You might ask of Eric Clapton, “What hasn’t this legendary guitarist done?” He’s collaborated with Cream and Blind Faith, his obsession with George Harrison’s wife led to the writing of “Layla”, he’s recorded multiple albums induced by exhorbitant amounts of alcohol, and recovered to the point of getting his life back on track by collecting and driving beautiful sport cars. And here he is now releasing his 22nd album, Meanwhile. One of the fourteen new songs on this latest project is an amazing rendition of 'Moon River' by Clapton and Jeff Beck. Like Eric, Jeff was a guitar virtuoso and a gear head when it came to cars. It’s like they were long lost brothers - each raising the bar on each other’s guitar licks. Also on this star- studded release is American bluegrass and country singer-songwriter, Bradley Walker, joining Clapton on a stirring rendition of ‘Always On My Mind’, a tribute to Willie Nelson, with the Transatlantic Session Band, featuring guitarist Ronnie Wood. Good buddy, Van Morrison, is featured on ‘The Rebels’ and ‘Stand And Deliver’, both written by the iconic Irish singer, who also plays the sax on ‘This Has Gotta Stop’, a catchy song that includes singer, Sharon White (Bryan Ferry, Annie Lennox) and the highly coveted drummer, Steve Gadd.

 I was surprised by a couple of standouts, one of which is a version of Charlie Chaplin’s ‘Smile', the song Clapton chose to open with on his 1974 tour; the other is a song co-written by the late comedian, Richard Lewis, called ‘Misfortune’. It’s beautifully done and most suitable as the final track. This collection of songs and artists shows how much Clapton is respected within the industry and by his fans.

Gary James
Host of ‘The Night Show’
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