| Allmusic |
 While songwriter J.J. Cale has established himself as an elusive and even reluctant legend in popular music with his sporadic string of releases over the last 38 years, he's never drastically changed his approach. Cale is a workmanlike songwriter whose roots in blues, Okie folk, and roots rock music have been informing his tales of travel, nocturnal pleasure, and everyday life all the while. Even the acclaimed but spaced out Travel Log (which was Cale's equivalent to Neil Young's Trans) never managed to root his sound that far afield from its wellspring. 2009's Roll On, is more strange, laid-back grooves and road-weary tales of quark strangeness and charm from an inveterate master. Where the erratic but acclaimed Road to Escondido with Eric Clapton reeked of laziness and kitsch, Roll On is steeped deep in slow boogie, slower jump jazz, swampy blues, and minor-key laid-back guitar workouts. Cale not only plays guitar and sings here, but on almost all of these cuts he does double and triple duty on drums, bass, and even Rhodes piano! His guests -- including Dave Teegarden and Jim Keltner on drums on a track each, and Clapton on one number -- only appear on four of these dozen tracks. Check, "Who Knew?," the jazzy shuffle that opens the set. Cale plays everything but the drum kit (Teegarden), and lays down a smoking set of Wes Montgomery-esque chords as well as some funky Rhodes. His syncopated vocals all slip right down the backbone of the blues with lyrics worthy of Louis Jordan. "Where the Sun Don't Shine" commences with some spooky synth loops (that could have come from Travel Log), and beefy guitars, with a rudimentary snare and hi-hat keeping the I-IV-V progression moving and popping. The guitars are pure Cale choogle and the bassline is just off enough from the main rhythmic progression to add a freaky twist. Other standouts include the acoustic electric boogie "Strange Days," with some mutant five-string banjo and mandolin work from the artist; the triple-time, space groove of "Fonda-Lina" that feels like it was taken from a B-movie soundtrack during a motel lounge scene, and the popping roots rock of the title track with Slowhand and Keltner. This is a set that proves that Cale is still a vital artist who has a few interesting tricks up his sleeve, even if he doesn't change his attack all that much. Hell, he doesn't need to, he's got weight, sleight of hand, and the Okie soul in every cell of his being, and it all comes out in the tunes. This one is solid from top to bottom....full text |
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| Billboard |
| Even with a Grammy Award win for "The Road to Escondido," his 2006 collaboration with good pal Eric Clapton, J.J. Cale is still best-known as the guy behind such rock staples as "After Midnight," "Cocaine" and "Call Me the Breeze." The Oklahoma singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist raises eyebrows from the get-go on his 16th solo outing, dipping into jazz for the gently swinging "Who Knew" and the self-effacing "Former Me." Like their neighbors on "Roll On," those songs follow into Cale's trademarked understatement, the Tulsa Soul sound, if you will, with everything falling neatly into a pocket and low-pitched vocals strolling along just behind the beat. Cale does kick up a little more dust on "Oh Mary," the sinewy "Where the Sun Don't Shine" and "Roll On," which features a requisite guest appearance by Clapton. —Gary Graff...full text |
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| Boston |
| They say the truly great musicians constantly grow and evolve. But when you're a masterful songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist like J.J. Cale, why grow when what you've been doing works so beautifully? Over a 50-plus-year career, Cale has had his biggest successes with others, such as Eric Clapton and Lynyrd Skynyrd, covering his deceptively simple and authentically American songs. "Roll On" finds Cale back in vintage form. You can practically feel the tour bus hitting the open road in the title track. The classic Cale sound - sly, understated vocals buoyed by some tasty, judicious blues guitar licks and a shuffling boogie - is in full flower on "Down to Memphis," "Cherry Street," and "Oh Mary." Themes of mortality and loss permeate "Bring Down the Curtain," "Former Me," "Old Friend," and the elegiac, twangy "Leaving in the Morning." It's the experiments that just don't work here. The kiss-off "Where the Sun Don't Shine" is marred by some mechanical, Alan Parsons-style keyboards, while the Latin disco-flavored "Fonda-Lina" is an unfortunate, queso-y mess....full text |
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