Name: To Tulsa And Back
Brand: JJ Cale

Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

BEC 5543439

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Colour

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

Format Music US

Limited edition

Release date

2019-04-19

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier US

Forced Exposure

Tax rate US

Sales:8.875

UPC / Barcode

5060525434396

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Total Cap

2 / Extended format: No / LP / Rough Trade Exclusive: No / Signed copies: No

Artist

JJ Cale

Genre US

60s & 70s

Label US

Because Music

On this 2004 album and his first studio outing in eight years, the mythical Okie troubadour turns in a solid set of his trademark dusty blues tunes. What is not so typical, as with Travel Log from 1990, is that Cale steeps himself in technology and evokes the moods and frameworks of music that intersect with the blues or stand in opposition to them. The keyboards, drum loops, and horns on this record are as pervasive as the guitars. Needless to say, this requires an attitude adjustment on the part of the listener. This is not to say there aren't plenty of live musicians here; there are. It's just that the sheeny beats and clean synth lines feel odd when juxtaposed against the murky lyrics and Cale's wispy, smoke-weathered voice. His stinging Stratocaster lead lines, spare and razor taut -- especially when ringed with distortion -- are plentiful, as are his tight-knit song constructions. Standouts on this set include the new West funk of "New Lover," the shuffling "New Step," the skittering "The Problem," the delightfully rambling "Fancy Dancer," the burning road-dog rock of "Motormouth," and the jazzy, gypsy swing in "These Blues." There are a couple of ballads on the set that are unconventional, as well, in "Homeless," and in the beautiful "Blues for Mama." There is even a Latin track on "Rio" that feels more like a merengue than a samba. The album closes with Cale playing a lone banjo on "Another Song," a mournful Appalachian ballad that feels like it comes from out of the heart of the Dust Bowl, it's full of ghosts and shadows and aches with the weight and displacement of longing as history. A fine effort.

To Tulsa And Back

Music US