Eric Clapton has announced a new live album, Live in San Diego.
The album, which was recorded March 15, 2007, at San Diego's iPayOne Center, features several appearances—and compostions—by JJ Cale. At the time, Clapton and Cale—Clapton's good friend and mentor—were casually supporting their new studio album, 2006's Road to Escondido.
“This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition: to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember,” Clapton said of Road to Escondido in 2006. Cale died July 26, 2013.
Cale appears on five tracks, including "Cocaine" and “After Midnight,” two Cale tunes Clapton covered in the Seventies. Other guests include Derek Trucks—who handles the late Duane Allman's slide parts on the album's Derek and the Dominos tunes—plus Doyle Bramhall II and Robert Cray, who guests on "Crossroads." Trucks' tasteful slide work also happens to be featured on Road to Escondido.
Live in San Diego will be available September 30 as a two-disc CD, a three-disc vinyl set and as a digital album. If you pre-order the album at ericclapton.com, you'll receive “Anyway the Wind Blows” (watch it below) immediately, plus two additional songs before the album’s release date. The album also is available for preorder via iTunes.
Damian is Editor-in-Chief of Guitar World magazine. In past lives, he was GW’s managing editor and online managing editor. He's written liner notes for major-label releases, including Stevie Ray Vaughan's 'The Complete Epic Recordings Collection' (Sony Legacy) and has interviewed everyone from Yngwie Malmsteen to Kevin Bacon (with a few memorable Eric Clapton chats thrown into the mix). Damian, a former member of Brooklyn's The Gas House Gorillas, was the sole guitarist in Mister Neutron, a trio that toured the U.S. and released three albums. He now plays in two NYC-area bands.
