Shades

Remember the hits Cocaine and After Midnight by Eric Clapton. Well they were definitely hits and Eric Clapton performed them, but he didn’t write them. This guy did. Low profile J.J. Cale is a master of his craft with numerous albums in his discography. He also wrote the hit Call Me the Breeze made famous by Lynyrd Skynyrd. But enough about those tunes. This 1980 album is typical J.J. Cale; a mellow sounding blues offering with his smooth but incisive guitar playing which puts you in a laid back yet attentive state. Cale’s understated voice is present throughout, but never overpowers, making each tune the center of attention. This is true of all the tunes on this CD but one, Cloudy Day (Cale doesn’t sing) which is a phenomenal blues instrumental with one of the best saxophone solos I have ever heard. For a sample of his extensive discography click here.

And here is Cloudy Day.