J. J. Cale – 5

5, as its title suggests, is the fifth studio album by J. J. Cale, released in 1979 and was his first album in three years.

By 1979, Cale had recorded four albums, his debut Naturally being his most commercially successful and containing the minor hit “Crazy Mama”. While his albums did not sell well, Cale enjoyed great success as a songwriter when other artists recorded his songs, such as Eric Clapton’s “After Midnight” in 1970 and “Cocaine” in 1977, and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Call Me The Breeze” in 1974, providing the Oklahoma singer with a degree of financial security to pursue his musical vision. By the time he recorded 5, Cale had also met singer and guitarist Christine Lakeland, and the LP marks her first appearance on his albums. In the 2005 documentary To Tulsa and Back, Lakeland says they met backstage at a prison concert with B.B. King and Waylon Jennings. Cale and Lakeland would later marry.

The album was produced by Audie Ashworth and recorded at various studios in Nashville, where Cale was living at the time. Most of the tracks were recorded and mixed at The Lakehouse, in Old Hickory, Tennessee. William Ruhlmann notes in his AllMusic review of the album that “As Cale’s influence on others expanded, he simply continued to churn out occasional albums of bluesy, secondary tunes. This one was even more sparse than usual, with the artist playing bass as well as guitar on many tracks. Listening to it today, it sounds so much like a Dire Straits album.” However, Cale developed this familiar sound and refined it throughout the decade: a swampy mix of country, folk, R&B, jazz, and rock ‘n’ roll played in a restrained manner. Unlike his previous album Troubadour, the guitar sound on 5 was very clean, with Cale ignoring the new genres of disco and punk music that were in vogue at the time.

Thematically, the songs on 5 are dominated by longing, marked by tracks such as “Boilin’ Pot”, “I’ll Make Love To You Anytime” (recorded by Eric Clapton for his 1978 album Backless) and “Too Much For Me”. “Mona” and “Sensitive Kind” are quite tender, while “Friday” and “Let’s Go To Tahiti” speak of the desire to escape the monotony of working life. “Fate Of A Fool” and “Thirteen Days” recount the ups and downs of being a touring musician.

“Katy Kool Lady” was co-written by Cale and Christine Lakeland and released as a single with the non-album track “Jaurez Blues” as the b-side. “Sensitive Kind” was covered by Santana on their 1981 LP Zebop. “Don’t Cry Sister” was re-recorded in a more rock-oriented style by Cale and Clapton on their 2006 joint studio album The Road To Escondido.

From this excellent album I select, of course, “Sensitive Kind.”
 
Tracklist

A1. Thirteen Days 2:49
A2. Boilin’ Pot 2:50
A3. I’ll Make Love To You Anytime 3:12
A4. Don’t Cry Sister 2:13
A5. Too Much For Me 3:11
A6. Sensitive Kind 5:09
B1. Friday 4:13
B2. Lou-Easy-Ann 2:46
B3. Let’s Go To Tahiti 2:51
B4. Katy Kool Lady 2:23
B5. Fate Of A Fool 2:52
B6. Mona 3:17