J.J. Cale is back for the first time in six years – and it's strangely comforting that despite its title, Travel-Log makes it hard to tell exactly where he's been.

For anyone who's just tuned in, this singer-guitarist-songwriter from Oklahoma has quite a history as a role model. When Eric Clapton started seeing devils each time he bent a blues lick, he found refuge in Cale's ultra-laid-back countrified approach. A souped-up version of Cale's "After Midnight" spearheaded Clapton's first solo effort in 1970, while "Cocaine," which headlined Clapton's 1977 LP Slowhand, more or less defined the direction of Clapton's music until Phil Collins dropped in. And Clapton was not Cale's only disciple. The first two Dire Straits albums owe a great deal to Cale's hoarse, laconic singing (he has a voice like granite), edgy rhythm guitars and melodic understatement.

But no matter who has borrowed from him, Cale is very much the master of his own style. As Travel-Log demonstrates, you can't top a wily old prairie dog on his own turf, even if his tricks occasionally seem tired. The simple sentiments of Cale's lyrics – ranging from love to Mexican migrant workers – totter at the edge of cliché but are saved by sudden ironic flashes and the tight-lipped authenticity of his voice. The slightly parched, gently rolling music stretches and shifts with plainslike indifference.

In fact, the ride through Cale's universe becomes mesmerizing despite the way his blues-rock minimalism can seem stylized on first listen. Once the warm promise of his sound lures you inside the music, nuance and texture draw you further. You stop listening for the big hook; background and foreground merge, shimmer and sway, deepen. You notice how the first solo in "Hold On Baby" wobbles like an off-balance top or how the bottleneck slashing through "Humdinger" hovers at the edge of shattering. You smile at the echoes of Lonnie Johnson and Tampa Red, of Django Reinhardt and Charlie Christian, lacing in and out. You try to count how many different guitar sounds Cale overdubbed, interwove and then tucked unobtrusively into every groove and cranny.

Pop music is full of folks shouting about nothing. Travel-Log is a rarity: It takes you much farther than you initially think it will. That's J.J. Cale's art. (RS 572)

GENE SANTORO