Though not a household name like his contemporaries, J.J. Cale's guitar skills were celebrated by many of his peers - and his country/blues/jazz style helped usher in a whole new subgenre which lends its name to a new Cale vinyl box set: Tulsa Sound. Tulsa Sound features new remastered versions of Cale's eight studio albums released on the Shelter and Mercury labels between 1971 and 1983, along with a ninth bonus disc, The Early Years, collecting six single sides Cale cut for Liberty Records
On March 30, Eric Clapton turns 70, but the guitar hero isn't about to rest on his considerable laurels. He's marking the occasion with a series of concerts including two at New York's Madison Square Garden and seven at London's Royal Albert Hall. Reprise Records is also celebrating the artist's landmark birthday with the April 28 release of Forever Man, a compilation concentrating on his longtime affiliation with the label and its sister Warner Bros. Records which began in 1983. Featuring 51
Almost two years ago, we reported on Light in the Attic’s Country Funk, an anthology celebrating the hybrid genre of the title. Back then, LITA described country funk as an “inherently defiant genre” encompassing “the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’ and booty shakin’. It is both studio slick and barroom raw.” Well, if the 16 nuggets on that 2012 release weren’t enough
In 2006, Eric Clapton teamed with singer-songwriter J.J. Cale for the collaborative album The Road to Escondido. The guitar god had long been a fan and patron of Cale's; he included "After Midnight" on his 1970 solo debut and took "Cocaine" to the Top 30 in 1977. Escondido earned both men a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Album, and it would prove to be among Cale's final recordings. He released the album Roll On in 2009, featuring Clapton on its title track. Then, in 2013, Cale passed