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."
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. The tracks "City Girls" and "Devil In Disguise" were released as singles.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."
Track listing
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