Customer Reviews

Guitar Man

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When this recording started I was wondering what was wrong with my balance on my system. The production on the first track must have been done by a drummer. Overkill on the drums drowns out an easily overwhelmed voice of the man, JJ Cale. What a relief when the second track reverted to a familiar mix that highlighted Cale's guitar and voice. Really great guitar work on this one, making the title appropriate. However for this fan it's the feel of Cale's recordings that soothes my soul. Great stuff.

Among the sets of songs that JJ cale has put together in recent years, there is not one where he squeezes his creative prowess as he does on "Guitar Man". No bad eggs in this collection. Some songs fundamental for his point of view as artist: IF I Had a Rocket, Nobody Knows or the funny Doctor Told Me, are songs as important as Anyway the Wind Blows. There is also the enigmatic Guitar Man that gives the title: a funny mail exchange to some fellow guitar player? You can find in Miss Ol'St. Louie that delightful travelling mood of some of his songs, and all in all, this is another one of those records of imaginative variations of pure JJ Cale that we love so much.
In Death in the Wilderness he shows concern about environmental issues, knowing, as anyone who has ever wondered where do we come from, that wilderness is a need, also for humans:

"the rabbit, he'll be gone,
the bird will sing no song,
the wolf, the deer, the lion too"

Just add: and the man too, and probably before some of them . We are wilderness too.

If you like J.J. Cale, you'll enjoy this. Not his best work but a fine addition to your collection if you're his fan like my husband and I are.

Why pay this much for a weak recording when you can get a domestic copy for less. Some of the compositions are a welcome addition to Cale's considerable songbook. Others are not. It is the production that buries this disc. There is an unfortunate reliance on Drum machines throughout. The "beats" prove to be an unwanted distraction to what could have been a strong recording. Cale still has his guitar chops but could have benefited with sticking to his clean strat tone as he is overproduced here as well. Go with anything up to 1980's Shades. After that he began to succumb to ill-fitting production work which eventually began to spoil his recordings. Give this one a pass...Simon

Did I mention that I have every recording? God bless America for producing this man. His mission was to blend the blues with rock and take the music to the masses to show them the light. JJ Cale makes album after album of amazing songs.

You either love JJ or you don't. I love his music. I bought this cd for one song - Low Down. Absolutely dynamite. Overall, a typically good JJ Cale cd.

If you love J. J. Cale you can't go wrong with this excellent, crisp sounding album. It was on my back burner of music to buy ever since I first heard a few songs from it back in 1996, but I just got around to purchasing a copy. There's nothing here I didn't expect; the guitar work is typical Cale, by turns smooth and fuzzy, and his limited vocal range isn't challenged by any of these tunes. I love his particular box of sounds, though, and his lyrics are witty and fun. "Days Go By," my favorite song here, is for fellow depressed, old stoners who still just hang out, and wonder where everybody else went. After opening with "When you light that funny cigarette, would you pass it back to me," he later adds, "you know they say it's illegal, But what isn't these days?" Along with his lazy, loping electric guitar he continues, "you know time has no absolute It just seems like it's spent Everything has a tendency to be so warped and bent While looking here and there I'm surprised to see... Everybody's gone here Everybody's gone but me... OO-oo, days gone by..." Not all of Cale's songs are downers, despite the many minor keys. Even some of the ones that express sadness of loss are accompanied, literally, by notes of uplift and celebration. The traditional "Old Blue," while lamenting the passing of a beloved dog, seems to express to the heavens the joy of having loved that hound, a universal feeling that almost anyone who's cherished certain animals in their lives can relate to. The first song, "Death In The Wilderness," while deeply pessimistic in its worldview, yet rocks with the exuberance of one who loves life. Even though there are no big surprises on GUITAR MAN, Cale still knows how to hold his listener's ear, with his distinctive style of guitar playing and his warm, easy going vocals.

...I think this album is stylisticly coherent and is a fun one to listen to. The production is good by JJ Cale standards and the music is strong.