MUSIC REVIEWS: ERIC CLAPTON'S CLAPTON

By R. A. Pearson

Eric Clapton’s 2010 release Clapton is perhaps the now typical blues/jazz/rock genre CD expected by the award-winning artist. The sounds on the CD draw from a long history of music and the songs on the collection are, according to Clapton, “an eclectic collection of songs that weren’t really on the map.” He indicated as it turned out, “This album wasn’t what it was intended to be at all. In a way, I just let it happen.”

The album’s hard blues sounds include “Hard Time Blues” by Lane Harding, done in the traditional Delta blues sounds of a Robert Johnson song. The song “Run Back To Your Side” is very reminiscent of the sounds of Cream or maybe even Derrick and the Dominos, as Derek Trucks is a guest slide guitarist on the track. The jazz sounds on the CD are present in several songs, often sounding as though they were recorded in the 1930s or 40s style, including the songs “When Somebody Thinks You’re Wonderful,” and the humorous “My Very Good Friend The Milkman.” Other songs of note on the CD include “River Runs Deep,” “Everything Will Be Alright,” “Diamonds Made From Rain,” with Sheryl Crow on vocals, and “Autumn Leaves.”

Clapton’s base band for Clapton includes drummer Jim Keltner, bassist Willie Weeks, Tony Andrews, aka “Trombone Shorty” on trombone and trumpet, Tim Orindgreff on sax, and keyboardist Walt Richmond. He also brings in special guests keyboardist Steve Winwood, trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, vocalist Sheryl Crow, and guitarist Derek Trucks.

The CD was produced by Eric Clapton and Doyal Bramhall II. Clapton is definitely a fan CD so check it out before you by it.

Jacob Dylan’s Women And Country is an 11 cut CD produced by the award winning T Bone Burnett. While the album is the artist’s second solo CD it has a full sound using horns and fiddles without overpowering the listener and drowning out the message of the lyrics of the songs. Dylan is joined on the CD by female singers Neko Case from the indie rock group The New Pornographers and Georgia born Kelly Hogan, formally with The Jody Grind. A few interesting cuts on the CD include “Yonder Come The Blues,” “Holly Rollers For Love” and “Lend a Hand.”

Peter Gabriel’s Big Blue Ball is a collection of tracks featuring artists, instruments and vocalists from all over the world. There are over 70 guest artists featured on the 11 cut CD and the instrumentation includes samples of insturments from around the world. Many of the vocals on the CD are performed in the language of the country of origin of the song preserving the natural flavor of the track. Some great tracks on Big Blue Ball are “Shadow,” “Forest,” “altus silva,” and “Rivers.”

Big Blue Ball is a lot like several of Gabriel’s past CDs such as The Long Way Home and several other non-typical western music collections the artist has presented to his fans in the past. A listener may wish to sample a few tracks before purchasing the CD.

In other music news, in early December 2010, outgoing Florida Governor Charlie Crist, an admitted Doors fan, along with the Florida Board of Executive Clemency, voted to posthumously pardon Jim Morrison, the lead singer of The Doors, for his convicted of indecent exposure and open profanity.during a wild concert in Miami on March 1, 1969. According to The Doors organist Ray Manzarek, Morrison whipped the fans, most of who were stoned and drunk, into a frenzy and made them believe they had seen him expose himself. None of the arresting officers actually saw Morrison expose himself and none of the more than 100 photos in evidence show any exposure. Morrison was convicted of the crimes in 1970 and received a six-month jail sentence and a $500 fine. He never served the sentence. Morrison’s widow, Patricia Kennealy Morrison, opposed the pardon which came 40 years after the conviction. Morrison died in 1971 in Paris and was buried in a graveyard in that city.

Meanwhile, the Abbey Road Crosswalk in north London, made famous after appearing on a Beatles album cover in 1969, has been granted heritage status by the English Heritage association in the U.K. The status was granted on December 22, 2010, and marks the first time a crossing has been awarded Grade II listed status. Ian Macmillan took the famous shot of the Beatles in the crossing during a 10-minute photo shoot one August morning in 1969. The crosswalk and nearby Abbey Road studios, also listed at Grade II landmark, remain a major attraction for Beatles fans the world over when they visit London.