Customer Reviews

Ultimate Collection

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OK - first this admission: I consider myself a longtime music fan but I was totally unfamiliar with JJ Cale until recently. For years I confused JJ Cale with John Cale who played with the Velvet Underground and decided I didn't need hear John Cale playing solo. Yes, I have deprived myself of years of some of the best American music produced in the last 35 years. I finally introduced myself to JJ Cale through "Road to Escondido" and then bought "To Tulsa and Back."

This is a very nice 3-CD set of great music spanning over 30 years of well-produced guitar-centered Americana. The music here is from the following albums:
1972 Naturally (6 songs)
1972 Really (3)
1974 Okie (4)
1976 Troubadour (5)
1979 Five (5)
1981 Shades (3)
1982 Grasshopper (5)
1983 #8 (4)
1990 Travel-Log (2)
1992 Number 10 (2)
1994 Closer to You (1)
1996 Guitar Man (2)
1997 Anyway the Wind Blosw (All 6 of the 'previously unrelased' tracks!)
2004 To Tulsa and Back (2)
Includes 7 exclusive live tracks from the Dutch 2 Meter Sessie radio show and 3 live concert tracks from the mid-1990's.
I'm not an audiophile so I won't comment on the audio quality but my the audio is crisp and clean throughout so my guess is that great care was taken in remastering this material.

Hopefully, this will be widely available in the States soon. But don't wait - your will not be disappointed with this collection.

JJ Cale was a recent discovery for me. I originally bought the CD "The Very Best of JJ Cale," but lost it during a move following Hurricane Katrina. Replacement of the album was high on my priority list, but while browsing Amazon, I stumbled onto the "Ultimate Collection. The three-CD set includes all of the cuts from "The Very Best," and from what I can tell, a large share of the best of his recorded music.

I like his laid back style - soft vocals and articulate but subdued guitar solos. I'd recommend this collection to anyone with an interest in contemporary delta influenced blues/rock.

The majority of Cale's CD catalog were all derived from old LP-EQ'd masters and were never brought properly into the digital world.

Things improved with the release of the 1997, 2CD, 50-track Anthology, which offered the first remasters of Cale's material.

However, from an audio-quality standpoint, this 60-track, 3CD Collected set supercedes Anthology for the best-in-class-audio mark. With proper mastering, it's actually rather stunning just how much additional fidelity emerges from these decades-old recordings.

From a material standpoint, Anthology has 16 tracks which do not appear on Collected, so if you already own that set, it's worth holding on to.

The sixty remastered tracks on Collected only represent approximately one-third of Cale's recorded studio output. After listening to this set, one can only hope that someday someone will finish the job.

For some reason, J. J. Cale's many, many fabulous songs are more likely to put me in a relaxed and mellow mood than are the songs of any other musical artist that I regularly listen to and enjoy. "What is the exact reason for this relaxed state?" is a question that I don't even care to currently contemplate-I'm listening to and much enjoying J. J. Cale Collected right now. J. J. Cale Collected has outstanding sound quality because it is so very successfully remastered. This is noticeably better sound quality than on any other J. J. Cale cd that even a long-term devoted fan of J. J. Cale, like myself, might own. J. J. Cale Collected also includes 60 songs! The comprehensive nature of J. J. Cale Collected means that even the long-term fan of J. J. Cale is very likely to encounter and much enjoy many "new" Cale songs that he/she has never heard before. These two reasons make J. J. Cale Collected a MUST BUY for most serious fans of Cale's music. The new or emerging fan of J. J. Cale is also strongly encouraged to purchase this cd. If you're new to any musical artist, it makes perfect sense to purchase the very best compact disc that this artist has ever released. Because of the outstanding sound quality of J. J. Cale Collected and because of the comprehensive nature of this 3 cd set, J. J. Cale Collected is definitely the very best cd package that J. J. Cale has ever released! There are, however, two cautionary notes that I want to add to this review. The third and final cd in this 3 cd set is found in a cardboard slot within the package and is thus not well protected from scratching while it is in the package. In addition, the packaging does not include any liner notes that tell us more about J. J. Cale, his career, or his music. Irregardless of these two cautionary notes, I remain extremely pleased and even thrilled to own, listen to, and deeply enjoy the outstanding music found on J. J. Cale Collected. Thus I very strongly recommend this cd set to you.

John

If you're thinking of buying one J.J Cale CD,this is it. His best songs,selected from numerous albums,makes this a must have not just for his fans but for anyone who is not too familiar with his work. The live version of Call Me The Breeze is a great piece of music-see if you can keep your feet from movin'. On some of his songs you can hear where Eric Clapton was inspired-think Lay Down Sally. In 2006 Mr. Cale and Eric Clapton released A CD entitled The Road To Escondito. I would also recommend this highly.

I've been listening to J.J. since the release of Troubadour in 1976. I've got all of his works on disc & many on vinyl. The quality of the remastering on this triple set is VERY,VERY GOOD, worth the price of just one disc! Don't even hesitate on this one! ANY Cale fan truly deserves to hear this set. I am SO glad I purchased this set. And J.J.....Thank You very much for sharing some of the world's BEST MUSIC!!!

I saw JJ Cale perform in a Lafayette, Louisiana roadhouse in 1977. He had his typical four days of stubble, looking like he just woke up. His guitar matched him: clearly an instrument he had modified with wires hanging out of the back. That performance made a lasting impression. I purchased the three or four available albums and played them until the end of my turntable days. This set fills the gap in my CD collection with all of those great songs and more. It really takes me back. Certainly a worthwhile purchase.

The sound quality on this release is superior to most US releases, why is that? The amount of songs selected is greater than any domestic compilation. I don't know why but sound quality and selection of material is always better for the UK. Anyway, this is the cream of the crop from JJ Cale and you won't find any better. I have always hoped they would re-master and re-release the original recordings. Till then, this is the best I have found.

I bought this as a gift for a friend. I did a lot of research before I purchased this particular CD, and listened to the songs that are included. In my opinion this is an excellent collection of J.J. Cale tunes and one of the best currently available.

Just got JJ Cale's "Collected" 3 cd compilation album. Simply put, IT'S GREAT!!!! Excellent song choices. The only song missing that I like is "Boiling Pot". Love the laid back country blues vibe of Cale's songs. Recordings are remastered and sound great. Packaging is cool too. It's a pretty pricy cd set but if you want the best of JJ Cale, this is the one to get. Highly recommend!!!!!!