Eric Clapton socks it to us one more time

ERIC CLAPTON                  OLD SOCK (2013)

I am not an absolute Eric Clapton fan to the extent where I would want to own every album he’s every released but that is also true of Bob Dylan and Neil Young, both of whom have significant presence in my record collection.  In fact, the only contemporary Clapton albums I’ve ever bought have been the blues releases Unplugged, From The Cradle. Me and Mr Johnson and Sessions for Robert J, Riding with the King, and the Clapton album. The latter was a good showcase for his adult oriented pop side and was full of well-played standards and some pleasant tunes. That was it, though. The pop albums of the Seventies and Eighties never appealed to me and Clapton sealed that deal.

This is why I did not entertain the notion of actually paying for Old Sock (2013) when it was released. The reviews made it seem as if it were an extension of the type of material he’d produced on Clapton, albeit that he was now a number of years older.

Last night I listened to Old Sock on the iTunes Music streaming service because it came up randomly and was very, very pleasantly surprised. The first thing of note was that the production was quite robust and the record sounded amazingly loud and tough. The second thing, after listening to the whole thing, was that Clapton was singing really well and that he was quite keen on various reggae numbers, or at least reggaefied versions, which is kind of a throwback to the heady days of “I Shot the Sheriff” or “Swing Low Sweet Chariot.”

The song selection is great, the new tunes are not out of place within the context, and the collaborations with old muckers and new mates alike are underplayed and serve the songs.  This is no celebrity studded “duets” album.

The totality of the set is so good that it is hard to pick put any particular highlights. The album just represents a good, solid set of entertainment from start to finish from a master musician playing with some of the best musicians in the business.

As this is the second pop album in a row I guess it must be time for Clapton do record a new blues album, perhaps once more a group of old favourites, as was From the Cradle, perhaps some modern takes on the subject.