J.J. Cale - Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings

An interesting retrospective...

This is a pretty cool disc for the most part. It has that casual, laid back J.J. Cale vibe to it and he even does a couple of covers! It isn't in the realm of his best work, but this isn't "Hey, we never released that one. Let's put it with some other castoffs and make some easy money" type stuff either. Basically it's made up of songs that just didn't fit the ones on the record being made at the time. Sort of an amalgam of Album Mutts.

"Rewind" is a good title. Be sure and sample the tunes here on Amazon to get a feel for the disc overall so you're not disappointed when you compare it to Mr. Cale's other work. Some of it is flat different... but that don't mean it ain't good. May 9, 2008

Bill's Fifty Words or Less

Good stuff! Cale fans will love it and be grateful. Recorded between 1973 and 1983. "Bluebird" is a real gem, but at just eighty-three seconds left me in shock, gasping for more. Too skimpy on the music at thirty-seven minutes overall. Environmentally wasteful paper slipcase redundantly replicates jewel case inserts. January 17, 2008

Cale Gold

Some old Cale at his best,, J J has always put out the best music, and this is no different,, Smooth November 14, 2007

His CDs are stuck in my player

JJ Cale is my all time favorite artist, so to find a treasure like this is almost unreal. What a great find! I do hope there is more of his music hidden elsewhere. Keep looking guys!

On a side note: the DVD recorded in 1979 has a few bonus tracks on it indicating there should be enough material to be able to make a second DVD of these sessions as well. Keep it coming JJ - we love it!

October 28, 2007

Solid Cale Collection of Outtakes

This collection of JJ Cale spans over a period of twenty years, but as Cale's style and sounds have not changed very much over the years, the album comes out as a pretty consistent collection. Most tracks are easily as good as many of the songs that were originally released on his regular albums. On the other hand a lot of them do sound like alternate versions of well-known Cale songs.

A good handful of them do stand out on their own. First track that really stirred my attension was Cale's version of Clapton's "Golden Ring". As I never was a big fan of Clapton's I did not know the song beforehand; but Cale's version is really very strong.

Two songs were written by Cale's musical partner for many years, Christine Lakeland. They're both good, though the first "Seven Day Woman" does sound a little like it was abandoned at an unfinished stage.

"Ooh La La" which co-written with Cale, has a great horn arrangement and is definitely one of the stand-outs.

Other favourites are the melodic closing track "It's Good to Be in Austin" and the country waltz "My Baby and Me" - though quite reminiscent of "Rose in the Garden" from "Closer to You".

The album is sure to please any fan of Cale, and though it probably would not be the logical album to start a Cale presention, I don't think it would scare any potential new fans away. October 13, 2007

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