J.J. Cale: Anyway The Wind Blows (1970-93) 1997
sub-titled: The Anthology
Track list:
CD 1:
from NATURALLY:
01. Call Me The Breeze
02. Crazy Mama
03. Magnolia
04. After Midnight
from REALLY:
05. Lies
06. Changes
07. If You’re Ever In Oklahoma
Previously unreleased (Really Session):
08. Midnight In Memphis
from OKIE:
09. Cajun Moon
10. Rock And Roll Records
11. Anyway The Wind Blows
12. Crying
13. Everlovin’ Woman
14. I Got The Same Old Blues
Previously unreleased (Okie Session):
15. Woke Up This Morning
from TROUBADOUR:
16. Cocaine
17. The Woman That Got Away
18. Ride Me High
19. Hey Baby
Previously unreleased (Troubadour Session):
20. Durango
from 5:
21. I’ll Make Love To You Anytime
22. Don’t Cry Sister
23. Thirteen Days
Previously unreleased (5 Session):
24. Things Ain’t Simple
from 5:
25. Sensitive Kind
CD 2:
from SHADES:
01. Carry On
02. Runaround
03. Mama Don’t
from GRASSHOPPER:
04. City Girls
05. Devil In Disguise
06. You Keep Me Hangin’ On
07. Downtown L.A.
08. A Thing Going On
09. Don’t Wait
Previously unreleased (recorded live at the Belly Up Club, Solana, California in 1981):
10. Wish I Had Me A Dollar (Live)
from #8:
11. Money Talks
12. Hard Times
13. People Lie
14. Unemployment
15. Trouble In The City
Previously unreleased (recorded during the #8 sessions):
16. Santa Cruz
from TRAVEL-LOG:
17. Shanghaid
18. Change Your Mind
19. New Orleans
20. Humdinger
from Number 10:
21. Lonesome Train
22. Jailer
23. Artificial Paradise
from CLOSER TO YOU:
24. Long Way Home
25. Closer To You
Personnel:
J.J. Cale – Electric, Acoustic, Rhythm, Gut-String, Slide and Lead Guitar, Piano, Organ, Synthesizer, Bass, Drums, Vocals
Musicians:
Rhythm Guitar – Bill Boatman, Christine Lakeland, Harold Bradley, Jimmy Capps, Jimmy Johnson, John Christopher, Mac Gayden, Paul Davis;
Electric Guitar – Chuck Browning, Don Preston, Gordon Payne, Gordon Shryock, Grady Martin, Harold Bradley, James Burton, Reggie Young, Richard Thompson, Steve Gibson, Tommy Cogbill;
Slide Guitar – Mac Gayden;
Steel Guitar – Buddy Emmons, Lloyd Green, Weldon Myrick;
Dobro – Josh Graves, Walter Haynes;
Organ – Bobby Emmons, Christine Lakeland, David Briggs, Jim Keltner, Kossie Gardner, Spooner Oldham;
Piano – Barry Beckett, Bill Payne, Bill Purcell, Bob Wilson, Bobby Emmons, Bobby Woods, David Briggs, Glen D. Hardin, Pig Robbins, Jerry Smith, Jerry Whitehurst, John Galley, Tony Migliori;
Electric Piano – Barry Beckett, Beegie Cruzer, David Briggs, Pig Robbins, Larry Bell, Leon Russell;
Synthesizer – Mike Lawler;
Bass – Bill Raffenspeger, Billy Cox, Bob Moore, Bob Ray, Carl Radle, Carol Kaye, Charles Dungey, David Hood, Emory Gordy, Gary Gilmore, Joe Osborn, Michael Rhodes, Mike Leech, Nick Rather, Norbert Putnam, Tim Drummond, Tommy Cogbill;
Acoustic Bass – Larry Taylor, Joe Zinkan;
Drums – Ace Tone Rhythm Machine, Bill Boatman, Buddy Harmon, Chuck Browning, Farrell Morris, George Soule, Hal Blaine, Hayward Bishop, James Cruce, James Mitthauer, Jim Karstein, Jim Keltner, Karl Himmel, Ken Buttrey, Kenny Malone, Roger Hawkins, Russ Kunkel, Terry Perkins;
Vibraphone – Farrell Morris;
Congas – Farrell Morris, James Nichols, Jimmy Karstein, Robert “Tarp” Tarrant;
Steel Drums – Robert Greenidge;
Percussion – Farrell Morris, J.I. Allison, Jim Karstein, Jim Keltner, Karl Himmel;
Trumpet – Bob Phillips, Don Sheffield, George Tidwell, Steve Madaio;
Trombone – Bill Humble, Dennis Goode, George Bohanon, Terry Williams;
Saxophone – Billy Puett, Dennis Solee, Norm Ray;
Horn Arrangements – Al Capps, Bob Holmes, George Tidwell;
Fiddle – Bill Boatman, Buddy Spiker, Shorty Lavender, Vasser Clements;
Mandolin – Bill Kenner;
Harmonica – Charlie McCoy, Ed Colis, Terry McMillian;
Accordion – Garth Hudson;
Violin – Carl Gorodetzy, Doug Atwell, Marv Chantry, Roy Christensen, Shelly Kurland, Sid Page;
Viola – Marcy Dicterow-Vaj;
Cello – Nancy Stein;
String Arrangements – Al Capps, Cam Mullins;
Backing Vocals – Christine Lakeland, Diane Davidson, Gary Paxton, Hoyt Axton, Joanne Sweeney, Leslie Taylor, Marilyn Davis, Sherry Porter
Engineers:
Recording Engineers: Audie Ashworth, Brett Newman, Chad Hailey, Charlie Paakari, Chip Young, Christine Lakeland, David Johnson, Duane Seykora, Gene Eichelberger, Hugh Davies, J.J. Cale, Jimmy Tarbutton, Jerry Masters, Jim Williamson, Joe Mills, Les Ladd, Paul Brown, Paul McManus, Rail Jon Roguit, Rick Horton, Ron Reynolds, Ronnie Light, Stan Hutto, Steve Ripley
Mixing Engineers: Audie Ashworth, David Johnson, Gene Eichelberger, Hugh Davies, J.J. Cale, J.R. McNeely, Jimmy Tarbutton, Jerry Masters, Jim Williamson, Joe Mills, Les Ladd, Paul Brown, Rick Horton, Ron Reynolds, Ronnie Light, Stan Hutto
This compilation:
Released: 1997
Label: Mercury Records
Compilation Producer: Bas Hartong, Bill Levenson,
in Association with Audie Ashworth, J.J. Cale
Executive Producer: Matthieu Lauriot-Prèvost
Essay: Colin Escott
Mastered by Danny Purcell at Georgetown Mastering, Nashville, Tennessee and Gary Mayo at PolyGram Studios
Project Co-ordination: Jackie Stansfield, Terri Tierney
Project Assistance: Catherine Ladis, Donna Fetchko, Eileen Cleary, Matthew Tilley
Special thanks – Chris Ancliff, Barry Barnes, Paul Hussey, Margery Greenspan, Craig Benson, Mike Kappus, David Munns and Jerry Rappaport.
Photography – James R. Minchin III
Design by: Wherefore Art?
*****
Although it is a little too extensive for casual fans, the double-disc, 50-track Anyway the Wind Blows: The Anthology is a definitive retrospective of J.J. Cale’s career, featuring all the highlights over the years.
Cale’s albums often sound similar, but they are remarkably uneven in terms of quality, which is what makes Anyway the Wind Blows essential for both neophytes and collectors.
Not only is it a perfect introduction, containing of such essentials as “Cocaine,” “Call Me the Breeze,” and “After Midnight,” but it is one of his most consistently listenable and enjoyable discs.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine[allmusic.com]
*****
J.J. Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013)
With his laid-back rootsy style, J.J. Cale is best known for writing “After Midnight” and “Cocaine,” songs that Eric Clapton later made into hits. But Cale’s influence wasn’t only through songwriting — his distinctly loping sense of rhythm and shuffling boogie became the blueprint for the adult-oriented roots rock of Clapton and Mark Knopfler, among others. Cale’s refusal to vary the sound of his music over the course of his career caused some critics to label him as a one-trick pony, but he managed to build a dedicated cult following with his sporadically released recordings.
Born in Oklahoma City but raised in Tulsa, OK, Cale played in a variety of rock & roll bands and Western swing groups as a teenager, including one outfit that also featured Leon Russell. In 1959, at the age of 21, he moved to Nashville, where he was hired by the Grand Ole Opry’s touring company. After a few years, he returned to Tulsa, where he reunited with Russell and began playing local clubs. In 1964, Cale and Russell moved to Los Angeles with another local Oklahoma musician, Carl Radle.
Shortly after he arrived in Los Angeles, Cale began playing with Delaney & Bonnie. He only played with the duo for a brief time, beginning a solo career in 1965. That year, he cut the first version of “After Midnight,” which would become his most famous song. Around 1966, Cale formed the Leathercoated Minds with songwriter Roger Tillison. The group released a psychedelic album called A Trip Down Sunset Strip the same year.
Deciding that he wouldn’t be able to forge a career in Los Angeles, Cale returned to Tulsa in 1967. Upon his return, he set about playing local clubs. Within a year, he had recorded a set of demos. Radle obtained a copy of the demos and forwarded it to Denny Cordell, who was founding a record label called Shelter with Leon Russell. Shelter signed Cale in 1969. The following year, Eric Clapton recorded “After Midnight,” taking it to the American Top 20 and thereby providing Cale with needed exposure and royalties. In December 1971, Cale released his debut album, Naturally, on Shelter Records; the album featured the Top 40 hit “Crazy Mama,” as well as a re-recorded version of “After Midnight,” which nearly reached the Top 40, and “Call Me the Breeze,” which Lynyrd Skynyrd later covered. Cale followed Naturally with Really, which featured the minor hit “Lies,” later that same year.
Following the release of Really, J.J. Cale adopted a slow work schedule, releasing an album every other year or so. Okie, his third album, appeared in 1974. Two years later, he released Troubadour, which yielded “Hey Baby,” his last minor hit, as well as the original version of “Cocaine,” a song that Clapton would later cover. By this point, Cale had settled into a comfortable career as a cult artist and he rarely made any attempt to break into the mainstream. One more album on Shelter Records, 5, appeared in 1979 and then he switched labels, signing with MCA in 1981. MCA only released one album (1981’s Shades) and Cale moved to Mercury Records the following year, releasing Grasshopper.
In 1983, Cale released his eighth album, 8. The album became his first not to chart. Following its release, Cale left Mercury and entered a long period of seclusion, reappearing in late 1990 with Travel Log, which was released on the British independent label Silvertone; the album appeared in America the following year. 10 was released in 1992. The album failed to chart, but it re-established his power as a cult artist. He moved to the major label Virgin in 1994, releasing Close to You the same year. It was followed by Guitar Man in 1996. Cale returned to recording in 2003, releasing To Tulsa and Back in 2004 on the Sanctuary label and The Road to Escondido, a collaborative effort with Clapton, in 2006 on Reprise. Roll On appeared in 2009 on Rounder Records. A CD/DVD set drawn from sessions Cale recorded with Leon Russell on keyboards in 1979, In Session at Paradise Studio, appeared early in 2013.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine
*****
Empty Chair 