Jj Cale Live

Amazon.com Leave it to J.J. Cale to press 30 years into his recording career before getting around to releasing his first onstage recording. Cale, after all, has his own pace for doing things and it ain't exactly breakneck. Unsurprisingly, the taciturn Oklahoman's approach to the stage and studio are pretty much the same: in any setting, Cale is one laid-back hombre. Here he ambles through 14 tracks without breaking a sweat, whipping off bluesy solos with offhanded aplomb and delivering his simple but spot-on lyrics with that unmistakable mumble. His infrequent hits resurface here ("After Midnight," "Cocaine," "Call Me the Breeze"), sounding fresher than they have any right to be. And, in truth, there really isn't much of a gap in quality between Cale's best and worst efforts; it's all good. In a world where entire careers are made around making the simple seem to be difficult, Cale has an all-too-rare gift for making the simple seem simple. Bless him for that. --Steven Stolder