Grasshopper (album)
| Grasshopper | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 1982 | |||
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| Length | 34:53 | |||
| Labels | UK: Island USA: Mercury | |||
| Producers | Audie Ashworth, J. J. Cale | |||
| J. J. Cale chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Grasshopper | ||||
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Grasshopper is the seventh studio album by J. J. Cale, released in March 1982. It was his first with Mercury Records.
Background and recording
In 2013, he reflected, "…I knew what fame entailed. I tried to back off from that. I had seen some of the people I was working with forced to be careful because people wouldn’t leave them alone…What I’m saying, basically, is I was trying to get the fortune without having the fame."[1]
Band member and wife Christine Lakeland co-wrote the bluesy dirge "Does Your Mama Like to Reggae" as well as "Don’t Wait."
Release and reception
Grasshopper was released in March 1982 by Mercury Records in the US, and Island Records in the UK.[2] The tracks "City Girls" and "Devil In Disguise" were released as singles.[3][4]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Billboard | (unrated)[5] |
| Cash Box | (unrated)[6] |
| Rolling Stone |   [7] |
In his AllMusic review of the LP, William Ruhlmann notes, "J.J. Cale drifts toward a more pop approach on this album, starting with the lead-off track, ‘City Girls,’ which could almost but not quite be a hit single. The usual blues and country shuffle approach is in effect, but Audie Ashworth's production is unusually sharp, the playing has more bite than usual, and Cale, whose vocals are for the most part up in the mix, sounds more engaged."[2]
Track listing
All tracks are written by J. J. Cale, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "City Girls" | 2:49 | |
| 2. | "Devil in Disguise" | 2:03 | |
| 3. | "One Step Ahead of the Blues" | Roger Tillison | 2:25 |
| 4. | "You Keep Me Hangin' On" | 3:30 | |
| 5. | "Downtown L.A." | 2:32 | |
| 6. | "Can't Live Here" | 2:15 | |
| 7. | "Grasshopper" | 1:45 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8. | "Drifters Wife" | 1:42 | |
| 9. | "Don't Wait" | Cale, Christine Lakeland | 3:12 |
| 10. | "A Thing Going On" | 2:42 | |
| 11. | "Nobody But You" | 3:05 | |
| 12. | "Mississippi River" | 2:06 | |
| 13. | "Does Your Mama Like to Reggae" | Cale, Lakeland | 3:45 |
| 14. | "Dr. Jive" | 1:57 |
Personnel
- J. J. Cale – vocals ( tr. 1–6, 8–13), electric guitar (tr. 1–7, 9–14), slide guitar (tr. 1), bass guitar (tr. 2), gut-string guitar (tr. 5), guitar (tr. 8), organ (tr. 12), engineer (tr. 8), mixing (tr. 2, 7, 8, 12, 14), producer
- Reggie Young – electric guitar (tr. 1, 4) rhythm guitar (tr. 14)
- Christine Lakeland – electric guitar (tr. 5, 11), organ (tr. 5, 10), backing vocals (tr. 2, 8, 13), guitar (tr. 10), rhythm guitar (tr. 12), percussion (tr. 12, 13)
- David Briggs – piano (tr. 3, 4, 6, 13), electric piano (tr. 1)
- Mike Lawler – synthesizer (tr. 3, 13)
- Jim Karstein – congas (tr. 5)
- Bill Boatman – tambourine (tr. 5), drums (tr. 2, 5, 10, 12)
- Terry McMillan – harmonica (tr. 9)
- Robert Greenidge – steel drums (tr. 7)
- Gary Allen – drums (tr. 11)
- Charles Dungey – bass guitar (tr. 14)
- Farrell Morris – congas, vibraphone (tr. 14)
- Karl Himmel – drums (tr. 7, 14)
- Nick Rather – bass guitar (tr. 5, 10, 11, 12)
- Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar (tr. 1, 3, 6, 7, 13)
- Ken Buttrey – drums (tr. 1, 3, 4, 6, 13)
- Steve Gibson – electric guitar (tr. 3, 6, 13)
- Johnny Christopher – rhythm guitar (tr. 1, 3, 4, 6, 13)
- Bobby Emmons – organ (tr. 1, 3, 4, 6, 13)
- Bob Moore – bass (tr. 9)
- Buddy Harman – drums (tr. 9)
- Harold Bradley – electric guitar (tr. 9)
- Tony Migliori – piano (tr. 9)
- Ray Edenton – rhythm guitar (tr. 9)
- Marilyn Davis – backing vocals (tr. 13)
- Dennis Solee – horns (tr. 11)
- Technical
- Audie Ashworth – engineer (tr. 7), producer
- Chad Hailey – engineer (tr. 2, 5, 11, 12), mixer (tr. 5, 6, 11, 12)
- Chip Young – engineer (tr. 14)
- Rick Horton – engineer (tr. 3)
- Ron Reynolds – engineer (tr. 1, 4, 6, 9, 13), mixer (tr. 1, 3, 4, 9, 13)
References
- ↑ Hutchinson, Lydia (July 2013). "JJ Cale interview". Performing Songwriter Be Hears. Retrieved June 24, 2019.
- 1 2 Ruhlmann, William. "Grasshopper Review by William Ruhlmann". AllMusic.
- ↑ "Singles To Watch" (PDF). Cash Box. July 17, 1982. p. 24 – via World Radio History.
- ↑ "Record World Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. April 3, 1982. p. 18 – via World Radio History.
- ↑ "Billboard's Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. March 27, 1982. p. 98 – via World Radio History.
- ↑ "Feature Picks" (PDF). Cash Box. March 27, 1982. p. 11 – via World Radio History.
- ↑ Rolling Stone review