The American blues singer and guitarist JJ Cale is super relaxed. His music has long been regarded as the ideal music for a joint or a good glass of wine. His whispering vocal lines invariably move within a range of a few notes. The same goes for his economical guitar playing, no more than a few well placed licks about the shuffling rhythm of another quiet blues. Even the rare faster songs retain
… a modest character. Yet you can recognize the music of JJ Cale out of thousands and his laidback style was an important inspiration for famous colleagues such as Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, who made big hits from his songs After Midnight and Cocaine. Three years after his last studio album To Tulsa And Back, this excellent overview of his best work is published. Without any hit single or promotional fanfare it managed to reach first place in the Dutch album chart. Culture pessimists were thus belied. It turns out to be possible to reach a large audience with high-quality material, averse to all commerce. It is not without reason that Eric Clapton considers him his 'favorite person' on earth.more
