J.J. Cale - Guitar Man FLAC

BASICS: J.J. Cale was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, on December 5, 1938. I could go on all day trying to find people J.J. Cale has not influenced would be much easier then trying to name those he has. but it would be safe to begin with Mark Knopfler of Dire Straights, Eric Clapton and Neil Young. J.J. Cale shuns the spotlight and seems to have made a concerted effort to remain a cult figure for more the forty years. His music may best be described as the “Tulsa Sound” ... which is a mix of Country, Blues, and Rockabilly. He’s been working on variations of this theme since day one, he manages to pick up and add something fresh with each outing. The guitar work of J.J. Cale is tight, smooth and most importantly, very clean.

His music is very warm, like a summer night with the sounds of crickets and fireflies filling the air. His groove is infectious to say the least, very casual and easy to dig. You will find nothing pretentious or overbearing, just some of the smoothest, cleanest, thoughtful, toe tapping music you will ever hear.

J.J. Cale is one of the most understated and prolific guitarist of our day ... anyone who has ever picked up a guitar knows this man and his work, even though he’s chosen to remain in the background of the music scene for his entire career.

J.J. Cale’s penchant is for music and for music only, his playing is clean and smooth, in a style, and with an ability that most would give their eye teeth for ... and J.J. makes it all sound so effortless and easy.

I would venture to say that “Guitar Man” is the very best body of work that he has compiled since “Naturally,” his first album ... this is as fine a release as you are ever going to hear, and a must have for any fan. If you are just discovering him, and I would have to ask, “Where have you been all these years?” this is a perfect place to begin. There is no filler here, all of the songs are entirely different then anything he has done in the past ... though J.J.’s policy is not to just build on what works, but what feels good and is fun to play. If the pleasure of his playing is anything near equal to the pleasure I get from listening, then J.J. Cale must be one very pleasant man to be around. This is a masterful outing, please do not pass it by.

I was going to wind this up with something clever, regarding one of his songs, but as I sit here and listen to them in my head, each is as good as the last ... so how about I just say, “Do yourself a favor and go out and buy this album right away, you’ll be glad you did.”

Review by Jenell Kesler