Audio CD review:
J.J. Cale - The Very Best Of J.J. Cale, (a,k.a. The Definitive Colleciton)

J.J. Cale - The Very Best Of J.J. Cale, (a,k.a. The Definitive Colleciton)

Band: J.J. Cale Title: The Very Best Of J.J. Cale, (a,k.a. The Definitive Colleciton) Rating: Release Date: 09 June, 1998 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Call Me The Breeze 2: Crazy Mama 3: Magnolia 4: After Midnight 5: Lies 6: Midnight In Memphis 7: Cajun Moon 8: Rock And Roll Records 9: Cocaine 10: Hey Baby 11: I'll Make Love To You Anytime 12: Don't Cry Sister 13: Thirteen Days 14: Sensitive Kind 15: Carry On 16: Mama Don't 17: City Girls 18: Devil In Disguise 19: Don't Wait 20: Money Talks

Editoral Review Which is probably appropriate given that the singer/songwriter it celebrates is one of the most taciturn rock & rollers to ever saunter down a dusty road. As best-of collections go, this one is uncommonly understated. Decades into a career that has produced more commercial success than one might suppose, Cale's Very Best consists of one disc; outtakes and rarities padding a second disc don't fit Cale's less-is-more aesthetic. There's no essay elevating the Oklahoman as a great blues-rock pathfinder, though Eric Clapton and Dire Straits are among the platinum performers who owe him a debt; just musician credits and a modest dedication from Cale adorn the booklet. (Hey, at least the camera-shy Cale sat still for a photo shoot!) As for the music, this 20-song CD consists of a representative selection of hits for himself ("Crazy Mama" and "Lies" charted early in his career) and his partisans (Clapton scored with "Cocaine" and "After Midnight," while Lynyrd Skynyrd made "Call Me the Breeze" a concert staple). The case could easily be made that Cale deserves something a bit more ambitious than this unambiguous overview, but who's going to make the case for the man? Not low-profile J. J. , that's for sure. --Steven Stolder .. You can see a complete list of all J.J. Cale discography, or go back to the J.J. Cale tabs