steve Douglas on sax, Spooner Oldham on keyboards, Christine Lakeland (his wife) on guitar, Bill Raffensberger on bass and Jimmy Karstein on drums.
I later found a recording of that specific show, and have it in cd collection of live Cale boots I found on line years ago.
2nd time was at an outdoor show by one of the lakes in downtown MNLPS, circa 97/98
Arlo Guthrie was there along with a few other acts.
I took along a buddy and my 9 year old daughter.
He wasnt quite as good as the night at the Guthrie; but it was still wonderful!!
JJ Cale truly was a unique talent and almost ground zero for what we now call "Americana."
imo.
421JAM
Tele-Afflicted
Oh man, that was right around the time I saw him. The people in the band were all either unknown to me, or I couldn't make out their names when JJ introduced them. I'd be very excited to know that I've seen Spooner Oldham in person, even unknowingly.
I knew the JJ Cale version of "Call Me the Breeze" when my brother gave me the Skynyrd "One More From the Road" lp. I thought they butchered it. Lost the whole vibe.
I thought Dire Straits did JJ Cale pretty good when they were starting out.
Alex W
Friend of Leo's
This one is one of my favorites. His guitar playing is so cool. The song sounds like it should be in the opening title sequence of a great, great movie.
Whenever I hear covers of "Call Me the Breeze" I am struck at how un-breezy they sound compared to the original JJ Cale recording. It's like they didn't get the point of the song at all.
I like the way JJ Cale's recordings sound almost like demos. They capture so much intimacy, spontaneity, and the little sonic idiosyncrasies of the moment. You don't have to be perfect to be perfect.
Ex-riverman
Tele-Afflicted
Big fan. A big deal in tulsa obviously. Don’t let his final album slip by you - Roll On is classic Cale.
Been a big fan like forever. One of a kind.
I think the first time I heard him was '76 plus or minus. I had a date with a woman who wasn't ready when I arrived and she had JJ Cale on the stereo. His vocals and guitar styling were like a country boy sittin under a cotton wood tree, but the timekeeping was like a rolex - absolute precision. I later learned that he recorded some of his early stuff using a drum machine. Contrast explained.
Great writer and player.
Great writer and player.
rand z
Friend of Leo's
To a great degree, they were "demo's."
Cale admitted as much.
Some of his early recordings were actually done entirely with a Shure SM57, from his home studio.
Cale knew that he wasn't a BIG STAR and going to sell lots of records.
He also knew that a lot of other artist's, who were BIG STARS and sold lots of records, were looking for material.
It was them, that he was interested in.
Producers/Artists want to hear unadulterated demos (simple renditions) of songs, as they can add their own spin to the arrangements and production.
(Publishers, too.)
Cale was one of those songwriters that they looked to for those simple songs.
He said that when he approached a publisher, he would generally offer them 50% of the royalties on any of his songs that they wanted.
It sounds extremely liberal; but, his reasoning was that, with their 50%, they would be more apt to pitch/push those songs.
(He also had made out pretty well with previously published/recorded songs, with similar deals.)
As he really didn't care much for touring... he was ok with it.
What he really did like was, periodically, going to his mailbox and pulling out a nice royalty check.
That was JJ Cale.
imo.
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When I first heard Lynyrd Skynyrd's version of Call Me The Breeze it was perfect for the 13 year old me-loud electric guitars, lyric about freedom and it swung. I wasn't mature enough to appreciate the original. One hallmark of a good song is that it can be interpreted different ways and still work.
KeithDavies 100
Tele-Holic
rand z
Friend of Leo's
There is one more (so far).
Posthumously released by his wife (and band-member), Christine Lakeland Cale.
Stay Around is a collection of some of Cale's recorded, unreleased songs that Christine put together a few years ago.
Any Cale fan would surely enjoy it!
I believe it's available on his website; or just do a search on the title/name and you'll find it!
imo.
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Silent Otto
Tele-Holic
big fan too
Massive fan over here. Most of his albums are fantastic, but his first two stand out for sheer brilliance. I really like the album he did with Clapton as well, and for a couple of reasons. It's all around excellent, and it shows that he was a hell of a lot better musician than Clapton. Better guitar player, better singer, better song writer. J Cale oozes soul. Clapton oozes something, not sure what it is?
AndrewG
Friend of Leo's
Yes, big fan. There's one very short track (1:36) on the 'Grasshopper' album (called 'Grasshopper'), featuring beautifully melodic steel-pan drums played by the amazing Robert Greenidge. It's one of those tunes that you don't want to stop.
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Wonderful song. Covered it in a band I was in back in the early Noughties.
