To Tulsa & Back

J.J. Cale | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sanctuary Records
• ASIN: B00024I31C
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #65,799 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. My Gal

2. Chains Of Love

3. New Lover

4. One Step

5. Stone River

6. The Problem

7. Homeless

8. Fancy Dancer

9. Rio

10. These Blues

11. Motormouth

12. Blues For Mama

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

While some artists feel the need to reinvent themselves on a regular basis or to throw together records chockfull of guest stars in order to revive flagging careers, J.J. Cale remains content to continue his reign as king of the laid-back guitar groove. Anyone who thinks it is easy to continually wring new permutations out of the back-porch choogle--Cale's calling card for near three decades--should try it some time. A little violin ("My Gal"), a stab of horns ("Chains of Love"), or some vibraphone tones ("New Lover") is all he needs to freshen the mix. While artists like Eric Clapton and Lynyrd Skynyrd have scored by adding testosterone to Cale's tunes, they would be the first to admit that his music is no less potent for being more relaxed. In fact, it's the off-hand manner in which he presents his political tunes--"Stone River" (ecology), "The Problem" (the President), and "Homeless"--that gives them their poetry and power. --Michael Ross

Product Description

European pressing of the Okie troubadour's first album in eight years, features thirteen tracks including one bonus track, 'Another Song'. EMI. 2004. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cale's Back (4.5 stars), July 27, 2004

By 

Juan Mobili (Valley Cottage, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Tulsa & Back (Audio CD)

Cale is an example of a irony who has many victims in the history of Rock and Blues, he belongs to a select group of musicians who has inspired many of the people you probably admired but never receive the recognition than those who learned from the master. In Cale's case the two most famous instances of this are, undoubtedly Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton -the latter even saying once in an interview that he felt he was the closest thing a British musician can get to Cale, and who turned huge hits out of JJ's "Cocaine" and "After Midnight.
This album finds Cale back in great form and, after several years of not visiting a studio, just as laidback and sensual in his playing as in some of his classics from years past. What you can expect is his trademark tasteful picking, solos that say everything they need to say with hardly half of the notes used by the average aspiring "guitar god," and a voice that will not necessarily stir you yet it's exactly the way to sing whatever song he's singing.
So, no surprises here, no experimenting with new sounds or genres nor the trite parade of guests who often appear and contribute more to an album's marketing but hardly anything to the songs they play in.
This is JJ Cale's unadulterated, bluesy mastery of the guitar, again accompanied by a tight band seasoned through his continued touring and playing like they are hanging out in Cale's living room. No pretense, no pyrotechnics, nothing but inspired playing some new great tunes.
For those who know Cale already, suffice to say that this is one of the albums they may be most satisfied having purchased. Listen to "New Lover," "Stone River" or "The Problem" -probably his most political song to date- for proof of that. For something somewhat different, you may try "Rio" which is touched by some Brazilian overtones but one hundred percent Cale, or "Blues for Mama" which is likely to be one of his slow and sensuous best songs in along time.
Where so many people out there lose themselves trying to change to attract new fans, Cale again chooses to remain himself, to do what he does well, and returns to form-in vintage Cale's style- without even breaking a sweat.

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cale Delivers Again, June 10, 2004

By 

Gianmarco Manzione (Tampa, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Tulsa & Back (Audio CD)

There can be no doubt that Cale has not only returned; he seems to have spent the past 8 years soaking in his own creative juices and come up with one of his career's most mature and consistent efforts. It is often said that few can listen to Cale without hearing Clapton's voice. Even though Cale has profited handsomely from Clapton's covers of "Cocaine" and "After Midnight," it is rather tragic that Cale's music is rarely spoken of without Clapton's name being dropped (as even the Amazon review above demonstrates). But how doubly unfortunate it is to suggest that Cale's very sound -- a profoundly distinctive slice of Americana -- is indistinguishable from Clapton's. Even Clapton's most devoted fans have to admit that the man is increasingly struggling to fuse his music with just a scrap of soul. As the Amazon review aptly observes, Cale's refusal to inflate his already gargantuan reputation throughout the music industry by chucking out some substanceless, star-studded extravaganza is as strong a testament as anything to the man's authenticity. While Clapton fills the liner notes of his albums with a catalog of iconic merchandise, Cale delivers an album as immediate in its music as it is lacking in the kind of haughty self-promotion and laurel-resting so characteristic of Clapton. As acts like Van Morrison, Skynyrd or the Rolling Stones drift farther from the glories they cashed in on, Cale, like Neil Young, continues to deliver a sound and energy every bit as crisp now as it was back in the "Troubador" days. Performances like "My Gal," the divine "Chains of Love" and the smoky thump of "One Step" are surpassed not by past efforts but by the surprisingly political "The Problem" which, unlike so much political drivel we endure from the mouths of rock stars, is as intense musically as it is in message. Yet how fitting it seems that the guy whose career displays no concern whatever for fame or money ends up writing some of the era's most timely and impassioned political commentary. Politics is the very LAST thing I'm hoping for when popping in a JJ Cale record, but here he finds a way to present even this startling shift of focus in such a way that it blends effortlessly into the seductive swamp of sound that is "To Tulsa and Back." After a few attentive listens, there is no way that Cale fans will be disappointed with this record, and many of these songs are so strong that Cale may even win himself a few converts. At 60-something and counting, that's no mean feat, no matter who you are.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cale, Back From Tulsa Sounding Great!, June 22, 2004

By 

William Sargent (Providence, RI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Tulsa & Back (Audio CD)

I'd call this Cale's best since Troubador from 1976. JJ went To Tulsa And Back to record this harder-edged collection. It contains unargueably some of his best laid-back tunes, that harken back to JJ's early Shelter years albums, like Naturally, Really and Okie. JJ used some of his hometown pals to record about half of these new songs in Tulsa, and the results sounds great! "Blues For Mama" is a must for any blues fan, with its melancholy melody, moanfully wailing guitar licks and from-the-gut vocal. "New Lover" is an energetic rocker led by Cale's driving guitar, and it screams, "Oh Eric, book some studio time". "The Problem" (a political message) is destined to be a Cale classic, with his coarse whispery vocal, and acidic lead guitar, fueled along by that incredible Tulsa Sound. Aware of life on the streets, JJ gives us a view of a pair living it in "Homeless". Another favorite on this cd is "Fancy Dancer", one of those rhythmic tunes that you can't sit still to. JJ Cale delivered a gem this time... get a copy!
Cale is out on one of his rare tours, so don't miss a legend!