Watch Eric Clapton, Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II Play "Motherless Children"
Earlier today, the Wall Street Journal—which is, um, renowned for its guitar news—premiered Eric Clapton's new video.
The clip, which you can check out below, is a live 2007 performance of "Motherless Children," the rip-roaring track that kicks off Clapton's 1974 masterpiece, 461 Ocean Boulevard. This live version is available on Clapton's new album, Live in San Diego, which will be released September 30. It's already available for preorder at ericclapton.com and iTunes.
The album, which was recorded March 15, 2007, at San Diego's iPayOne Center, features several appearances—and compositions—by JJ Cale. At the time, Clapton and Cale—Clapton's buddy and mentor—were casually supporting their recent studio effort, 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.
Other featured performers include Derek Trucks—who handles the late Duane Allman's slide parts on the album's Derek and the Dominos tunes—plus guitarists Doyle Bramhall II and Robert Cray, who guests on "Crossroads." Trucks and Bramhall are heavily featured on "Motherless Children," and it's fun to watch Clapton, Trucks and Bramhall open up their bottomless bags of tasty slide licks in the clip below.
From a personal standpoint, Clapton's 2007 backing band was his best ever (as a solo artist). As heard on Live in San Diego, their versions of Derek and the Dominos tracks—especially "Tell the Truth"—are unparalleled.
The original version of “Motherless Children,” one of the strongest opening cuts on a Clapton album since Cream’s Wheels of Fire, features Clapton on slide guitar, and it burns from the get-go. The song, which finds the guitarist delivering a playful variation of the melody during the twin guitar solos, was arranged by Clapton and his Derek and the Dominos band mate bassist Carl Radle. The song also features fine playing by second guitarist George Terry and drummer Jamie Oldaker.
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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 here) immediately, plus two additional songs before the album’s release date. The album also is available for preorder via iTunes.
Eric Clapton, Live in San Diego Track Listing
- “Tell the Truth”
- “Key to the Highway”
- “Got to Get Better in a Little While”
- “Little Wing”
- “Anyday”
- “Anyway the Wind Blows”
- “After Midnight”
- “Who Am I Telling You?”
- “Don’t Cry Sister”
- “Cocaine”
- “Motherless Children”
- “Little Queen of Spades”
- “Further on Up the Road”
- “Wonderful Tonight”
- “Layla”
- “Crossroads”
For more information, visit ericclapton.com.
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