J.J. Cale - Definitive Collection - [CD]

J.J. Cale's unique guitar and vocal style has influenced generations of artists, most notably Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits. With a solo career that has spanned nearly 3 decades, Cale has recorded 12 critically acclaimed albums. This single disc collection of his very finest work contains 19 digitally re-mastered favorites, as well as "Midnight in Memphis," an instrumental previously only available on last year's 2-CD Anthology, Anyway the Wind Blows. As best-of collections go, this one is uncommonly understated. 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. 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