Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings

J.J. Cale | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 2, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Time Life Records
• ASIN: B000UPGWNE
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16,878 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

If musicians were paid by their influence instead of record sales, J.J. Cale could have retired a few decades ago. Without his lazy, loping, swamp rumble and subtle, lyrical style that's both picturesque and somewhat vague, neither Eric Clapton or Mark Knopfler would have had the kind of solo careers they have achieved. Despite numerous Cale hits collections on the market, this is the first time his vaults have been opened, revealing 14 previously unreleased tracks from his prolific Shelter and Mercury years. While this is clearly geared towards the Cale fan who already owns his 13 existing albums, these aren't unfinished leftovers or musty demos. Most interesting to longtime followers are a handful of covers from Clapton, Leon Russell, Waylon Jennings, and a beautiful version of Randy Newman’s "Rollin'." Some tunes sound suspiciously like other, more popular ones ("Lawdy Mama" is but a speeded up "Call Me the Breeze"), but even these are worth hearing for Cale's committed performance. "Blue Sunday" adds pedal steel, strings, and even faint horns to the mix, while the female vocals and more prominent brass on "Ooh La La" urge the song into undiscovered classic territory. The 14 tracks clock in at just under 40 minutes, leaving the listener wanting more and wondering if Cale and his producers will excavate another batch for volume two. --Hal Horowitz

Product Description

Time Life is very proud to present Rewind: Unreleased Recordings, a trove of previously unreleased songs recorded by American music icon J.J. Cale during his early and most influential years. Featuring vintage tracks from Cale’s legendary tenures at Shelter Records and Mercury Records, Rewind is a remarkable collection that exemplifies J.J. Cale’s distinctive, legendary style: laid-back guitar and almost whispered vocals with influences of rock ’n’ roll, country, blues and jazz. Not only are Rewind’s eight Cale-penned songs a time capsule of musical treasures, he also personally selected several covers to include. It’s extremely rare for Cale to record another songwriter’s material, making these songs particularly extraordinary. He puts his personal spin on Eric Clapton’s Golden Ring, Leon Russell’s My Cricket, Waylon Jennings’ Waymore’s Blues and Randy Newman’s Rollin’.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Solid Cale Collection of Outtakes, October 12, 2007

By 

Morten Vindberg (Denmark) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His CDs are stuck in my player, October 27, 2007

By 

Bass Hound - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

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!

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars no disappointment, October 5, 2007

By 

N.R. (Bellevue, WA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rewind: The Unreleased Recordings (Audio CD)

J.J.Cale's fans will not be disappointed. J.J.Cale did not write most of those songs, but they really sound like his typical work. Do not expect to hear new "Sensitive kind", ... no big hits here, but there are hidden gems: Golden Ring and Out of Style. [ By the way, ... J.J will be 70 next year ! ]