Troubadour is a 1976 album by J. J. Cale, his fourth since his debut in 1972. Eric Clapton covered the song “Cocaine” on his 1977 album Slowhand, turning it into one of his biggest hits. He later covered the track “Travelin’ Light” for his 2001 studio album Reptile. “Travelin’ Light” was also recorded by Widespread Panic for their 1988 album Space Wrangler. The original “Travelin’ Light” by J.J. Cale performed to wake up the crews of the space shuttle Atlantis and the International Space Station before their spacewalk on Friday, May 21, 2010.

Troubadour was produced by Audie Ashworth, who also produced Cale’s first three albums. In the 2004 documentary Tulsa and Back, Cale recalled: “I wrote ‘Cocaine’ being a big fan of the great jazz pianist Mose Allison and being influenced by him, like a jazz-swing cocktail, and Audie Ashworth said to me, ‘That’s a good song, John, but you need to make it a little more rock and a little more commercial,’ and I said, ‘Okay, man.’ So I went back and rewrote it the way you hear it now.” The meaning of the song is ambiguous, although Eric Clapton describes it as an anti-drug song.

Although “Cocaine” would become a major hit for Clapton in 1977, Cale’s first single from Troubadour in 1976 was the restless “Travelin’ Light” with “Hey Baby” on the second side. Music website Alltime Records commented on the album: “With the fantastic James Burton guitar that Jimmy Page tried to replicate on “The Crunge”, along with some amazing xylophones to round out the sound, “Travelin’ Light” has a moving, rock ‘n’ roll beat and a thoroughly earthy quality.” On Troubadour, Cale introduces new instruments to his sound, such as the synthesizer on “Ride Me High”, with William Ruhlmann of AllMusic commenting: “Producer Audie Ashworth introduced a few different instruments, with a sound that you think comes from brass, although they are not mentioned anywhere, which has a slight alteration especially on Troubadour. In general, however, J.J. Cale’s albums are so spicy in their internal style that if you like one of them, you will probably like them all”. This was of course also a result of the excellent musicians on the album, such as Ken Buttrey, Buddy Emmons and Reggie Young.

Throughout this excellent album I select, of course, “Cocaine”.
 
Tracklist

1. Hey Baby 3:16
2. Travelin’ Light 2:53
3. You Got Something 4:04
4. Ride Me High 3:39
5. Hold On 2:05
6. Cocaine 2:51
7. I’m A Gypsy Man 2:45
8. The Woman That Got Away 2:55
9. Super Blue 2:41
10. Let Me Do It To You 3:01
11. Cherry 3:27
12. You Got Me On So Bad 3:16