JJ Cale and Eric Clapton - The Road to Escondido (Music CD)

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Track Listing
Danger
Heads in Georgia
Missing Person
When This War Is Over
Sporting Life Blues
Dead End Road
Its Easy
Hard to Thrill
Anyway the Wind Blows
Three Little Girls
Dont Cry Sister
Last Will and Testament
Who Am I Telling You?
Ride the River
JJ Cale penned two of Eric Clapton's career-defining solo hits, "Cocaine" and
"After Midnight." And since Clapton has often fashioned his persona in a WWJD
manner (what would JJ do?), this collaboration is long overdue. But despite the
rather slick production and long list of guest backing musicians (including four
bassists, four drummers, five other guitarists, and three percussionists), The
Road to Escondido is still dominated more by Cale than Clapton. The relatively
reticent Okie wrote 11 of the 14 tracks, and it's his low-key soufflé of blues,
jazz, and country that shapes and directs the disc's tone, with Clapton along
for the ride. The opening "Danger" sets the dusky mood as the duo rides a
typical Cale swamp groove that gives way to a tightly wound Slowhand solo. They
trade lead vocals on a lovely version of the after-hours jazz blues classic
"Sporting Life Blues," and the ubiquitous John Mayer makes an impressive
appearance on the subtle blues of "Hard to Thrill."
Clapton hasn't sounded this relaxed or involved in his own material for years.
The traditionally laidback, if not quite snoozy, Cale responds with a
comparatively energized performance, likely due to the high-profile company.
When the two harmonize on the mid-tempo foot tapper "Anyway the Wind Blows," the
result is so natural and spontaneous it's a shame these two didn't join forces
earlier. On paper, it appears that Cale has the most to gain from partnering
with an established superstar, but the fact is this collaboration yields Eric
Clapton's most engaging and contagious roots-rock release in a long time.
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