Posts Tagged J.J. Cale
Archive
June 5, 2018 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 402
The Velvet Underground, VU (1985) I know I’m not alone in thinking that this is the best Velvet Underground album – and yes I know it’s a compilation; posthumous even – one that was responsible for one of the first waves of re-appreciation, or even appreciation. But I bought this pre-internet, when, as a Lou […]Archive
January 4, 2017 by Simon Sweetman
John Cale: Leading From The Fringe
I was a fan of Lou Reed first; then The Velvet Underground and then John Cale. Truth be told – and I don’t mind admitting it a) I was young b) there was no internet then – for a while I thought John Cale and J.J. Cale was the same person. I was 12 years […]Archive
November 12, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Eric Clapton: Live In San Diego (with Special Guest J.J. Cale)
Eric Clapton Live In San Diego (with Special Guest J.J. Cale) Reprise He’d be wise – with the recent retirement news – to leave this as his final offering. For it never really got better for EC than this. I saw one of the shows on this same tour and, having seen him previously at […]Archive
May 27, 2016 by Simon Sweetman
Eric Clapton: I Still Do
Eric Clapton I Still Do Bushbranch/Surfdog Served up with what has become a trademark nod to coasting – I’d call it a mix of nonchalance and lethargy but to use the word ‘mix’ implies actual work – the biggest surprise on this album is that the title doesn’t have a question mark. The Armani Bluesman […]Archive
April 13, 2015 by Simon Sweetman
The Vinyl Countdown # 912
J.J. Cale, Naturally (1972) My heart sank a little when I put this on the turntable and saw it wobble, the needle coughed and jumped and didn’t like being where it was at all. And that was a bit sad. You see I don’t think I’d ever heard J.J. Cale’s debut album all the way […]Archive
August 6, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
V/A: Country Funk Volume II – 1967-1974
Various Artists: Country Funk Volume II – 1967-1974 Light In The Attic The first volume – one of Light In The Attic’s masterstrokes in the compiling/reissuing game – was the introduction of a genre that might have seemed to some like a Buzzfeed–styled click-bait headline; a fake genre you just had to hear – even […]Archive
July 31, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
Eric Clapton & Friends: The Breeze – An Appreciation of JJ Cale
Eric Clapton & Friends The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale Bushbranch/Surfdog Look, I was sad when I heard the news about JJ Cale – I loved that dude’s music, and of course I still can (and still do). And in a sense I got to JJ through Clapton, absolutely. And I always liked the […]Archive
July 13, 2014 by Simon Sweetman
Lee Fields & The Expressions: Emma Jean
Lee Fields & The Expressions Emma Jean Truth & Soul Records I tend to not tolerate all this retro-hopeful faux-soul shtick. I just can’t get on the train like others – that Charles Bradley goon, for instance; does my head in. White guilt goes a long way toward people feeling there’s some soul when all […]Archive
July 27, 2013 by Simon Sweetman
R.I.P. JJ Cale
I’m up late, home from playing DJ at a wedding. It was a good night – and then I get home to a coughing toddler, sleep-deprived wife and the notion of just a few hours sleep myself. But I hear that JJ Cale has died. So I have to first talk about that. I loved […]Archive
March 23, 2013 by Simon Sweetman
Eric Clapton: Old Sock
Eric Clapton Old Sock Universal You almost have to see Eric Clapton’s solo career as a prolonged exercise in self-sabotage – he had it there, on a plate and slowly, surely, he drifted toward the middle of the road and though there have been some peaks – particularly live and, interestingly at the start and […]Archive
April 10, 2012 by Simon Sweetman