Eric Clapton & Friends – The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale (2014) [HDTracks 24bit/96kHz]

Eric Clapton & Friends – The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:32 minutes | 1,13 GB | Genre: Rock
Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks.com | Digital booklet

Eric Clapton has often stated that JJ Cale is one of the single most important figures in rock history, a sentiment echoed by many of his fellow musicians. Cale’s influence on Clapton and many of today’s artists cannot be understated. To honor JJ’s legacy, a year after his passing, Clapton gathered a group of like-minded friends and musicians for Eric Clapton & Friends – The Breeze (An Appreciation of JJ Cale). With performances by Clapton, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Derek Trucks and Don White, the album features 16 beloved JJ Cale songs and is named for the 1972 single “Call Me The Breeze”.

In a sense, nearly every album Eric Clapton recorded after 1970 has been a tribute to J.J. Cale. On that first solo album, Clapton cut a cover of Cale’s “After Midnight” and while he was under the spell of Delaney Bramlett for that album, soon enough Slowhand began drifting toward the laconic shuffle that was Cale’s stock in trade. Clapton never hesitated to credit Cale, dropping his name in interviews, turning “Cocaine” into a modern standard, even going so far as to record an entire duet album with the Oklahoma troubadour called The Road to Escondido in 2006. In other words, E.C. owed J.J. little but after Cale passed at the age of 74, the guitarist decided to pay a full-scale tribute in the form of the 2014 LP The Breeze: An Appreciation of J.J. Cale. Working with most of his regular band, Clapton also invited a host of friends who share a soft spot for Cale, including Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, John Mayer, Willie Nelson, and the Oklahoma-based singer Don White, whose vocals are within the range of the departed Cale. All of these musicians don’t distract from E.C.’s version of J.J.: everybody slides into an exceedingly laid-back, pristine roots groove, one that barely rises above a steady simmer — only “I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me)” boogies, but “Cajun Moon” skips along, too — and one that’s executed with the precision of old pros. Occasionally, a personal stylistic quirk stamps a track with a signature — there’s no mistaking Willie’s idiosyncratic phrasing or Knopfler’s Strat — but otherwise, everybody is operating at the same relaxed pace, differences between the musicians disappearing alongside the distinctions between songs. It’s all perfectly pleasant and a convincing testament to what Clapton learned from Cale, although its silvery monochromatic shuffles suggest J.J. was a little more one-dimensional than he actually was.

Tracklist:
01 – Call Me The Breeze
02 – Rock And Roll Records (feat. Tom Petty)
03 – Someday (feat. Mark Knopfler)
04 – Lies (feat. John Mayer)
05 – Sensitive Kind (feat. Don White)
06 – Cajun Moon
07 – Magnolia (feat. John Mayer)
08 – I Got The Same Old Blues (feat. Tom Petty)
09 – Songbird (feat. Willie Nelson)
10 – Since You Said Goodbye
11 – I’ll Be There (If You Ever Want Me) (feat. Don White)
12 – The Old Man And Me (feat. Tom Petty)
13 – Train To Nowhere (feat. Mark Knopfler and Don White)
14 – Starbound (feat. Willie Nelson and Derek Trucks)
15 – Don’t Wait (feat. John Mayer)
16 – Crying Eyes (feat. Christine Lakeland and Derek Trucks)

Produced by: Eric Clapton and Simon Climie. Recording Engineer: Alan Douglas.

Musicians:
Eric Clapton – vocals, guitar, dobro
John Mayer – vocals, guitar
Willie Nelson – vocals, guitar
Tom Petty – vocals
Derek Trucks – guitar
Mark Knopfler – guitar, vocals
Don White – guitar, vocals
Reggie Young, Albert Lee, David Lindley, Don Preston, Christine Lakeland, Doyle Bramhall II – guitar
Greg Leisz – pedal steel guitar
Walt Richmond – organ, piano, wurlitzer
Simon Climie – organ, piano, wurlitzer, drum programming, percussion, backing vocals
Nathan East – bass
Jim Keltner, James Cruce, Jim Karstein, Satnam Ramgotra, Jamie Oldaker, David Teegarden – drums
Jimmy Markham, Mickey Raphael – harmonica
Christine Lakeland – vocals, backing vocals
Michelle John, Sharon White – backing vocals