JJ Cale: The man who turned simplicity into an art form?

Call Me the Breeze, I just keep rollin' along
Well, they say Call Me the Breeze, and I guess I just keep driftin' down the highway
Got no one by my side, and I ain't carryin' any heavy baggage...

A man is his own law........

What do you guys think?

I suspect this post will fade into obscurity pretty quickly since it doesn't really fit within the realm of metal or country music.

Come on now. It’s not all doom and gloom.

Cale is alright... though I've mostly just been spinning that anthology of his...

JJ Cale was just such a one-of-a-kind musician, wasn't he? He wasn't some flashy guy trying to grab attention, but instead, there was this incredible subtlety to everything he did. He wasn't really a showman who would go on these massive, over-the-top solo marathons, right? Even when he did play, it was so smooth and woven into the song that you might not even realize just how masterfully he was handling that guitar. I’ve always had such a soft spot for him, especially since so many legends have covered his work.
I mean, look at how Eric Clapton took on "After Midnight" and "Cocaine," or how Lynyrd Skynyrd played "Call Me the Breeze." So many heavy hitters like Mark Knopfler and Neil Young have given him props because he shaped their sound more than people realize.

When you consider how many of his tracks are absolute classics that everyone knows—even if they have no clue they're listening to an original—it makes me think he’s actually pretty underrated, don't you think?

Jesse Kern83 said:Look, let's be real—this post is gonna get buried in the archives pretty fast because it doesn't even belong in the metal scene, let alone some cheesy country track.

🤣
Man, that whole defeatist attitude of yours... seriously?

Off-topic.
One of my absolute favorite songwriters—just a total one-of-a-kind legend. He proved ages ago that he was way ahead of his time. My first real encounter with his stuff was hearing "Sensitive Kind" about 15 years back, and once I stumbled upon "petica," I was hooked. Been following everything he does ever since.

A whole bunch of personal little stars:
#5 *****

So, let's lay this out chronologically...
Naturally ***** Really
Naturally ***** Really (mo Jo)****1/2
Alright, let's talk about Cajun Moon.
Troubadour ***** Shades
Shades (Cloudy day)****
Grasshopper (You Keep Me Hangin' On)****
#8 ***
Travel log (San Diego)****
Number ten (Passion)****1/2
Closer to You ****
Guitar Man (If I Had a Rocket)***1/2
Tulsa and Back *****
The Road to Escondido ****

(Now, just a heads-up—putting these in parentheses doesn't mean they're my absolute favorites from the album... because let’s be real, there are plenty of other tracks that hit way harder.)
Man, when JJ Cale starts cooking, there’s just zero chance of being disappointed. Seriously. 🙂

Jesse Kern83 said:your post is probably going to get buried pretty fast since it doesn't really fit into metal or country music.

Man, it's not like everyone in America has lost their minds!
It can't be true that everybody is just listening to country or Severina????!!
I guess maybe they're just way louder than the people listening to JJ Cale or the blues!!!

wearytrucker20 said:Honestly, I think they’re just louder than the people listening to JJ Cale or the blues!

I love the blues, but for some reason, Cale just doesn't do it for me. He's a bit too boring for my taste.🤷 😳

It’s alright with me, though I haven't spent nearly enough time listening to it to give you a real, deep-dive analysis.

I’ve got five or six of his albums sitting around, but I just haven't found the right moment to really sit down and dive into them properly... 😁

There’s just way too much great music out there and not enough time to get through it all. 🙂

JJ Cale is really the only musician where his record label is constantly begging him to drop some new material, and don't even get me started on how many cities are practically pleading for him to come play a show. His music is so incredibly soothing that I've heard people in the US actually recommend it to their patients for calming down..
So talented, yet so wonderfully lazy..
(it's all right there on the live DVD from The Bottom Line)

P.S. The Unreleased Recordings just came out

Grace Carter80 said:Sensitive Kind

Such a great track 🙂
My spouse and I have built up quite the collection over the years
We hold JJ Cale in such high regard... he’s just so subtle and effortless...

Peter Kim said:JJ Cale—I mean, he’s basically the only musician out there where the record label actually begs him to drop some new tracks, and don't even get me started on the gigs... everywhere wants him to show up and play. His sound is so chill, I wouldn't be surprised if some therapists in the States prescribed his records to their patients just to calm them down..
He’s just so damn good, yet so incredibly lazy..
(you can see exactly what I mean on the live DVD from The Bottom Line)

P.S. The Unreleased Recordings just dropped

Have you checked this out yet: J.J. Cale - Closer to You **** Guitar Man (If I Had a Rocket) *** 1/2 to Tulsa and Back ***** The Road to Escondido **** (2006)?

I was watching one of his older DVDs recently.

He breaks down exactly how he set up his guitar and then goes through about ten different tracks.

The guy is a damn good musician.

Daniel Wells4 said:

JJ Cale is one of those truly special musicians. He’s not simple at all; he's just incredibly subtle. He isn't some flashy showman. He doesn't go on these massive solo marathons. If he plays a solo, it's so smooth and understated that you don't even realize how killer his guitar work actually is. I think he's great. So many legendary artists have covered his stuff.
Eric Clapton played "After Midnight" and "Cocaine," Lynyrd Skynyrd did "Call Me the Breeze," and plenty of others, like Mark Knopfler and Neil Young, give him props because he had such a huge impact on their careers.

Considering how many of his tracks are hits that people don't even realize were originally his, I'd say he's pretty underrated.

🙂 ...
and you've got that cool Antonov picture in your avatar 😁

Grace Carter80 said:Have you seen: JJ Cale - Tulsa and Back : on tour with JJ Cale(2006)?

I haven't caught that one yet. I have the set with Leon Russell in New York City, but you really can't overlook his performance at Eric Clapton's Crossroads Festival..

cosmichawk5 said:🙂 ...
I think you've got a pretty cool Antonov picture set as your avatar 😁

🙂

Actually, I'm pretty sure that avatar is John Lee Hooker. It looks like it's from one of his albums, though I can't quite recall which one.

JJ Cale has passed away 😢

man, there goes another icon

I have to admit, I never really sat down to give his catalog a serious listen—I don't know, maybe it just didn't click for me at first... and it stayed that way until maybe two or three years ago. Then, suddenly, the man just blew me away. He was such a simple, singular individual, much like the music he made (which, frankly, is criminally underrated).

So many afternoons have drifted by with his music playing in the background... thanks, Cale. RIP 😢

RIP. I think I actually sat through one of his best-of collections just a few days before he passed away. It’s a little heavy thinking about how tracks like Call Me the Breeze and Cocaine became immortalized through versions by Lynyrd Skynyrd and Eric Clapton, though I have to admit, those covers actually hit harder for me than the originals. His songwriting has such a laid-back vibe, so it makes total sense why someone like Mark Knopfler would look up to him. I wouldn’t call myself a massive blues-rock head—unless we're talking about Rory Gallagher's entire discography—and Cale didn't exactly blow me away right off the bat, but looking back, I'd say the guy is definitely underrated.

Jack Morgan2 said:RIP. Pretty sure I spun one of his best-of collections just a few days before he passed. It’s a bit heavy thinking about how "Call Me the Breeze" and those Skynyrd or Clapton tracks basically made him immortal, though honestly? His versions hit harder than the originals. The songs have this super laid-back vibe, so it makes sense why Knopfler looks up to him. I wouldn't say I'm a huge blues-rock guy (aside from the entire Rory Gall discography), and Cale never really grabbed me but you can't deny he's underrated.

Way too underrated...
Check out one of the best instrumentals ever from the Shades album (which, by the way, the rock encyclopedia gave Gall a measly two stars): Cloudy day

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1VX3e0V4O4