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| Guitar Man | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 25, 1996 | |||
| Genre | Blues, Americana, Tulsa Sound | |||
| Length | 38:13 | |||
| Label | – CD: Delabel (promo edition: DE 3687)/Virgin (7243 8 41480 2 7) (1996) / Virgin (CDVIR 48) (2011); [1] – Digital Download: Virgin / Parlophone (#0724384148058) [2] | |||
| J. J. Cale chronology | ||||
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Guitar Man is the twelfth studio album by American musician J. J. Cale, released on June 25, 1996 by Virgin Records.
After taking a six-year break from the music business, Cale recorded four albums in the same amount of time in the early 90s. Ironically, in an era of grunge and the MTV Unplugged trends, Cale became immersed in electronics and synthesizers. “I did the unplugged, live kind of thing in the ‘70’s and the ‘80’s,” he told one interviewer. “I’ve gone to the other direction now that all that’s become popular. Been there done that! They didn’t call it unplugged in those days but that is what it was…There is a fascination about electronics…It is an art form in itself.” [3]
After Guitar Man, Cale would not release another album for eight years.[ relevant? ]
Produced by Cale, Guitar Man differs from the albums he made in the seventies and early eighties in that while those records featured numerous top-shelf session players, Cale provided the instrumentation on Guitar Man himself, augmented by wife Christine Lakeland on guitar and background vocals and drummer James Cruce on the opener “Death in the Wilderness.” In his AllMusic review of the LP, Thom Owens writes, “Although he has recorded Guitar Man as a one-man band effort, it sounds remarkably relaxed and laid-back, like it was made with a seasoned bar band.” In assessing the album, rock writer Brian Wise of Rhythm Magazine commented, “‘Lowdown’ is typical Cale shuffle, ‘Days Go By’ gives a jazzy feel to a song about smoking a certain substance while the traditional ‘Old Blue’ reprises a song that many might first have heard with The Byrds version during the Gram Parsons era.” [4] The traditional song “Old Blue” long fascinated Cale, who reflected, “I have heard that song all my life, it’s an old folk song. I didn’t get quite the way the original went. I’ve changed some of the lyrics to fit my style. I like the song. I’m a big dog lover and animal lover. I have heard the song off and on in my subconscious for years.” [5] On the ecologically minded “Wilderness,” Cale deems the planet “a hopeless case, I guess,” and surmises “We'll mow it down, we'll rape the ground 'til there's nothing left to abuse.”[ relevant? ]
Thom Owens of AllMusic gave the album an average review and said “there's a handful of very good songs, but there's nothing on the level of his previous classics. It's just another pleasant J.J. Cale album, nothing more but nothing less, either.” [6]
All songs written by J. J. Cale, except where indicated.
Christa Päffgen, known by her stage name Nico, was a German singer, songwriter, actress, and model. Reviewer Richard Goldstein described her as "half goddess, half icicle" and wrote that her distinctive voice "sounds something like a cello getting up in the morning."
John Weldon "J. J." Cale was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings, and Eric Clapton, who described him as one of the most important artists in rock history. He is one of the originators of the Tulsa sound, a loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz.
Live MCMXCIII is a live album by the American rock band the Velvet Underground, released in 1993 by Sire Records. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/cassette formats on October 26, 1993. In 2006, a DVD version of the concert was released as Velvet Redux Live MCMXCIII by Warner Music Vision and Rhino Home Video.
Naturally is the debut studio album by J. J. Cale, released on October 25, 1971.
"After Midnight" is a rock song by J. J. Cale, first released in 1966. Eric Clapton later covered it for his eponymous album, released in 1970. Clapton's rendition became a success, prompting Cale to re-record the song for his own 1971 album Naturally. In 1987, Clapton later re-recorded the song for a Michelob beer commercial and then released the re-recording as a single. "After Midnight" has been considered one of Clapton's signature songs throughout his career. Other artists covered the song in later years.
Troubadour is the fourth studio album by J. J. Cale, released in September 1976.
HoboSapiens is a solo studio album by John Cale, his first album since 1996's Walking on Locusts. HoboSapiens was released by EMI in October 2003, and was preceded by the EP 5 Tracks in May 2003. A single was released for "Things" shortly after the album's release. Cale co-produced the album with Nick Franglen of Lemon Jelly, and Brian Eno provided the drum loop for the song "Bicycle". The album was met with widespread critical acclaim.
The Road to Escondido is a collaborative studio album by J. J. Cale and Eric Clapton. It was released on 7 November 2006. Contained on this album are the final recordings of keyboardist Billy Preston. The album is jointly dedicated to Preston and Brian Roylance.
5 is the fifth studio album by J. J. Cale, released in August 1979.
Grasshopper is the seventh studio album by J. J. Cale, released in March 1982.
Roll On is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter J. J. Cale, released on February 24, 2009, through Rounder Records. All songs were written by Cale; they include "Who Knew", "Former Me", and "Roll On", the last of which is a collaboration with Eric Clapton. Some tracks were recorded at sessions at David Teegarden's studio, north of Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2003.
To Tulsa and Back is the thirteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter J. J. Cale, released on June 8, 2004.
Shades is the sixth studio album by J. J. Cale, released in February 1981.
#8 is the eighth studio album by American musician J. J. Cale, released in 1983.
Travel-Log is the ninth studio album by J. J. Cale. It was released in 1989.
Closer to You is the eleventh studio album by American singer-songwriter J. J. Cale, released on August 23, 1994 through the independent French label Delabel and distributed by Virgin Records.
Number 10 is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter J. J. Cale, released on November 10, 1992.
Christine Lakeland is an American musician/songwriter. She was married to the late guitarist/songwriter J.J. Cale. She played on many of his albums and was a member of his band. She also has recorded several albums under her own name.
Live in San Diego is the thirteenth live album by British rock musician Eric Clapton. It was released through Reprise Records as a live album on 30 September 2016 and as a 2-hour live DVD on 10 March 2017.
Stay Around is the 15th and final studio album by songwriter, guitarist and singer J. J. Cale, and his first and only posthumous album so far, released on April 26, 2019 by Because Music.
