Library Rock's Backpages

J.J. Cale: Anyway the Wind Blows

Colin Escott, Mercury Records, 1996

COINCIDENCE OR NOT, the phrase "laid back" crept into common use right around the time of J.J. Cale's first album. Nearly everyone but Cale missed the point. "Laid back" wasn't a synonym for "slow"; it was a frame of mind that applied to any tempo. A fast song could be "laid back" as easily as a slow one. It all hinged on the approach.

Total word count of piece: 4777

Subscribe

Becoming a member is easy. Membership gives you access to all the thousands of articles in the library.

Click here to go to Subscribe page.

Click here for academic and other group subscriptions.