The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale

by Eric Clapton

Overview

In a sense, nearly every album Eric Clapton recorded after 1970 has been a tribute to J.J. Cale. On that first solo album, Clapton cut a cover of Cale's "After Midnight" and while he was under the spell of Delaney Bramlett for that album, soon enough Slowhand began drifting toward the laconic shuffle that was Cale's stock in trade. Clapton never hesitated to credit Cale, dropping his name in interviews, turning "Cocaine" into a modern standard, even going so far as to record an entire duet album with the Oklahoma troubadour called The Road to Escondido in 2006. In other words, E.C. owed J.J. little but after Cale passed at the age of 74, the guitarist decided to pay a full-scale tribute in the form of the 2014 LP The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale. Working with most of his regular band, Clapton also invited a host of friends who share a soft spot for Cale, including Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, and the Oklahoma-based singer Don White, whose vocals are within the range of the departed Cale. All of these musicians don't distract from E.C.'s version of J.J.: everybody slides into an exceedingly laid-back, pristine roots groove, one that barely rises above a steady simmer -- only "I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)" boogies, but "Cajun Moon" skips along, too -- and one that's executed with the precision of old pros. Occasionally, a personal stylistic quirk stamps a track with a signature -- there's no mistaking Willie's idiosyncratic phrasing or Knopfler's Strat -- but otherwise, everybody is operating at the same relaxed pace, differences between the musicians disappearing alongside the distinctions between songs. It's all perfectly pleasant and a convincing testament to what Clapton learned from Cale, although its silvery monochromatic shuffles suggest J.J. was a little more one-dimensional than he actually was. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	07/29/2014
Label:	Surfdog Records
UPC:	0822685540844

Tracks

1. Call Me the Breeze
2. Rock and Roll Records
3. Someday
4. Lies
5. Sensitive Kind
6. Cajun Moon
7. Magnolia
8. I Got the Same Old Blues
9. Songbird
10. Since You Said Goodbye
11. I'll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)
12. The Old Man and Me
13. Train to Nowhere
14. Starbound
15. Don't Wait
16. Crying Eyes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eric Clapton   Primary Artist,Vocals,Dobro
J.J. Cale   Primary Artist
Jon Mayer   Primary Artist
Don White   Primary Artist,Featured Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Derek Trucks   Guitar,Featured Artist
Doyle Bramhall II   Guitar
David Lindley   Guitar
Michelle John   Vocals (Background)
John Mayer   Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Albert Lee   Guitar
Willie Nelson   Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Tom Petty   Vocals,Featured Artist
Mark Knopfler   Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist
Reggie Young   Guitar
Don Preston   Guitar
Sharon White   Vocals (Background)
Simon Climie   Vocals (Background)
Christine Lakeland   Guitar,Vocals,Featured Artist,Vocals (Background)
Jimmy Markham   Harmonica
Mickey Raphael   Harmonica

Technical Credits

Ray Price   Composer
Buddy Cannon   Additional Production
Rusty Gabbard   Composer
Christine Lakeland   Composer
J.J. Cale   Composer
Walt Richmond   Composer