J.J. Cale – Number 10 (1992)

And it must be said once again; J.J. Cale is a man of few words, and "Number 10" (the third release that he has given a numbered title) places the spotlight squarely on what's first and foremost in his music: groove. He's a fine songwriter (Eric Clapton covered both his "After Midnight" and "Cocaine"), but when things are really rolling, the song all but disappears into the engine of the rolling rhythm section. He's altered his approach very little since his debut, "Naturally", in 1972 (twenty-one years prior to Number 10), but has managed to keep every one of his songs sounding new. This is in part because of overt dabs of modernity (as on this album's "Digital Blues"), but more because of the fact that there's never anything old about a sultry, shuffling beat. This is a fine follow-up to "Travel-Log" that again finds Cale roadening his arrangement and production sounds. He even gets tropical with "Artificial Paradise."

J.J. Cale (born John Weldon Cale on December 5, 1938, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma is a Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter and musician best known for writing two songs that Eric Clapton made famous, "After Midnight" and "Cocaine", as well as the Lynyrd Skynyrd hits "Call Me the Breeze" and " I Got the Same Old Blues". Some sources incorrectly give his real name as "Jean Jacques Cale". In fact, a Sunset Strip nightclub owner employing Cale in the mid-1960s came up with the "J.J." moniker to avoid confusion with the Velvet Underground's John Cale. In the 2006 documentary, To Tulsa and Back: On Tour with J.J. Cale, Rocky Frisco tells the same version of the story mentioning the other John Cale but without further detail.
Cale is one of the originators of the Tulsa Sound, a very loose genre drawing on blues, rockabilly, country, and jazz influences. Cale's personal style has often been described as "laid back", and is characterized by shuffle rhythms, simple chord changes, understated vocals, and clever, incisive lyrics. Cale is also a very distinctive and idiosyncratic guitarist, incorporating both Travis-like fingerpicking and gentle, meandering electric solos. His recordings also reflect his stripped-down, laid-back ethos; his album versions are usually quite succinct and often recorded entirely by Cale alone, using drum machines for rhythm accompaniment. Live, however, as evidenced on his 2001 Live album and 2006 To Tulsa And Back film, he and his band regularly stretch the songs out and improvise heavily.
Artists including Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, Tom Petty, and Bryan Ferry, have noted Cale's influence on their music; several artists in addition to Clapton have made hits of Cale songs, and many more have covered them. His most covered songs include "Call Me the Breeze", "Sensitive Kind", "After Midnight", and "Cocaine".
Cale is also well known for his longstanding aversion to stardom, extensive touring, and even continual recording. Fortunately he has remained a relatively obscure cult artist during his entire career.

Personnel:

J.J. Cale - Vocals, Guitar
Bill Boatman - Fiddle (06)
Spooner Oldham - Organ (07)
Christine Lakeland - DX7 Synthesizer (09)
Tim Drummond - Bass (07)
Nick Rather - Bass (06)
Jimmy Karstein - Percussion (11)

Tracklist:

J.J. Cale - Vocals, Guitar
Bill Boatman - Fiddle (06)
Spooner Oldham - Organ (07)
Christine Lakeland - DX7 Synthesizer (09)
Tim Drummond - Bass (07)
Nick Rather - Bass (06)
Jimmy Karstein - Percussion (11)

01. Lonesome Train
02. Digital Blues
03. Feeling in Love
04. Artificial Paradise
05. Passion
06. Take Out Some Insurance
07. Jailer
08. Low Rider
09. Traces
10. She's in Love
11. Shady Grove
12. Roll on Mama

All Songs Written By J.J. Cale

Produced By J.J. Cale
Mastered By Bernie Grundman

Sound Quality: 8/9