JJ Cale to release first solo album in 5 years

Because Music will release JJ Cale's 'Roll On', the legendary songwriter and guitarist's first solo album in nearly five years and his debut for the label. 'Roll On' follows Cale's Grammy-winning, gold-certified 2006 album with Eric Clapton entitled 'The Road to Escondido.'

The title track, 'Roll On', is a previously unreleased collaboration with Eric Clapton and further evidence of the pair's incredibly fruitful, simpatico creative partnership. "He's a superior musician," says Clapton, "One of the masters." The track will be released on 2nd March.

Eric Clapton recognized Cale's unique talents a long time ago. Two of his biggest hits as a solo artist - "After Midnight" and "Cocaine" - are Cale-penned songs. The broad range of artists who have covered Cale include Johnny Cash, The Band, Captain Beefheart, Santana, Spiritualized, Beck and Band Of Horses; while Mark Knopfler, Neil Young, and Bryan Ferry have all cited his influence.

The new album is full of timeless grooves and the meticulously understated production that he is known for, but it also adds new dimensions to the "classic Cale sound."
Just press play on the new record and all of a sudden there's JJ Cale jazz-scatting for the first time on disc opener "Who Knew," and later he's loping along behind a restrained jazz piano on "Former Me." Cale even adds an element of humor to the lyrics of the laid-back jam "Where The Sun Don't Shine."

You can listen to snippets of the new album here:
http://www.because.tv/public/JJ_CALE/Roll_On_en.html