Really

A more extroverted affair than its predecessor, Really searches for a sound that will connect Cale with the wider audience expected of him following the success of Naturally. The album was recorded in a variety of settings and it wears its patchwork influences well. On “Lies” Cale’s signature shuffle is bolstered by a Dixie horn section, while “If You’re Ever in Oklahoma” is a slippery piece of flatland bluegrass. Though Really doesn’t have the sense of cohesion that makes Okie and Troubadour classics, several of its cuts catch Cale in rare form. “I’ll Kiss the World Goodbye” might be this reclusive bluesman’s most extroverted moment, while the skeletal shuffle of “Ridin’ Home” comes straight from an opium honky tonk. “Soulin’” is sly and affable and could have made a good cover for Cale enthusiasts like Clapton or Lynyrd Skynyrd, but it was “Louisiana Women” that became a favorite of none other than Waylon Jennings (check his cover on the Waylon Live album). The pensive “Everything Will Be Alright,” with its evocation of nervous fingers and measured breaths, is the album’s highlight.